Outgoing Liberal minister Andrew Hastie says his decision to resign from the frontbench is not an attempt to replace Sussan Ley as opposition leader.
He announced his resignation late on Friday, and speaking on Saturday, he said it was because he felt he had lost leadership in his role as shadow home affairs minister.
Going forward, he said, "on the backbench, I'll continue to advocate for things that I believe in".
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie insists his decision to quit the frontbench is not part of an attempt to replace Sussan Ley as the federal opposition leader.
The Western Australian MP announced his resignation as shadow home affairs minister late on Friday, citing a disagreement over immigration policy.
He had previously declared his desire to one day lead the Liberal Party, however, he told reporters in Perth on Saturday that he supported Ms Ley and was not challenging to replace her.
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Wrapping up his press conference, Hastie said he remained a proud member of the Liberal Party.
"I never said I'd quit the party, I said I'd leave the frontbench. I've left the frontbench," he said.
"A narrative that built up was incorrect.
"I'm a proud member of the Liberal Party. I was only elected into the seat of Canning on the Liberal Party platform, and I wish to remain part of the Liberal Party. "
Instead, he said he quit the frontbench because Ms Ley made it clear he would not play a leading role in developing the Coalition's immigration policy.
"Immigration is a core responsibility of home affairs, and so when it was made clear I wouldn't have any leadership in that role, I thought it was time for me to depart."
Andrew Hastie says his decision to leave the frontbench is not a challenge to Sussan Ley. (AAP: James Ross)
Mr Hastie said he believed the Coalition could win the next election by appealing to "regular mainstream Australians" who were frustrated by immigration levels and housing pressures.
"Immigration is out of control. Not enough houses are being built. People are feeling the pressures in the cities so I think there is a pathway to victory," he said.
"We're also going through a period of renewal as a party and I want to be able to speak up on issues that I care about, and in order to uphold the principle of cabinet solidarity, I had to step back."
The Coalition is yet to announce a migration policy.
However, Mr Hastie's resignation is the latest headache for Ms Ley surrounding the issue.
Last month, she demoted Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price after the outspoken Northern Territory senator refused to apologise for offensive remarks about Indian migrants and refused to endorse Ms Ley's leadership.
Senator James Paterson, who is temporarily serving as acting Shadow Home Affairs Minister, said he respected Mr Hastie's decision.
"I would certainly prefer that we still had Andrew Hastie and Jacinta Price on the frontbench, and it is my hope that in due course, both of them can return," he told reporters in Melbourne.
James Paterson says he respects Andrew Hastie's decision. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
Senator Paterson said he strongly supported Ms Ley's leadership.
"I back her every step of the way," he said.
He also moved to downplay the damage caused by internal disputes within the Liberal Party, saying "it's not surprising after the largest defeat in the Liberal Party's history".
However, he said that period of debate could not go on forever.
"If we're still doing this in a year or two's time as we get to the back end of the term, I think that'll be to our political detriment," he said.
Loading...Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy Josh Wilson described Mr Hastie's departure from the frontbench as "another instalment of the soap opera" that is the Liberal Party.
He also said Mr Hastie's position on Labor's immigration policies was "just wrong".
"For a person who claims to be a conviction politician, you start with facts," Mr Wilson said.
"Net overseas migration is 40 per cent lower now than it was at the peak in the post-COVID boom of 2022-23 and permanent migration is set at exactly the same level that it's been at for some period of time."