No deal between Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor following Liberal leadership talks in Melbourne

A “productive” meeting between Liberal leadership aspirants Andrew Hastie and Angus Taylor has ended in stalemate with neither rival agreeing to stand aside to allow a sole challenger to Sussan Ley.

The two conservatives held secret face-to-face talks in Melbourne, just hours before a memorial service in honour of former parliamentary colleague Katie Allen who died last year.

Their morning meeting occurred as concerns also grow inside the former coalition that Nationals MP Colin Joyce could soon become the next opposition figure to follow Barnaby Joyce by defecting to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party.

A source inside the meeting between Mr Hastie and Mr Taylor described the 40-minute discussion as “productive” but told The Nightly that neither of the conservative rivals had agreed to bow out of the looming leadership contest.

Photographs of the meeting published by The Australian showed Mr Hastie, a former soldier, arriving at a Melbourne residence with two senior conservatives – opposition home affairs spokesman Jonathon Duniam and fellow West Australian Matt O’Sullivan.

Right-wing Liberal powerbrokers are continuing to push for one of the rivals to stand aside to allow a united ticket backing a sole candidate to challenge Ms Ley for the party’s leadership when Federal Parliament returns next week.

Liberal Senator James Paterson who also attended the meeting earlier told ABC radio in Melbourne that anyone in the Opposition wanting Ms Ley to be challenged as leader should resign.

“Yes, she does (have my support). I wouldn’t be speaking to you. This morning, as the shadow minister for finance, if she didn’t. I understand my responsibilities under the Westminster Convention,” Senator Paterson said.

In a statement released before this morning’s memorial service, Ms Ley paid tribute to her former colleague saying Ms Allen was “a woman of rare grace, intellect and courage, whose impact “reached far beyond politics and will endure for many years to come”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also paid tribute to Ms Allen and criticised the Liberal leadership rivals for meeting to discuss their party’s leadership on the same day as the memorial.

“Katie was a very decent human being who made a contribution to public life in the most recent federal election, again, and my heart goes out to Katie’s family, to her many friends and colleagues, as well.”

“I find it astonishing that there are meetings taking place about the leadership of the Liberal Party on a day such as today,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Cairns after returning from a visit to Timor Leste.

Meanwhile several senior Opposition figures have told The Nightly they believe Queensland backbencher Colin Boyce could defect to One Nation next week, following a leadership spill in the National Party which he has called for.

The Nightly has approached Mr Boyce for comment, but the Member for Flynn is yet to respond.

Last week during a visit to Perth Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also predicted “at least one more defection to One Nation” within weeks and accused Liberal MPs of undermining their first female leader “from day one”.