Angus Taylor says Liberals have no plan to join with One Nation as support for Pauline Hanson’s party climbs
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and other senior Liberals have poured water on a colleague's suggestion they should make a deal with Pauline Hanson.
The Liberal Party has no plan to “carve up seats” with One Nation to oust Labor from power, after a surge in support for Pauline Hanson’s party.
As alarm grows within the coalition over One Nation’s rise in the polls, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor rejected doing a deal with Senator Hanson on which seats they should avoid running competing candidates in, which could bolster the chance of a Labor defeat at the next federal election.
“No, there’s no plan to carve up seats. We won’t be doing that,” he told ABC News Breakfast on Thursday.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“What we will be doing is focusing on a Labor government that’s taking this country in the wrong direction with higher taxes, with less houses, with immigration that has not been in line with our housing supply, and with an energy system that is broken.’‘
Mr Taylor’s comments come after The Australian reported Liberal frontbencher Tony Pasin has urged his party to discuss working with One Nation to avoid competing against each other.
Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson also rebuffed Mr Pasin’s proposal.
“I am not interested in dividing the spoils with another political party two years out from the election, and frankly, hitching our wagon to their brand with all the risks that that entails between now and then,” he told ABC radio.
“Who knows what policies One Nation is going to come out with between now and then? Who knows what candidates they’re going to endorse?
“The Liberal Party needs to focus on earning back the trust and support of our traditional voters who we’ve lost, before we contemplate any arrangement with any other party.”
Mr Taylor has previously left the door open to preferencing One Nation, although his party remains split on that option.
One Nation has become Australia’s most popular political party in the country in the latest polling, while the coalition trails well behind in third place.
Labor is portraying the right-wing party as one of grievance rather than solutions.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government will “deal with them” by delivering real change for Australians.
“I’ve sat in the Senate and watched Pauline Hanson vote with the Liberal Party over and over,” she told ABC radio.
“I don’t think the policies that she puts forward are good for the country, and it’s very clear to me that she’s working with Angus Taylor and the Liberal Party in support of that side of politics.”
