Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan has firmly ruled out any formal coalition with One Nation, stating on ABC's Insiders program that he wants to be part of a coalition only with the Liberal and National parties. This comes amid internal party divisions over how to handle the rise of Pauline Hanson's party, which is polling strongly and threatening the Coalition's chances of returning to government.
Tehan's Stance on One Nation
“We do not want to be part of a coalition with One Nation. We want to be part of a coalition with the Liberal party and the National party,” Tehan told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday. He insisted that a coalition arrangement with One Nation was “not even being talked about” among his colleagues, despite public suggestions from some senior figures for closer ties.
When pressed by host David Speers on whether an alliance might be necessary to arrest the Coalition's polling slide, Tehan responded: “What I want to be part of is a Liberal party and a National party that in coalition runs this country again.” He added, “We’re not entertaining or discussing or being part of a coalition with One Nation.”
Internal Party Divisions
Splits are emerging within the Liberal and National parties over how to deal with One Nation. Frontbencher Andrew Hastie has vowed “war” on Hanson’s party, while junior shadow minister Tony Pasin has suggested a seat-sharing arrangement. Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie indicated she would “come and help [Hanson] campaign” in Labor-held seats. Former prime minister and current Liberal party president Tony Abbott has backed preference deals with One Nation.
Polling shows One Nation's primary vote has been in the high 20s or low 30s in recent published opinion polls, neck-and-neck with Labor, while the Coalition polls in the high teens or low 20s. Last week’s Guardian Essential poll found Labor on 30%, One Nation on 26%, and the Coalition on 23%. Polling experts suggest the splitting of the conservative vote makes it highly difficult for the Liberals and Nationals to re-enter government on their own, especially with expectations that One Nation could pick up a swag of seats at the next election, mostly at the expense of Coalition MPs.
Albanese Mocks Conservative 'Axis of Grievance'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mocked the conservative parties on Sunday, referring to the Liberal, National, and One Nation parties as an “axis of grievance.” Speaking to the NSW Labor conference, he said: “The problem is not their brand – it is their product. It is not their sales pitch – it is their policies.”
Albanese continued: “It is the race to the bottom that all three rightwing parties are caught up in. They are the axis of grievance. Each trying to be more anti-fairness, more anti-worker, more anti-aspiration.” He contrasted this with Labor, saying, “This is why, for all the shifts in the landscape over the years, the fundamental contrast in Australian politics remains the same. Our opponents only ever define themselves by who and what they are against.”
Abbott's Controversial Speech
Tony Abbott, in a contentious speech to the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship summit in London last week, claimed “mass migration” was being pursued “to dilute and eventually to extinguish the Anglo-Celtic core culture and the Judaeo-Christian foundational ethos.” The phrase has been rejected by some Liberal moderates.
Despite Abbott’s position as Liberal party president, Tehan distanced himself from the remarks, saying the Coalition’s partyroom – not its executive – sets party policies, including migration. Tehan said he hadn’t heard Abbott’s speech until shortly before the program but that Abbott “respects” party processes. He pointed to opposition leader Angus Taylor’s budget-in-reply speech, which set the foundations for migration policy: “making sure that we have our migration levels in line with the amount of houses that are built in this nation so that we can rebalance our migration policy, we can rebalance to make sure that we are looking after Australians first.”
Coalition's Path Forward
Tehan was asked about what the Coalition needed to do to arrest its polling slide. He said the Coalition would continue criticising Labor for going back on its promises not to change negative gearing or capital gains tax arrangements. However, the persistent questioning from Speers highlighted the growing pressure on the Coalition to define its relationship with One Nation as the next election approaches.
