A confident Pauline Hanson is pushing the Liberal and Nationals leaders towards a deal to oust Labor in two years’ time, as One Nation rides high on a landmark by-election win.
After ripping one of the Coalition’s safest seats out of Liberal and Nationals hands for the first time in 77 years, the One Nation leader says she will form a minority government should the numbers fall that way in 2028.
“If they (Coalition) get the numbers and they require our numbers to give them government, then I will give them supply and confidence,” Senator Hanson told The Australian on Monday.
“I don’t want a ministerial position because that means they will be able to shut me down, dictate to me, and I have to pass bad legislation, support them on it. I’m not going to do that.
“But I also want to know, if we get more members than what they do, and we require their numbers (to form government), will they give me the same deal? We don’t know what the future holds. The people are angry. The people have had enough.”
After One Nation’s best election result anywhere in the country for 30 years at the South Australian election in March, on Saturday the populist party won a federal lower house seat for the first time.
Senator Hanson told The Australian it was premature to sit down and formally iron out a general power-sharing deal with the Coalition.
“We can do that closer to the election. There’s not going to be an election on for another two years and hopefully we’ll be able to work together with the Coalition government in Victoria and in NSW up to the (federal) election.”
Anthony Albanese this week accused the Liberal and Nationals parties of “legitimising” One Nation by preferencing Senator Hanson’s party in the Farrer by-election.
Looking forward, the Prime Minister foreshadowed the Coalition may have their hands forced by One Nation.
“What is very clear now is that the chances of the Liberal Party and National Party being a part of a government just by themselves don’t look pretty, don’t look likely, to say the least,” Mr Albanese told 4CA Cairns radio.
“The fact they’re talking openly about effectively a three-party government down the track, I think people know how unstable a Liberal, National, One Nation government would be.”
