SMH · Courtney Kruk · Sunday 29 March 2026
Queensland senator James McGrath, a Liberal moderate, has beaten Nationals leader Matt Canavan for the LNP's No.1 Senate spot at the next federal election — a significant factional shift within the merged party.
The LNP putting a moderate above Canavan isn't a factional realignment — it's a survival calculation dressed as principle. Canavan's been auditioning for a party that doesn't exist yet, and Queensland's merged outfit has quietly decided the coal-fired culture war is a liability, not an asset. When your own side bumps you down the ticket, you haven't lost a preselection — you've been read your political last rites by people too polite to say it aloud.