Retiring Tasmanian Liberal senator Jonno Duniam has said he regrets the timing of the secret meeting that helped remove Sussan Ley as Federal Opposition Leader and install Angus Taylor.
Duniam was among senior Liberal conservatives who gathered at a private residence in Melbourne on January 29, hours before a memorial service for former Liberal MP Katie Allen.
Speaking on The Issue podcast, Duniam acknowledged that holding the meeting on the same day as the service was a source of personal regret.
“That is a source of regret for me personally,” he said.
The meeting was attended by leadership contenders Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor, senators James Paterson and Matt O’Sullivan, and former MP Michael Sukkar. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had described the timing as “astonishing”.
Duniam said the leadership change had nevertheless been necessary, although it had not been easy to carry out.
“The rest is history. We had a leadership change. It was necessary. It was not easy to do,” he said.
Andrew Hastie backed as future leader
Duniam, who is close to both Taylor and Hastie, said Taylor would be a strong contender to win the next election and played down the prospect of him being replaced before then, despite continued poor polling.
The latest Essential poll cited in the discussion put Labor on 29 per cent of the primary vote, One Nation on 25 per cent and the Coalition on 22 per cent.
However, Duniam said he would personally support Hastie seeking the prime ministership after the next election, or once Taylor eventually moved on.
“I know that Andrew is a thousand percent behind Angus,” he said.
“One day, down the track, after the next election, maybe that will be different. Maybe he’ll want to put his hand up. That’s something you’d have to ask him.
“If that’s a choice he made, then that’s something I would be personally and privately back in because he is a great Australian.”
Duniam also said Hastie would be a “great replacement” for him as shadow home affairs minister, although the final decision would rest with the Opposition Leader.
Why Jonno Duniam is leaving politics
Duniam’s upcoming sitting week is expected to be his last as a senator after he announced his retirement from federal politics in June.
The 43-year-old has denied that he is preparing to move into Tasmanian politics or is leaving because of the prospect of a One Nation wipeout at the 2028 election.
Instead, he said he wanted to spend more time with his wife and their three sons.
“My wife, of course, she’s had to bear the brunt on her own,” Duniam said.
He said he had taken his role seriously and did not regret the effort he had given to the job.
Duniam plans to work in the private sector, providing consulting services between government, business and the community.
