Nationals Leader David Littleproud has said he respects Andrew Hastie’s decision to resign from the opposition frontbench, describing the move as both disappointing and a principled stand in a Liberal Party that is searching for its identity.

On Friday evening Andrew Hastie released a statement saying he was resigning from the Coalition frontbench because he had come to understand he would not be leading the opposition’s immigration policy development as home affairs spokesperson. The statement wished Opposition Leader Sussan Ley well, saying she “deserves the opportunity to lead, unencumbered by interventions from shadow cabinet colleagues”.

However, a conflicting statement from Ley also published on Friday night said Hastie resigned because he was unable to comply with a “shadow mini

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