Labor urged to preference Liberals ahead of One Nation to block Pauline Hanson
Updated ,first published
Two leading Labor figures have called on the party to take the fight squarely to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation in the upcoming Farrer by-election, warning that choices will shape not only the contest in regional NSW but also the next federal election.
Former Queensland premier Peter Beattie and former NSW premier Bob Carr said Labor should nominate Farrer and direct its preferences towards the Liberals before One Nation in a bid to prevent Hanson from taking the seat.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Sussan Ley, who was sacked as Liberal leader last week after one of the shortest terms in the party’s history. The contest will be a critical primary election test for new Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and comes at a time of record voting for One Nation across the country.
Beattie, who lost six seats to One Nation in the Liberal and National preferences as Labor leader in 1998, said the risks went far beyond a rural electorate.
“Choices have always been important, but now they are vital to Australia’s future,” Beattie said in the blurb. “The ALP should contest Farrer and choose the Liberals over One Nation. One Nation cannot win Farrer if all parties and independents prefer One Nation last.”
In response, Beattie said if the Liberals did not go with One Nation last, it would damage their credibility with city voters and prevent them from winning back the teal seats they hold in Sydney and Melbourne.
The NSW Labor Party says it is consulting local branch members in the region before deciding whether to run in a by-election at a yet-to-be-determined date. A senior Labor Party source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were differing views internally on the contest.
The Labor Party, which won 15 percent of the vote in Farrer last May, was the only party to participate in every poll since its founding in 1949.
Carr echoed Beattie’s call, arguing that Labor should be prepared to sacrifice short-term political advantage to stop Hanson, saying it was in the “national interest”.
“Labour must do everything it can to prevent One Nation from winning Farrer,” Carr said. “Yes, even if we’re throwing our votes behind the Liberals. I don’t want Australia’s morality to be ruined by racial prejudices that leave immigrants feeling unloved and isolated and tarnish our international character.”
He said there was no long-term gain from the “24-hour tactical win” that saw Taylor get run over by Hanson.
“Like Keating said about Hewson, they should kill him slowly.”
In every major opinion poll in the country, One Nation is ahead of the Coalition – neck-and-neck in second place behind Labour. Hanson said the party received dozens of applications in response to the call for candidates.
NSW independent MP Helen Dalton, who represents the state seat of Murray, said last week she was still considering whether to run for the federal seat and revealed she had been approached by One Nation.
Climate 200 candidate Michelle Milthorpe, who reduced Ley’s lead to 6.2 percent in the May elections, described her approach as an open ticket, saying she would run again but was not determined to choose any of the major parties.
The Nationals, which previously held the seat of former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer, are expected to contest the seat, which also includes Albury, Deniliquin and Griffith.
Election analyst Ben Raue Digital RoomHe said Labor had to consider many things before running, including money, the time and focus of volunteers and paid staff.
But he said that with the expected low primary vote rate, the difference the preferences could make would be “quite insignificant”.
“If Labor could distribute how-to-vote cards to ensure that some of their voters do not opt for One Nation, that might make a small difference, but I doubt they will be able to get that many stall workers in Farrer,” he said.
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Rob Harris is the national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Canberra. He is a former European correspondent.Connect via email.
