The Nationals walked away from the coalition on Tuesday, marking the third split between the conservative political allies in 80 years and the first since 1987.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said his party had taken a principled stance on issues important to them, while giving the Liberals clear air to rebuild and decide on their future direction.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley starred down four demands from the Nationals, saying the Liberals needed time to debate any future policies after a bruising election defeat.
"I am disappointed, I do want the coalition to come together," she told reporters in Canberra.
Liberals and Nationals meet after every election to nut out the details of a coalition agreement and determine the make up of frontbench positions and portfolios.Â
Detailed policy proposals are often developed between the two parties.
These included remaining committed to nuclear energy, divestiture powers to break up big supermarkets, a $20 billion investment fund that would disperse $1 billion a year on regional infrastructure and universal phone services.
Landlines and payphones must have service no matter where they are in Australia but this doesn't extend to mobile phones, which the Nationals have been fighting to include.
The Nationals didn't want to have to re-prosecute the case to retain policies it fought for under the previous agreement.
Mr Littleproud denied there was a barney over the carve up of portfolios and cabinet spots, which are allocated between the coalition partners on a proportional basis.
"This wasn't about the spoils of defeat, this was about principle," Mr Littleproud told reporters.
"Making sure that those hard-fought wins are maintained and respected and we continue to look forward."
Ms Ley said there needed to be open party room debate to reach positions on polices after a crushing election defeat on May 3.
The Liberals hold fewer than 30 of 150 lower house seats and the Nationals 15.
Both leaders left the door open to a future agreement.
Mr Ley said the Liberals and Nationals were stronger as a coalition and this was proven in 1996 when John Howard would have been able to govern in his own right but still chose to work with the regional party.
But getting back together could be more complicated because members of an all-Liberal shadow cabinet would need to be dumped to make way for Nationals.
Ms Ley said she offered to press ahead with a joint shadow ministry but this offer was rejected by the Nationals.
There was a discussion about whether National shadow cabinet members could split off to vote for the four policies but there were contradicting claims from the two camps.
Cabinet members are expected to defend the party's position or resign while coalition backbenchers are free to cross the floor and vote against party policies.
Ms Ley said cabinet solidarity wasn't explicitly agreed to but Nationals say this wasn't a sticking point.
Climate change targets remain a thorny issue within the Nationals.
The party's platform includes a commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, but some elected members want to abandon the pledge.
The coalition split doesn't impact the government's ability to pass legislation through parliament, with Labor commanding a majority in the lower house and only needing the Greens in the Senate.
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