Pat Conaghan has been dumped as shadow Minister for Financial Services and will be replaced by party colleague Kevin Hogan.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor announced the National Party representatives of the Coalition’s shadow ministry? on Monday, which saw Conaghan removed from the post in the aftermath of the Nationals’ leadership spill this month.
Hogan represents the Division of Page in NSW, which is south of the Gold Coast and north of Conaghan’s electorate of Cowper, covering Lismore and surrounding areas.
He was elected deputy leader of the National Party at the party’s 2025 post-election leadership spill and held the role until March 2026. He was deputy speaker of the house between 2018 and 2020.
In a statement, Nationals leader Matt Canavan, who ousted David Littleproud last week, said Hogan will use his extensive experience in the finance sector to help develop “sensible” economic policies as part of the Coalition team.
“The Nationals understand that we won’t restore our living standards without a strong economy and we will be at the forefront of the economic debate,” Canavan said.
Taylor said he has appointed a “strong and experienced” team from the Nationals.
“We must unapologetically defend Australian values and ensure our country is once again one of opportunity and aspiration, of freedom and safety,” Taylor said.
Conaghan was appointed to the portfolio last year after the 2025 election loss and became a key critic of the government’s slow progress with advice reform and the response to the $1 billion Shield and First Guardian collapse.
In a statement, Conaghan thanked Littleproud for giving him the opportunity to become the first National party member to hold a financial or economic portfolio in 70 years.
“I’m proud to have fought for a fair superannuation system that rewarded aspiration and protected farmers and small businesses from the Treasurer’s non-sensical unrealised capital gains tax that would have placed real charges on imaginary earnings,” Conaghan said, referring to changes to Div 296 that were enacted into law last week.
“I’m proud to have fought for those caught up in the First Guardian and Shield collapses, whose retirement nest eggs were ripped away by unscrupulous players and a system that failed to protect them.
“While I am of course disappointed by the decision, I respect that this is the process and remain absolutely committed to the National Party and our role in representing the real needs of regional people right across this beautiful country of ours.”
Conaghan was briefly sidelined from the portfolio due to the Coalition’s fallout over the Labor government’s hate speech laws when former National Party leader David Littleproud had offered blanket resignations for all shadow ministerial positions held by party members after three of his Senate colleagues were dumped for opposing the laws.
Conaghan replaced Luke Howarth who led the portfolio into the 2025 election where he lost his Queensland-based seat of Petrie.
Howarth and Taylor campaigned heavily to the financial services industry, promising to replenish adviser numbers, enact advice reform within 100 days and apologised for mistakes made under previous Coalition governments.
Before Howarth, Stuart Robert held the portfolio before resigning from parliament in May 2023, having been appointed after the Coalition defeat in the 2022 election after a reshuffle that saw Jane Hume, the previous Minister for Financial Services, move on to become shadow Minister for Finance.
Hume, who held the portfolio from December 2020 until the May 2022 election defeat and oversaw the portfolio during the implementation of professional standards and the policy response to the Hayne royal commission.
She is now deputy leader under Taylor who became opposition leader after ousting Sussan Ley in a leadership spill in February.
