{"id":511434,"date":"2026-03-01T08:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T08:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/511434\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T08:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T08:51:15","slug":"taylor-opens-door-to-one-nation-deal-but-wong-will-test-him-on-hanson-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/511434\/","title":{"rendered":"Taylor opens door to One Nation deal \u2013 but Wong will test him on Hanson first"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Paul<\/p>\n

Updated March 1, 2026 \u2014 5:46pm,first published 3:47pm<\/p>\n

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Foreign Minister Penny Wong will pressure Angus Taylor\u2019s Liberal Party to take a stand against Pauline Hanson\u2019s controversial remarks about Muslims, as the opposition leader opens the door to a preference deal with One Nation in an upcoming byelection.<\/p>\n

In an interview with this masthead just over two weeks after becoming leader, Taylor said his party could take on the surging populist force<\/a> by speaking about Australian values and cultural issues at the same time as offering compelling economic policies that One Nation could not match.<\/p>\n

\"OppositionOpposition Leader Angus Taylor meets members of the Assyrian community in NSW last week.Sitthixay Ditthavong<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what the Liberal Party can offer that is unique. I don\u2019t think the Labor Party can offer that. I don\u2019t think One Nation can offer that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRestoring our standard of living, protecting our way of life, and celebrating our great nation is not fringe at all. I think it\u2019s mainstream. I don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s left or right, as my good friend and deputy leader Jane Hume says, it\u2019s moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor\u2019s stance towards One Nation and its attitudes on Muslim migrants will face an early test this week when Wong moves a Senate motion to censure Hanson for her statement a fortnight ago<\/a> that there were no \u201cgood\u201d Muslims.<\/p>\n

The widely condemned intervention sparked a debate<\/a> about Hanson\u2019s fitness to lead a major party and created splits in One Nation, whose highest-profile recruit, Barnaby Joyce, declined to back Hanson\u2019s view.<\/p>\n

\"ForeignForeign Minister Penny Wong.Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n

Hanson, whose positions on migration have drawn more attention since the Islamic State-inspired Bondi massacre of Jews, has also created awkwardness for the Coalition as it tries to claw back support from One Nation without drawing criticism for using racist rhetoric.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralians expect their elected representatives to set the standard for our country and show basic respect for all Australians,\u201d Wong told this masthead on Sunday ahead of a debate on the Senate motion on Monday.<\/p>\n

The Labor motion will affirm that Australia has \u201cbeen built by the hard work, sacrifice and aspiration of people of every race and faith\u201d, call on senators to avoid divisive commentary, and censure Hanson for \u201ccomments seeking to vilify Muslim Australians\u201d.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Farrer<\/a><\/p>\n

Ellie Whiteaker, a first-term Labor senator from Western Australia, made clear Labor\u2019s intent to wedge the opposition and test its willingness to publicly rebuke One Nation, which has overtaken the Coalition or drawn level in many polls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the Liberals are racing to outflank Pauline Hanson on the far right but how low will they go?\u201d Whiteaker said.<\/p>\n

Right-wing Nationals senator Matt Canavan was quick to condemn Hanson<\/a> for her remarks earlier this month, while Hume labelled them abhorrent. Hanson was censured and suspended by the major parties in November for her burqa stunt.<\/p>\n

Taylor, meanwhile, has expressed disagreement with Hanson but used softer language than Canavan and Hume as he tries to welcome conservatives flirting with One Nation back into the Coalition tent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve made clear that there are [positions] that Pauline and One Nation have taken that I absolutely don\u2019t agree with,\u201d Taylor said in the interview on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"OneOne Nation leader Pauline Hanson.Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019ll always show respect to voters who are considering voting One Nation and I\u2019m going to work hard to win them back.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Nation is seen as a genuine contender to win the up-coming by-election in Farrer<\/a>, vacated by former Liberal leader Sussan Ley.<\/p>\n

The by-election is shaping as a messy four-way fight with an independent and a Nationals candidates in the field, making preferences more important.<\/p>\n

Asked repeatedly if the Liberal Party might ask voters to direct preferences to One Nation ahead of Labor and a left-wing independent, Taylor did not rule out the prospect.<\/p>\n

Frontbencher Andrew Hastie said on Sky News\u2019 Sunday Agenda that he was happy to put One Nation ahead of Labor.<\/p>\n

John Howard famously decided to place One Nation last on Liberal preference tickets in 2001, but in recent years he has supported Liberal-One Nation deals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been no decision made around preferences. What I will say is to people who are thinking of voting One Nation: I will show respect,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cOur job is to convince them that the Liberal Party is back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor said the Farrer by-election would be a tough battle, days after Ley put the heat on Taylor to retain the seat in her resignation statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew that from the start,\u201d he said. \u201cYou had a popular local member who has left suddenly, obviously, in circumstances none of us would have chosen if we could have avoided. But it\u2019s the reality that the party room was ready for change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"PaulPaul Sakkal<\/a> is chief political correspondent. He previously covered Victorian politics and has won Walkley and Quill awards. Reach him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated March 1, 2026 \u2014 5:46pm,first published 3:47pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511435,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-511434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}