The man behind the Nationals’ leadership spill

Nationals backbencher Colin Boyce on why he’s challenging his own leader – and how One Nation is reshaping the party’s future.
Jan 30, 2026, updated Jan 30, 2026

Colin Boyce is a Nationals MP from Central Queensland. He represents a huge swathe of land stretching from Bundaberg to Rockhampton – and as he’s travelled around his electorate, he’s been confronted by the looming threat of One Nation.

Boyce is so dismayed about the split of the Coalition that he will challenge David Littleproud for the leadership of the Nationals on Monday. He says it’s a last-ditch effort to “save the National Party from its own self-destruction”.

Today, Boyce, on why he’s challenging his own leader, the inside story of the Nationals’ split from the Coalition, and how One Nation is reshaping the party’s future.

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