Nationals MPs defiant in face of One Nation threat
The coalition is reassessing its position in Australia’s political landscape after One Nation’s comprehensive victory in the Farrer by-election.
Some Nationals MPs fear their seats may be at risk from an ascendant One Nation after the populist partyâs thumping win in the Farrer by-election.
Pauline Hansonâs newest MP wonât 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 Farleyâs 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.
âIâd be silly to say Iâm just turning a blind eye to what happened on the weekend,â he said.
âThatâs not me anyway, Iâve always treated the seat as though itâs a marginal seat.â
You might like
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.
âIf youâre going to win â and continue to win â these elections, youâve got to be prepared to just drive yourself into the ground. Youâve got to show up. And dare I say, not everybody is willing to do that,â 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.
âThere are a lot of people who claimed they hadnât seen their local member for a while,â he said.
Stay informed, daily
âI know Sussan was very busy being the Liberal party leader. I know being a party leader takes a lot of your time up.â
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 âobviouslyâ 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.
âIâm absolutely sure itâs alive, itâs real,â Boyce said.
One Nation is also talking up its chances in outer suburban seats like Lindsay and McMahon in Sydneyâs 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 Nationâs surge â if replicated nationally â will likely draw parallels to the boost in support for Nigel Farageâs Reform UK party, which had more than 1400 candidates elected in Englandâs recent council elections.
Senator Hansonâs chief of staff James Ashby revealed Farage had reached out to congratulate One Nation on its by-election win.
âNigel reached out to Pauline after the weekend, congratulated her, so that was very nice of him,â he told Sky News.
âThereâs clearly some similarities.â
-with AAP
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.
