Nationals’ leader Matt Canavan could face One Nation showdown after ending speculation on Capricornia tilt
Nationals’ leader Matt Canavan has officially announced his tilt for the lower house —ending long speculation he is vying to take the central Queensland seat of Capricornia.
Nationals’ leader Matt Canavan has officially announced his tilt for the lower house —ending long speculation he is vying to take the central Queensland seat of Capricornia.
His bid for the lower house in the wake of current Nationals MP Michelle Landry’s retirement could place him in a showdown with Pauline Hanson’s chief fixer James Ashby as One Nation eyes the seat.
“The issue is we need to keep this seat to change the government, and I want us to continue to deliver for Central Queensland,” Senator Canavan told the Courier Mail on Monday.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“I don’t think you’ll be surprised by this announcement but I’m not going to die wondering. I may very well die politically, but I’m not going to die wondering. I’ll give it my all.”
In late October Ms Landry formally announced her retirement in Rockhampton alongside Senator Canavan but denied she or anyone in Coalition had pressured her to call stumps on her political career.
Senator Canavan holds the second spot on the Coalition’s state Senate ticket, behind Liberal James McGrath, meaning he risks losing his seat if One Nation does well in the upper house at the 2028 election.
The Queensland senator, who lives in Yeppoon, rose to the top job in March after former leader David Littleproud stepped down.
One Nation — previously considered a minor party — is surging drastically in the polls and could conceivably outpoll the LNP, relegating them to one Senate seat in the Sunshine State.
Pauline Hanson’s party announced it would open a branch in Yeppoon late last year to “help shape the future of One Nation in the region”, its website reads.
Speaking to The Nightly, Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie reframed a potential fight with One Nation as a chance to give Australians a genuine choice but said the Nationals must perform at its best.
“We’re in a competitive political environment. That’s a good thing for Australians to have choice,” she told The Nightly.
“It’s beholden on the National Party to be the very, very best we can be.
“And I think if you look at the facts, the National Party has not lost a seat since 2007 election. That’s the facts.
“Our political brand, the way we represent, is hyper local, hyper connected into our communities, and our voters respect that relationship.
“And I think that type of brand of politics is exactly what broader Australia is desperate for.”
She said Senator Canavan has embodied that hyper local message.
“He’s lived in the region. He’s raised raising his five children in in that area. He’s been a great support to Michelle Landry, who is just such a champion,” she said.
