On this day in 1987 the coalition between the Australian Liberal Party and the Nationals broke down.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A story on the front page of The Canberra Times stated the two parties split after failing to agree to new terms for the coalition agreement.
"Both the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Howard, and the Leader of the National Party, Mr Sinclair, blamed the outcome on the federal aspirations of the Queensland Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who has been a consistent advocate of the breaking of the coalition," the story read.
"Yesterday's crisis arose after a morning meeting of the National Party, where the agreement reached two weeks ago, between the Liberals and the Nationals over the future of the coalition was "accepted", but with some changes."
The main changes concerned regular meetings of the National Party and the development of separate National Party policies.
