LIBERAL elder Peter Reith has thrown a grenade into the Coal­ition camp ahead of a by-election in Victoria, saying the Nationals are “in bed with the Greens” in opposing fracking and are playing­ populist politics at the expense of jobs and investment.

The Nationals fired back, saying Mr Reith — a former federal minister and a big backer of gas exploration who did a repor­t on the potential of it for the previous government — is a typical city-centric Liberal.

The Nationals last week rev­ealed plans for a farmers’ veto that would likely end prospecting for unconventional gas in Victoria. The announcement — made in the run-up to the March 14 by-election in the Nationals-held seat of Gippsland South — has some Liberal noses out of joint because it did not go through the joint partyroom or oppos­ition frontbench.

While Liberal MPs have stayed silent, Mr Reith launched an excoriating attack on the Liberals’ coalition partner in comments to The Australian.

“It’s very disappointing when the National Party is going to the Left and getting into bed with the Greens at the expense of investment and job opportunities in eastern Victoria,’’ he said.

“Unemployment and jobs are big issues and the Nationals are just playing populist politics. There are very few champions for jobs and investment in Gippsland. The opportunities are very limited for economic development in that part of the state. By lining up with the Greens, the National Party are trying to win votes, but even that’s not certain. It’s bad policy and poor pol­itics.”

The stakes in the by-election to replace outgoing leader Peter Ryan are high for the Nationals, who suffered the loss of their stronghold Shepparton to an inde­pendent in the November poll and had a close shave in the previously safe seat of Morwell, also in Gippsland.

But Mr Reith said the interests of Melbourne — where there were “a lot more people and a lot more votes” — should not be damaged by the Nationals supporting the “way-out stuff we see from the Greens”.

Nationals leader Peter Walsh defended the fracking veto plan and seized on Mr Reith’s comments, saying: “Nobody in regiona­l Victoria would be ­surprised to hear this city-­focused opinion from an old-school Liberal.

“Unlike Peter Reith, the National­s are not putting dollar signs ahead of the concerns of local communities. Landholders deserve the right to say no to ­onshore gas ­extraction. It’s their land, it’s their livelihood and it’s their families.

“This idea that Melbourne can ride roughshod over farming communities because there are ‘a lot more people and a lot more votes’ shows absolute contempt for country Victorians and goes against everything the Nationals stand for.”