Is Andrew Hastie launching a Coalition fightback against One Nation? - podcast
Guardian AU
β’Tue, 15 Sep 2026 15:00:55 GMT
π° What Happened
Guardian Australia's Full Story podcast released an episode on 16 September 2026 in which host Reged Ahmad and political editor Tom McIlroy examine Andrew Hastie's public clash with Pauline Hanson over a One Nation video that called him a traitor. The episode frames the dispute as exposing deeper faultlines on the Australian political right as One Nation squeezes the Liberal vote. McIlroy and Ahmad ask whether the former SAS captain is becoming the face of a Liberal fightback against One Nation, and what the fight means for his own ambitions, including speculation about a future challenge to Angus Taylor for the Liberal leadership. The episode's related coverage notes Hastie accepted an apology from Barnaby Joyce over the cartoon while Hanson doubled down and told critics to 'chill', and that Tony Abbott said it would be right for One Nation to remove the cartoon.
π The Backstory
One Nation's improved polling has forced the Coalition into difficult decisions about preferences, messaging and how hard to attack a party that draws from a similar pool of voters. Andrew Hastie is a former special forces officer who entered parliament in 2015 and has built a profile on national security and internal party debate, while Angus Taylor leads the Liberals in opposition. The cartoon row sits inside a wider sequence of controversies involving One Nation, including Pauline Hanson's censures and a string of remarks about immigration, Indigenous Australians and other groups. Coalition figures have split over how aggressively to take on One Nation, with some arguing a fight is electorally necessary and others warning it risks splitting the right.
π― Why It Matters
How the Liberals choose to handle One Nation will shape preference deals, campaign messaging and the contest for seats on the centre-right, which in turn affects who can form government. Hastie's prominence in the fight matters because it feeds directly into leadership speculation about Angus Taylor's position, and because a harder line against One Nation is a choice other Liberal MPs will have to either back or distance themselves from. For voters, the episode is a guide to where the two parties actually differ versus where the dispute is about tactics. Further episodes are likely to track whether Hastie's approach sticks or fades.
Guardian Australia's Full Story podcast released an episode on 16 September 2026 in which host Reged Ahmad and political editor Tom McIlroy examine Andrew Hastie's public clash with Pauline Hanson over a One Nation video that called him a traitor. The episode frames the dispute as exposing deeper faultlines on the Australian political right as One Nation squeezes the Liberal vote. McIlroy and Ahmad ask whether the former SAS captain is becoming the face of a Liberal fightback against One Nation, and what the fight means for his own ambitions, including speculation about a future challenge to Angus Taylor for the Liberal leadership. The episode's related coverage notes Hastie accepted an apology from Barnaby Joyce over the cartoon while Hanson doubled down and told critics to 'chill', and that Tony Abbott said it would be right for One Nation to remove the cartoon.
One Nation's improved polling has forced the Coalition into difficult decisions about preferences, messaging and how hard to attack a party that draws from a similar pool of voters. Andrew Hastie is a former special forces officer who entered parliament in 2015 and has built a profile on national security and internal party debate, while Angus Taylor leads the Liberals in opposition. The cartoon row sits inside a wider sequence of controversies involving One Nation, including Pauline Hanson's censures and a string of remarks about immigration, Indigenous Australians and other groups. Coalition figures have split over how aggressively to take on One Nation, with some arguing a fight is electorally necessary and others warning it risks splitting the right.
How the Liberals choose to handle One Nation will shape preference deals, campaign messaging and the contest for seats on the centre-right, which in turn affects who can form government. Hastie's prominence in the fight matters because it feeds directly into leadership speculation about Angus Taylor's position, and because a harder line against One Nation is a choice other Liberal MPs will have to either back or distance themselves from. For voters, the episode is a guide to where the two parties actually differ versus where the dispute is about tactics. Further episodes are likely to track whether Hastie's approach sticks or fades.