The Liberal’s One Nation problem needs a solution

The problem with the Liberals putting Labor ahead of One Nation is it will justify fears of discontented conservatives that there’s not enough policy difference between the Coalition and Labor, writes Peta Credlin.

I’m all in favour of putting extremists last on mainstream parties’ how-to-vote cards but there’s a lot of competition for the party with the most objectionable policy positions; and, let’s face it, what’s “most objectionable” is a pretty subjective judgment.

Last week, there were escalating demands for the Liberals to put One Nation last, based on what an Al Jazeera sting claimed was their multimillion-dollar bid for funding from the American gun lobby, and Pauline Hanson’s strange musings on the Port Arthur massacre.

It was a calamity of errors and egos, all caught on film with the comments from Steve Dickson and James Ashby in particular, about watering down Australia’s gun laws to bring back military style weapons, without a doubt the most reprehensible.

MORE FROM PETA CREDLIN: PM must show us he’s listening on immigration

At first, PM Scott Morrison reserved his judgment on who would go where but, by week’s end, had succumbed to the pressure by declaring that the Liberals (though not necessarily the Nationals) would preference Labor ahead of One Nation.

Carefully, he didn’t say who would actually be last on the how-to-votes and I still live in hope that will be the Greens.

MORE FROM PETA CREDLIN: Greens plan would end Australia’s first world lifestyle

Now I get it, on some topics, the media are like a dog with a bone so it stands to reason that without some response, Morrison would have been besieged for weeks by One Nation preference questions. So he wanted to get it off the agenda.

Queensland Senator and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson flanked by party officials James Ashby and Steve Dickson. Picture: AAP/Dan Peled

Still, the problem with putting Labor ahead of One Nation is that it will justify the fears of discontented conservatives that there’s not enough policy difference between the Coalition and Labor, especially in a week when the government’s water plan included new pipelines but no new dams, and its energy plan was all about gas and pumped hydro but very little coal.

One Nation may have some “abhorrent” policies but using such morally loaded language about the party itself risks alienating the very voters that the Coalition needs to win back, at least through preferences.

With anywhere from 7-20 per cent of the primary vote in some seats, these voters are not “fringe-dwellers”. Unlike the Palmer party, which is all about one giant plutocratic ego, One Nation only exists because natural conservatives think the Liberal and National parties are too wishy-washy, or too close to Labor on a number of key issues such as half-hearted cap on migration (only a 2000 cut to permanent visas) and a weak response on coal.

Having created a vacuum under Turnbull that’s been filled by One Nation, the Liberal Party must understand that blaming Hanson is not the way to fix it. Instead, fix the vacuum.

Watch Peta Credlin on Sky News, weeknights from 6pm.