Liberal Party, Nationals split over where to preference One Nation
Queensland LNP to follow Scott Morrison and put Labor above One Nation on how-to-vote cards, but Nationals refuse.
The state executive of Queensland’s Liberal National Party has voted to support the prime minister’s edict for Liberal MPs and candidates to put One Nation below Labor on how-to-vote cards.
But the powerful body of the LNP, which is officially a division of the federal Liberal Party, has agreed to excuse the Nationals in the battleground state from immediately following suit after its federal leader Michael McCormack today said preference decisions will be made closer to the election.
“State executive met today and unanimously resolved to accept the prime minister’s recommendations and also noted the comments of the deputy PM.’’
Coalition split on One Nation preferences
The Nationals have split from the Liberal Party on One Nation preferences, with Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack refusing to follow Scott Morrison and put Labor above the minor party on how-to-vote cards.
The Nationals leader told The Australian preferences would be decided at a state and local level, leaving it to his MPs and state divisions to choose where they place Pauline Hanson’s candidates.
“When it comes to preferences, as is the case with every election, the Nationals are a grassroots party and decisions are made at a state and local level,” Mr McCormack said.
“These decisions will be made closer to election day when all the candidates are known.”
PM warns of Greens ‘threat’
Scott Morrison today announced the Liberal Party would put One Nation below Labor on Liberal Party how-to-vote cards, but would not commit to putting them below the “serious threat” of the Greens.
The Prime Minister spoke to Liberal Party officials last night after revelations Pauline Hanson was caught on tape questioning the facts of the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.
Mr Morrison said he waited to see One Nation’s reaction to an Al-Jazeera investigation that two of its officials sought $20m from the US gun lobby but was “disappointed”.
“I’m disappointed and I find the response to the action of those One Nation officials unsatisfactory. There have been further revelations overnight also which have led me to the position this morning having consulted with the party organisation,” he said in Perth.
“I have been in touch directly with them today and overnight, because ultimately this is a decision for the party organisation, but my recommendation to them which they’re accepting is that One Nation will be put below the Labor Party at the next election by the Liberal Party.”
Mr Morrison said he was primarily moving to put One Nation below Labor to protect Australia’s gun laws and said he had talked about the issue to John Howard, who made similar moves in the 1998 election.
“This is a decision which is based on our strong view about the sanctity of Australia’s gun laws and to ensure that at no stage that those things should ever be put at risk.
“And it’s very important, having been the party that introduced those laws, that we ensure that they are forever protected and there can be in compromise when it comes to those issues or any trading on the issue of those gun laws.”
Mr Morrison would not say if he would put One Nation below the Greens and labelled the latter “a serious danger to Australia”.
“There’s a lot of competition for who you put last from a lot of these parties. Frankly, I always found the Greens to be a real serious danger to Australia,” he said.
“I’m not going to equate the Greens with one of the mainstream parties in this country, which is the Labor Party, the Liberal Party or the National Party. So I think we have made our position very clear on that.”
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus said today Mr Morrison must make a clear directive to the Nationals, especially in Queensland, not to reward Senator Hanson’s party.
“To every single member — including Michelle Landry and Keith Pitt and Ken O’Dowd and the other Queensland Coalition MPs who suggest they like One Nation — he needs to make clear that they are not going to be putting One Nation second,” Mr Dreyfus said.
‘Leave pass’ on One Nation
Bill Shorten dismissed Mr Morrison’s preference moves today and said “secret preference deals” with One Nation would still occur unless all the parties of the Coalition put the “conspiracy theorists and conmen” in One Nation last.
“I’m deeply concerned the LNP in Queensland and the Nationals appear to have been given a leave pass by their Prime Minister to keep doing secret preference deals with One Nation,” he tweeted.
“This is sneaky. He can’t bring himself to put One Nation last because he wants their preferences if he can get away with it.
“These are government members and Coalition candidates and the Prime Minister needs to pull them into line. You can’t pretend to stand up for middle Australia while your government colleagues are swapping preferences with conspiracy theorists and con men.”
I’m deeply concerned the LNP in Queensland and the Nationals appear to have been given a leave pass by their Prime Minister to keep doing secret preference deals with One Nation.
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) March 28, 2019
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