Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan says coalition with One Nation ‘not even being talked about’ | Liberal party
Leading Liberal candidate Dan Tehan says he does not want to take part in a right-wing coalition with One Nation, even though senior colleagues have called for closer ties with Pauline Hanson and polls suggest her rise will make it harder for the opposition party to ever come to power on its own again.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday described the Liberal, National and One Nation parties as a “pivot of grievance” on the conservative side of politics, but Tehan said a formal alliance had not been discussed among his colleagues.
“We don’t 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,” he told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday.
While a formal coalition-style arrangement is not publicly discussed, divisions are emerging between the Liberals and Nationals over whether to fight One Nation or seek closer relations or loose cooperation.
Frontrunner Andrew Hastie has vowed to “fight” Hanson’s party, while others such as shadow deputy minister Tony Pasin have suggested a seat-sharing arrangement. National senator Bridget McKenzie says she will ‘come and help’ [Hanson] A “campaign” campaign has been launched in Labor-held seats, and former prime minister and now Liberal party leader Tony Abbott has backed preference deals with One Nation.
One Nation’s primary vote is in the high 20s or early 30s in recently published opinion polls, neck-and-neck with Labor, while the Coalition polls in the low 20s or low 20s. Last week’s Guardian Essential poll found Labor on 30 per cent, One Nation on 26 per cent and the Coalition on 23 per cent.
Poll experts suggested that a split of the Conservative vote between One Nation and the Coalition would make it extremely difficult for the Liberals and Nationals to re-enter government on their own; especially when combined with expectations that One Nation might win some seats at the next election, mostly at the expense of Coalition MPs.
Tehan was asked by the insider what the Coalition should have done to arrest the voting slides. He said the Coalition would continue to criticize Labor for reneging on promises not to change negative gearing or capital gains tax regulations, but host David Speers pressed him on whether an alliance with One Nation was necessary.
“What I want to be part of is a Liberal party and a National party that will govern this country in coalition again,” Tehan said, claiming there was “no mention” of a coalition-style deal with One Nation.
Pressed repeatedly for a clear answer, Tehan replied: “We do not entertain, argue or be part of a coalition with One Nation.”
In a contentious speech at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship summit in London last week, Abbott claimed that “mass immigration” was intended to “dilute and eventually destroy the Anglo-Celtic core culture and Judeo-Christian core morality”, a phrase rejected by some Liberal moderates.
But despite Abbott’s position as Liberal party leader, Tehan said it was the party room, not the Coalition’s executive branch, that would determine the party’s policies, including on immigration. Tehan said he did not hear Abbott’s speech until shortly before the programme, but said he “respected” the party’s processes and distanced himself from Abbott’s words.
“Angus Taylor in his response budget speech laid the foundations for where we want to go. And in particular, we can rebalance our immigration policy to make sure that our immigration levels are appropriate to the amount of homes being built in this country, to make sure that we look after Australians first,” he said.
“There are people who have a lot of opinions on this issue. But it is the party room that always sets and will set the policy agenda.”
Albanese spoke at the NSW Labor Party conference on Sunday, mocking disagreements on the political right.
Addressing calls by Liberal frontrunner Melissa McIntosh for a “rebranding” of the opposition, Albanese said: “It’s not their brand, it’s their product. It’s not their sales pitch, it’s their policies.”
“This is a race to the bottom, with all three right-wing parties involved. They are the axis of grievance. Each of them is trying to be more anti-justice, more anti-worker, more anti-aspiration,” he said.
“So, for all the changes in the landscape over the years, the fundamental contrast in Australian politics remains the same. Our opponents define themselves solely by who and what they are against.”
