Sacking Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was Sussan Ley's only option, and she took it

Sussan Ley had no choice but to dump Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.

The damaging comments about Indian migrants were one thing, the refusal to apologise was another, but the red line was crossed when the senator wouldn't express confidence in Ley's leadership.

This was pouring accelerant on the flames of division burning for the past week in the Liberal Party.

If a shadow minister can't say whether she supports the leader, "what is she doing there?" asked Liberal senator Dave Sharma. It was a good question.

He didn't have to wait long for the inevitable answer.

This was the first big test of Sussan Ley's authority. To do nothing would have left her looking badly weakened, even humiliated.

In the end, Ley acted swiftly and made the call.

This was the only option, but dumping the senator is not without its risks.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price remains one of the most high-profile members of the opposition, after her success in leading the No campaign during the 2023 Voice referendum.

It was a career high point for the senator.

Since then, it's been a rough road. The transition from the National Party to the Liberals wasn't met with a red carpet welcome.

Her bid for the deputy leadership failed, she was then given a junior portfolio, and has now been dumped to the backbench. There's no sign, however, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is about to return to the Nationals or go elsewhere.

Ley says the senator "failed a test of high standard" for the shadow ministry, but still calls her an "outstanding" Australian. The leader is not putting pressure on the senator to leave the party.

Ley knows as well as anyone that Senator Nampijinpa Price holds strong support amongst the Liberal membership and with conservative commentators, who agree with her more hardline approach on immigration.

The senator will now have greater freedom to advocate alternative positions on this issue, along with climate change and Indigenous affairs, from the backbench.

While there's no mood across the Liberal Party to revisit the leadership right now, this is a deeply divided party. 

Divided over climate ambition, over how to talk about migration, and over how to win back seats in urban Australia.

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is unlikely to sit quietly on the backbench. 

She says she will continue to "speak up". 

The Liberal Party fault lines are only likely to grow deeper and wider.