IN SHORT

• Queensland senator Matt Canavan has been elected federal Nationals leader after winning a party room ballot on Wednesday morning, defeating Kevin Hogan and Bridget McKenzie
• David Littleproud resigned on Tuesday, saying he was "buggered" and no longer had the energy for the role, though he will remain in parliament as member for Maranoa
• Victorian MP Darren Chester has been elected deputy leader, with the new leadership team immediately facing a challenging by-election in the NSW seat of Farrer on 9 May

Queensland senator Matt Canavan has been elected the new leader of the federal Nationals, winning a party room ballot on Wednesday morning after David Littleproud's shock resignation left the rural party scrambling for new leadership in less than 24 hours.

Canavan defeated former deputy leader Kevin Hogan and Senator Bridget McKenzie in the hastily arranged ballot, becoming the first Nationals leader to sit in the Senate. Victorian MP Darren Chester was elected deputy leader.

The contest was triggered by Littleproud's sudden resignation on Tuesday, when he fronted the media at short notice — accompanied by his wife Amelia — to declare he was stepping down, saying he was "buggered" and did not have the energy to continue. He will remain in parliament as the member for his Queensland seat of Maranoa.

The party room meeting ran for approximately 45 minutes before the result was announced. The Nationals traditionally do not publicly reveal vote counts.

Party whip Michelle Landry acknowledged the scale of the task ahead. "We've got a mighty battle coming up ahead of us. We've got two years to get ourselves up in the polls. We have fights with Labor, One Nation, the teals, so we really need strong leadership. I think we've voted for that today, and we're looking forward to getting on with the job," she said.

Canavan is a high-profile member of the Nationals' conservative wing and a long-standing proponent of scrapping net zero emissions targets and supporting nuclear energy. His election is expected to signal a shift to the right for the party.

Consistently poor polling showing One Nation overtaking the Coalition in voter support has shaken the Nationals, who fear significant losses at the next federal election, with seats in regional Queensland and NSW considered particularly at risk.

The new leadership team faces an immediate test with a by-election in the NSW seat of Farrer due on 9 May. While the seat was held for decades by Sussan Ley, it was previously Nationals territory, but early polling has left both Coalition parties playing down their chances against a strong independent and a One Nation candidate.