We were on the sauce when we asked for donations: Ashby

The PM says One Nation’s attempts to obtain $20m from NRA is a “pretty good reason” not to vote for Pauline Hanson.

Scott Morrison says One Nation’s attempts to obtain $20m from America’s gun lobby is a “pretty good reason” not to vote for Pauline Hanson and used the revelations to pitch to her voters.

“There are many reasons not to vote for One Nation. It’s a long list. We’ve seen some of those on display in recent times. Today we saw further evidence of that,” he said in Brisbane.

“Our gun laws that John Howard put in place under a Liberal National Government have been keeping Australians safe for decades and how dare they seek to trade those for money and boats from a foreign buyer. That’s not on. I won’t put up with it.

“I separate One Nation voters from the One Nation party. I know that people who have voted for One Nation in the past have done so because of frustrations on a whole range of issues, issues that do trouble Australians … The answer is not One Nation.

“I say to the people of Australia who have voted One Nation and are contemplating voting One Nation at the next election, good Australians, inviting them to vote for a party of Government ha can deliver on the issues that concern you.”

Mr Morrison also said he was “not interested” in One Nation’s preferences because he was committed to taking primary votes away from Senator Hanson.

“I’m not running to run second, or third or fourth,” he said.

“I’m in this race as the Prime Minister to be re-elected and the way you seek to do that in this country is to not squabble over preferences. We saw that with the Labor Party in New South Wales in the Shooters and Fishers Party on the weekend.”

Put them last: O’Dwyer

Earlier, Cabinet minister Kelly O’Dwyer, who is retiring from her inner-city Melbourne seat, called on the Liberals to put One Nation last on how-to-vote cards.

While the Jobs Minister says she “can’t see any reason” her party would put One Nation above Labor and the Greens, departing WA frontbencher Michael Keenan has labelled the Greens “more dangerous in many ways that One Nation.”

Ms O’Dwyer’s intervention showcases the split in the Coalition between rural and regional MPs facing strong One Nation support in their seats, and its inner-city members facing increasingly aggressive campaigns from Labor and independents.

“I can’t see any reason why One Nation wouldn’t be preferenced last, but obviously that is a matter for the party organisation,” Ms O’Dwyer said in Melbourne today.

“I would expect in my seat of Higgins that One Nation would be put last.

“Most people would be pretty horrified at the thought that a political party in this country was seeking foreign donations to change our gun laws which have kept so many Australians safe.”

The Jobs Minister will retire at the next election but her replacement as Liberal candidate for the Victorian seat of Higgins, local doctor Katie Allen, is facing a battle with both Labor and the Greens in the traditional blue-ribbon seat.

Put them below Labor: Bishop

Former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has said the Coalition should preference One Nation below Labor, adding to the moderate voices calling for such a directive to be issued to the Liberal Party this election.

“I believe that the Liberal Party must take into account the types of parties the types of parties that are going to run in this election,” she said.

“So the question is not if you put One Nation last the question is whether you put one nation below Labor and in my view that should happen.”

This morning, Mr Morrison labelled One Nation’s attempts to secure $20m in donations from America’s gun lobby “deeply concerning”, as multiple ministers continued to shy away from questions on whether the government should preference Pauline Hanson’s party last.

“Reports that senior One Nation officials courted foreign political donations from the US gun lobby to influence our elections & undermine our gun laws that keep us safe are deeply concerning,” the Prime Minister tweeted.

“Australia’s gun laws are world’s best thanks to John Howard & we will not be changing them. Thankfully our Gov has also made laws to criminalise taking foreign political donations so foreign lobbyists cannot seek to influence our politics. It took a Coalition Gov to do both.”

Reports that senior One Nation officials courted foreign political donations from the US gun lobby to influence our elections & undermine our gun laws that keep us safe are deeply concerning.

— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) March 25, 2019

Bill Shorten called One Nation’s attempts to secure NRA funds a “betrayal to the Australian political system” and said the Prime Minister had “no choice” but to put the party last.

“It was a betrayal of the Australian political system, what are these right-wing extremists thinking?” the Opposition Leader said in Sydney.

