Taylor shoots down One Nation seat-sharing deal
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the Coalition had no plans to negotiate seat sharing with One Nation, amid reports that some Liberal MPs wanted a deal to keep their seats at the next election.
Leading Liberal candidate Tony Pasin has called on his party to negotiate with Pauline Hanson to ensure Liberal and One Nation candidates do not undermine each other’s votes and have a better chance of bringing down the Labor government.
But to talk ABC News Breakfast On Thursday morning, Taylor insisted the Liberal Party would not negotiate a seat with Hanson.
“There are no plans to split the seats. We will not do that,” the Liberal leader said.
“What we will do is focus on a Labor government that is taking this country in the wrong direction, with higher taxes, less housing, immigration out of line with our supply and a broken energy system, and that will be our focus. It will not be splitting seats.”
Liberal Senator James Paterson said on Thursday he was not interested in hitching his party’s wagon to the One Nation brand.
Paterson said his party had significant reservations about teaming up with One Nation so far before the election and that the Liberal Party’s priority should be to regain voters’ trust after last year’s worst election defeat in history.
“I’m not interested in sharing the spoils with another political party two years before the election and frankly tying our wagons to their brand despite all the risks between now and then,” Paterson told Radio National.
“Who knows their policies? I think the Liberal Party should focus on regaining the trust and support of our lost traditional voters before reaching an agreement with another party.”
He also said talks about preferences were “premature” and doubted One Nation’s ability to select suitable candidates after its history of controversial elections.
“Pauline Hanson has publicly stated that she is concerned that she has been infiltrated by extremists. Pauline Hanson is concerned about this. I think we should all be concerned about this.”
More to come
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Emily Kaine is a national news blogger for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
