THE SQUIZ
They were thumped in last weekend’s election, but the MPs who retained and won seats are meeting today to elect the party leaders who will need to pick up the pieces and come up with a plan for what’s next. For the Liberals, it’s shaping up to be a straightforward process with Peter Dutton and Sussan Ley expected to be elected unopposed as leader and deputy of the party. But for the Nationals, it’s a bit more complicated…

WHY’S THAT?
Because Barnaby Joyce is being challenged for the leadership by 2 contenders: Victorian Darren Chester and Queenslander David Littleproud. To say Chester’s not a Joyce fan is putting it mildly… He was dumped from the frontbench last year – and took a spell from the party for a few weeks to cool his jets. He says it’s “time for a change”. And current deputy leader/former Agriculture Minister Littleproud says he’s the guy to lead them to the 2025 election. At 45yo, he’s the youngest of the pack and is seen as a future leader – but his colleagues will tell us today if it’s his time to shine… The Nationals fared significantly better than the Liberals at the ballot box by holding onto all of its 16 seats. But many Liberals blamed Joyce’s criticism of the Coalition’s climate policies as damaging their chances in inner-city and suburban seats. “We are not the Liberals’ excuse, they must look at their own ship and own it,” he responded.

ANY OTHER MOVES I SHOULD BE AWARE OF?
Settle in because PM Anthony Albanese and Dutton will be pulling off more of ’em than John Travolta… To round off things for the Coalition, reports say former Energy Minister Angus Taylor is in line to become the Treasury spokesman. And former Foreign/Women’s Minister Marise Payne is expected to head to the backbench voluntarily. As for Team Albanese, the factions meet today to discuss who to put forward for big new jobs, the result will be confirmed at a caucus meeting tomorrow, and there will be a swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday. Labor could get to 76 seats in the House of Reps today if the Melbourne seat of Macnamara breaks their way in a complicated 3-way count.