Bending the knee: Why Andrew Hastie is set to abandon the Liberal Party

July 2, 2026 — 5:00am

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Pauline Hanson’s dip in the polls came about because a few voters parked with her in protest stopped hyperventilating long enough about how rotten Australia is to ask themselves one question: would they be better off if Hanson was running the show?

The only logical response was one word. No. They realised after her appearance at the National Press Club that Hanson is definitely not the messiah, only a very, very, naughty girl.

However, for most of her supporters, the deeper question remains. Do they care? The answer is probably not, and largely thanks to a crushingly ineffectual official opposition.

The combination of arrogance and ignorance displayed by Hanson at the club and her subsequent ludicrous attempts to clean up should have demolished the fantasy that after 30 years of grasping and griping, bigotry and outright racism, One Nation was fit to govern.

The performance did stall her rise and revive the government, yet unsurprisingly – according to the Redbridge and Newspoll surveys – One Nation continues to threaten to obliterate the Coalition.

As a result, Angus Taylor’s leadership hangs by a thread. Without dramatic changes, including a concerted corporate effort to cut down One Nation, he invites rebellion or defections or both.

Taylor’s obvious replacement, Andrew Hastie, a conservative who can be both cerebral and cut-through, has pledged to destroy Hanson before she destroys him. Hastie’s rationale is that Liberals have to fight on all fronts. If they can’t convince voters they can stand up to Hanson, they will never convince them they can........

© The Sydney Morning Herald