One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has responded to Opposition leader Angus Taylor’s claims that an “eternity of pain” will follow if her party is elected to government.
Across several polls, the conservative-leaning One Nation has experienced a surge of support from the Australian public, largely at the expense of the centre-right Liberal-National Coalition.
In response, Liberal Party and National MPs have attempted to claw back support as voters shift away amid frustrations with the party’s long-standing attempt to balance its right and moderate wings.
“One Nation claims to offer a way out of our national malaise,” Taylor said in an address to the Sydney Institute on July 9 that strongly criticised One Nation’s offering.
“In reality, they would only make things worse.”
“Deep down, their true instincts are toward big government interventionism,” he claimed.
“But with even less of a concern than Labor about how to make the numbers add up.”
Taylor also claimed One Nation’s policies, which include raising defence spending, scrutinising welfare systems, and cutting the Climate Change Department, would contribute to “deeper cuts” to essential services, like Medicare.
“If unfunded, these promises would generate a surge in inflation requiring the RBA to raise interest rates by around 3 percentage points to neutralise their effect.
“That would add around $20,000 a year in interest to the average new mortgage, and that’s on top of the $30,000 a year Labor has already lumped mortgages holders with.
“Our national debt, already nearing $1 trillion, would be on track to nearly triple.”
In a response on July 10, Hanson said the Coalition had been copying One Nation’s ideas.
Hanson said One Nation would scrap net zero and pull out of the Paris Agreement on One Nation’s very first day in office, if elected.
“Angus Taylor doesn’t have the conviction or courage—or the support in his own party—to get out of Paris,” she said.
Hanson called on Taylor to focus on competing with Labor and the Greens.
“That’s the real fight before us, booting Anthony Albanese. Angus Taylor should sign up to that fight.”
The latest Roy Morgan poll found support for Labor at 28 percent with One Nation falling 3.5 points to 22.5 percent, while the Coalition remained on 21.5 percent of the primary vote.
“The complicated nature of the next federal election means there will be contests between the ALP [Labor] and One Nation, the ALP and LNP [Liberal National Party] Coalition, One Nation and the LNP Coalition, and any three of these parties against the Greens, Teal independents, and other minor parties such as Katter’s Australian Party (KAP),” the research noted.
