Nationals leader David Littleproud says there’s “every chance” of a reconciliation with the Liberals just days after they split, as the two parties held crisis talks on Thursday.

The Nationals and Liberals had been due to announce their respective front benches on Thursday, but that has been put on hold as talks continue.

Littleproud on Thursday said the Liberal Party had indicated it was prepared to “have that conversation” about four areas of policy contention.

He revealed he would give the Liberals more time to discuss his party’s policy requests after he blew up the Coalition’s decades-long partnership.

“These four policy areas are important to the lives and livelihoods of the people that I represent,” he said.

“The fact that the Liberal party room is now prepared to have that conversation, I think speaks volumes about the fact that we should allow that to happen, and that gives every chance [of reconciliation].”

Littleproud insisted the Nationals had chosen to leave the decades-old Coalition purely based on those policies and would consider reuniting if their principles were met.

“We’re not doing this for show. We’re doing this because we are convicted about the people that we represent,” he said.

“You’ve got people here who are prepared to give up their jobs for what they believe in. I think that that speaks volumes about the people that I respect.”

He said the Nationals had agreed they would stick with cabinet solidarity — a point that Liberal leader Sussan Ley claimed had been a factor in the split, accusing the Nationals of not wanting to accept cabinet solidarity.

Littleproud said he was pausing his plan to announce portfolios for his party. In return, Liberal leader Sussan Ley would not unveil her shadow ministry, which had been set to be announced by the end of the week.

“This is a positive step forward — one in which we’ve always said we’d be productive and constructive,” Littleproud said in Canberra on Thursday.

“We didn’t do what we did on Tuesday lightly — it was a tough decision, a huge decision, and we in a sign of good faith, have made it clear that I’m prepared to pause my announcement today.”

Ley said the Nationals indicated they were willing to accept shadow cabinet solidarity as part of a Coalition agreement.

“This is the first time this commitment has been made and I welcome it as a foundation to resolve other matters,” she said.

“Earlier today I wrote to, and met with, David inviting him to re-enter good-faith negotiations. I am pleased he has accepted.

“It has always been the Liberal Party’s objective to form a coalition and we welcome the Nationals’ decision to re-enter negotiations.”

The Nationals allege the break-up came because they could not secure commitments on key policies.

The Liberals claimed it collapsed due to the disagreement over shadow cabinet solidarity, which binds members to publicly support collective decisions, even if they disagree internally.

Littleproud said his previous negotiations with Ley centred on four non-negotiable policies.

These included support for nuclear energy, break-up powers for supermarkets, a regional Australia future fund and reliable telco coverage in rural areas.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott said the political divorce was understandable, but regrettable.

“Let’s get over the electoral PTSD and let’s get back together again as quickly as possible,” he told Sydney radio 2GB.

“If the Libs and the Nats go their separate ways, we won’t have one strong opposition — we’ll have two opposition parties that are fighting each other as much as they’re fighting a bad government.

Earlier, the dispute between the Liberals and Nationals about why their political marriage fell apart took an increasingly bitter turn.

The estranged Coalition partners each accused the other of making false claims about the reasons behind the split.

The man who led the Nationals during the party’s last divorce from the Liberals believes the coalition partners will eventually reunite.

Ian Sinclair was Nationals leader during a five-month split in 1987. He is confident the latest trial separation will not last forever, saying a split after an election wasn’t unusual and issues would eventually be resolved.

“It has happened before and will happen again,” Sinclair said.

“It’s quite a healthy thing.”

-with AAP