Hanson ‘sells out’ Qld Nationals, Senators claim

Queensland Nationals are grappling with how to take on the threat from One Nation, and some advocate extreme action.

SENIOR Nationals plan to use attack ads against Pauline Hanson in central Queensland, as the party tries to prevent a repeat of the regional rout it recorded in the NSW election.

The party is drafting ads accusing Senator Hanson of favouring NSW over Queensland after she backed an 80-year-old plan to turn rivers inland.

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In a dramatic shift to the kid-glove approach to Senator Hanson taken by most Nationals, Resources Minister Matt Canavan lashed out at Senator Hanson and accused her of dudding Queenslanders in a bid to get former Labor leader Mark Latham elected as her representative in the NSW parliament.

Pauline Hanson will no longer be handled with kid gloves by the Nationals. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Senator Canavan said the One Nation leader’s support for the Bradfield Scheme, which proposes using water from Queensland to drought-proof southern states, showed she did not stick up for her home state.

“Pauline Hanson wants to present herself as a Queenslander, but this is one of the most anti-Queensland policies I’ve seen in a long time,” Senator Canavan said.

“The idea of taking our water from north Queensland to help out cockroaches in NSW makes no sense to me at all.”

Queensland Nationals are already mocking up State of Origin-style ads portraying Senator Hanson as a NSW supporter, The Courier-Mail has learned.

But opinion is split in the party over whether to use these in an online attack campaign or to emblazon them on billboards in central Queensland seats such as Capricornia and Flynn.

Senator Matt Canavan.

The move comes as the Liberal National Party grapples with how to counter the threat posed by One Nation, including whether to swap preferences with the right-wing party in regional seats where Senator Hanson has higher support.

Some LNP strategists fear taking on Senator Hanson will only increase her appeal among disgruntled voters who want to lodge a protest.

But others fear the LNP could bleed votes to the minor party and possibly lose seats, similar to a voter backlash against the Nationals in last Saturday’s NSW election.

The Bradfield Scheme is supported by former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and independent Bob Katter but ridiculed by others in the party.

Critics say the plan to transport water thousands of kilometres using a massive network of dams and canals would be prohibitively expensive and would see large amounts of water lost through evaporation.

Senator Hanson took aim at the Nationals for opposing the plan.

“Drought in this country isn’t limited to Queensland and I find it disappointing that the Nationals and all other parties don’t have the foresight that John Bradfield had in the 1930s to follow through drought-proofing Australia,” she said.

“As a federal leader in this country, it’s my obligation to offer solutions beyond my home state of Queensland.”

Senator Canavan said Senator Hanson’s support for the scheme was similar to her advocacy for Western Australia to receive a GST boost at the cost of other states.

“It’s another case of Pauline trying to be all things to all people,” he said.

“When she is in NSW and Mark Latham is trying to get into the Senate, she is saying we can bring more water from Queensland.

“I’d like to see Pauline come up to the Purple Pub in Normanton and explain to them why she wants to take their water down to Moree.”

Senator Canavan said he had clashed with Mr Joyce over his support for the scheme and told him to “butt out of Queensland”.