One Nation Farrer win: Fallout from election rocks the coalition but Nationals MPs stand strong

Some Nationals MPs fear their seats may be at risk from an ascendant One Nation after the populist party’s thumping win in the Farrer by-election.

Pauline Hanson’s newest MP won’t take his place in parliament for another few weeks while the Australian Electoral Commission finalises the count in the southern NSW seat, but the ramifications of David Farley’s victory are already being felt in the coalition.

Nationals MP Michael McCormack, whose electorate of Riverina neighbours Farrer, conceded One Nation could pose a threat to him at the next election.

“I’d be silly to say I’m just turning a blind eye to what happened on the weekend,” he told AAP.

“That’s not me anyway, I’ve always treated the seat as though it’s a marginal seat.”

Pointing to his record as a long-serving local member, the former deputy prime minister said his days often start at 5.30am and continue well into the night.

“If you’re going to win - and continue to win - these elections, you’ve got to be prepared to just drive yourself into the ground. You’ve got to show up. And, dare I say, not everybody is willing to do that,” Mr McCormack said.

He took a swipe at former opposition leader Sussan Ley, who held the seat for 25 years until her retirement from politics after being ousted by her colleagues in February.

“There are a lot of people who claimed they hadn’t seen their local member for a while,” he said.

“I know Sussan was very busy being the Liberal party leader. I know being a party leader takes a lot of your time up.”

After initially refusing to rule out joining One Nation, fellow National Colin Boyce on Monday said he was sticking with the regional party.

The Queensland MP, whose electorate includes Gladstone and some towns surrounding Rockhampton, said he was “obviously” concerned about the rise of One Nation and warned the party would find even less resistance in his area than it did in in Farrer.

“I’m absolutely sure it’s alive, it’s real,” Mr Boyce said.

One Nation is also talking up its chances in outer suburban seats like Lindsay and McMahon in Sydney’s west, but some analysts argue a higher number of multicultural voters could make it harder for the anti-immigration party to make inroads there.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce dismissed those claims, saying the cost of living and a lack of housing affected all Australians.

“Just because you might have more olive complexion doesn’t mean you live in a different nation,” he told Sky News on Monday.

“There is a huge opportunity.”

One Nation’s surge - if replicated nationally - will likely draw parallels to the boost in support for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which had more than 1400 candidates elected in England’s recent council elections.

Senator Hanson’s chief of staff James Ashby revealed Mr Farage had reached out to congratulate One Nation on its by-election win.

“Nigel reached out to Pauline after the weekend, congratulated her, so that was very nice of him,” he told Sky News.

“There’s clearly some similarities.”