THE SQUIZ
Julian Leeser, the (now former) Shadow Attorney-General and spokesman for Indigenous Australians, has quit the Coalition’s frontbench over last week’s decision to vote ‘no’ in the upcoming referendum on the Indigenous Voice to parliament. He says stepping down is “about keeping faith with an issue that I have been working on for almost a decade.” That refers to his long-running advocacy for constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians. Had Leeser stayed on the Liberal frontbench, he would have been bound to support the party’s ‘no’ position, so it’s to the backbench he goes…

THAT’S AWKWARD…
Well, Leeser said that all is well with his colleagues… He’s made it clear he still supports Liberal leader Peter Dutton, and said, “I’m resigning without rancour but on a point of principle, and I think what I want to be able to say to my children in the future is that your father stood up for something he believes in”. He will advocate for the preferred model he outlined to the National Press Club last week but will campaign for a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum if he can’t convince the government to adopt his suggested changes. For his part, Dutton thanked Leeser for his service but says his support for the Voice was “at odds with the overwhelming majority of the Liberal party members in our party room.” Looking at the bigger picture is Liberal ‘yes’ campaigner Andrew Bragg – he reckons Leeser’s call will give the ‘yes’ vote a boost.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?
At this stage of the process (note: it’s all still before the parliament to approve), the focus is on how our politicians are handling it. And what Leeser thinks about his side’s position as the ex-spokesperson for the relevant policy areas is super notable. But there had already been issues for Dutton and Nationals leader David Littleproud – Ken Wyatt (the Liberals’ former Indigenous Australians’ minister) quit the party last week, and Andrew Gee (the Nationals’ former Veterans’ Affairs minister) quit his party in December. And on the weekend, the country’s most senior Liberal in office – Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff – said he supported the Voice. Cue Labor turning up the pressure… Following Leeser’s resignation, senior frontbencher Tanya Plibersek said that “it’s not too late for Peter Dutton to hear his message and rethink his position.”