Nationals out, One Nation in – A new Liberal Coalition partner rises

It is clear that, as the leader of a soulless bunch of leftovers mourning lost political glory, Angus Taylor and the Liberals are bereft of ideas on how to move this country forward, writes Darren Crawford.

LESS THAN 24 HOURS AFTER Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party were handed the federal seat of Farrer by the Liberal and National Parties for the first time in 87 years, Shadow Treasurer and Liberal Member for Goldstein, Tim Wilson, refused to answer as to whether the Liberal Party would be open to dumping the National Party and forming a new coalition with One Nation.

Appearing on the ABC’s Insiders program, host David Speers asked Wilson if the Liberal Party would be open to enlisting One Nation as a coalition party moving forward to form government.

Wilson refused to rule out the possibility that the Liberal Party would drop the National Party as coalition partners, and said his sole focus was on ensuring he personally held the Albanese Government to account over multiple issues.

Speers, holding ground, pointed out that Wilson had previously referred to One Nation as being “despicable and toxic” and therefore how could he be willing to form a future minority government with One Nation?

Wilson’s response was noncommittal, aside from saying that it is up to the Australian people to decide whom to vote for.

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Gina Rinehart’s One Nation

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (maybe it needs a rebrand to Gina Rinehart’s One Nation) currently has momentum, thanks mostly to its billionaire donor, Ms Rinehart and her army of bots and fake social media pages playing to her links to U.S. President Donald Trump's online, Far-Right podcasters, and the constant fawning of both Seven and Nine Media outlets and News Corp.

However, the path to real parliamentary power can only come through improved internal structures and better candidate vetting, particularly in urban seats, rather than solely through populist social media outbursts rooted in Trumpism.

This was never more apparent than on the day before the by-election, when One Nation Chief of Staff James Ashby physically removed a female ABC Rural and Regional journalist from a One Nation press conference for no discernible reason.

Footage captured just after the incident showed that Hanson was unaware of the decision to remove the journalist and was not happy about it.

Similarly, the candidate who won the seat for One Nation, David Farley, was a member of the NSW National Party before becoming involved with the Labor Party, and then at the 2023 election, donated to the Voices of Farrer campaign and supported the Independent Michelle Milthorpe (whom he ultimately beat in the 2026 by-election).

While One Nation might be doing well online, they are still a mess behind the scenes; however, from the outside looking in, they appear to be functioning marginally better than the Coalition.

By preferencing One Nation in the Farrer by-election, the Liberal and National parties effectively handed One Nation the seat without so much as a whimper.

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In less than twelve months, the National Party have had former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce jump ship to One Nation, while the Liberal Party dumped their female leader Sussan Ley, in favour of Angus Taylor. The Nationals appointed Senator Matt Canavan as leader, who has done little publicly other than to deny climate change and oppose the emerging renewable energy industry.

The Liberals, under Taylor, have achieved relatively less, other than to tacitly approve every anti-immigrant, pro-Trump culture war that Hanson has thrown up as public discourse, and back Hanson’s call to send Australian soldiers into Trump’s war in Iran. Opposing mass-immigration and dumping net-zero are key One Nation policies now shared by the Liberal National coalition.

Traditional Liberal idealism lost to racism and populism

By preferencing One Nation in Farrer, Angus Taylor has officially approved Liberal members to actively vote for One Nation in all elections moving forward.

Similarly, by refusing to deny that the Liberal Party could dump the Nationals for One Nation as their coalition partner, Tim Wilson has said the quiet part out loud on Insiders.

It is clear that, as the leader of a soulless bunch of leftovers mourning lost political glory, Angus Taylor and the Liberal Party leadership are bereft of ideas (and talent) on how to move this country forward in testing global political times — and bring voters along with them.

The Liberals are willing to dump the National Party and openly embrace the racist, climate-denialist xenophobia of Pauline Hanson, and the cultist Trumpism of Gina Rinehart as coalition partners, just to regain power.

It is becoming clear that Australian Conservatives will sell their souls to anyone to gain or maintain power - just look at the Republican Party and their relationship with Trump in the USA, and how that is working out.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation as a junior party in a Liberal Coalition government is not that far-fetched, or apparently that far off. Just don’t ask Tim or Angus.

Darren Crawford is a surfer, environmentalist, sports coach/administrator and academic. He is also vice president of Save Our Spit Alliance. You can follow Darren on Twitter @Darrencanplay.