“At one level it will be inconvenient (for Mr Morrison) and half your party in Queensland wants to cosy up to One Nation and perhaps in other places.

“But after that video, sometimes you don’t have choices in politics. There’s the right thing to do and you just have to do it. He should simply say they should put One Nation last.”

Bill Shorten responded by demanding the Liberals put One Nation last on their how-to-vote cards.

“Don’t just tweet your concern @ScottMorrisonMP. Show leadership and put One Nation and parties like them last. That’s what I’m doing. What else do you need before you do the right thing?,” he tweeted today.

Outgoing Human Services Minister Michael Keenan took a different approach from Ms O’Dwyer, saying the Greens were “more dangerous” than Senator Hanson’s party.

“The Greens are more dangerous than One Nation in many ways. They would close down whole sections of the economy,” he told Sky News.

“They are very dangerous people in their ideology and, of course, they hold more seats than One Nation … they have effectively in coalition with Labor.

“One Nation, I can’t see any circumstances they would be brought into the government in the way the Greens have been by the Labor Party.”

The debate came after an Al-Jazeera investigation filmed Pauline Hanson’s chief of staff James Ashby and the party’s Queensland state leader Steve Dickson in both America and Australia plotting to use the NRA to boost their donations and water down gun laws.

Both National and Liberal frontbenchers said this morning that Scott Morrison has refused to make deals with One Nation, but preferences were a matter for state parties.

Multiple Nationals MPs have come out this week saying the Greens should be put last on Nationals how-to-vote cards and country MP Ken O’Dowd said yesterday he wanted to put One Nation second on his preferences.

Regional services minister Bridget McKenzie said Victorian and Queensland preference tickets would “look different” and the Greens were the biggest threat to the National’s electorates.

“When we look at wanting to our local communities and what actually matters to them, we need to reflect on what our communities and industries are saying to us,” she told Sky News.

“The greatest risk to our local economies, to local jobs are the Greens. We’re not unequivocal about that.”

However Senator McKenzie, a gun owner and sports minister, said the NRA gun culture was not something she wanted to see flourish in Australia.

“The NRA and the type of behaviour they want to see rolled out across countries around the world is not fit for purpose for our nation … We’ve got the balance right,” she told Sky News.

“It is an important part of who we are, shooting and hunting … particularly those of us who live in the regions, so we don’t want to denigrate that.

“The American system is nowhere near where the Australian culture around firearm regulations is.”

Senator McKenzie said Mr Ashby and Mr Dickson’s attempts to secure NRA donations was “outrageous.”

“It’s absolutely outrageous and really says a lot about that party themselves and how they choose to conduct themselves,” she said.

.@senbmckenzie: It is an important part of who we are, shooting and hunting, particularly those of us who live in the regions but we don't want to shift to the US system where firearm culture is nowhere near what we have in Australia.

MORE: https://t.co/nEXlnbJYJ2 #AMagenda pic.twitter.com/clZ3KRyEp9

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) March 25, 2019

She added that refusal to put One National last “doesn’t mean we condone racism. You can walk gum and chew (sic) at the time. When it comes to deciding to preferences there will be several parties and people at the bottom.

“You can take it from me that in Victoria, it will look different to Queensland.”

Last week, the Prime Minister refused to brand One Nation leader Pauline Hanson a racist as Labor ramped up its attack against the Prime Minister’s refusal to commit to putting the far-right party last in its election voting preferences.

Mr Morrison said One Nation did not share Liberal values, and he disagreed with Senator Hanson on the need for a non-discriminatory immigration policy, but would not call her policies racist.

Outgoing Jobs Minister Kelly O’Dwyer said she “can’t see any reason” why her party would not put One Nation last on their election how-to-vote cards.

“I can’t see any reason why One Nation wouldn’t be preferenced last, but obviously that is a matter for the party organisation,” she said in Melbourne.

“I would expect in my seat of Higgins that One Nation would be put last.

“Most people would be pretty horrified at the thought that a political party in this country was seeking foreign donations to change our gun laws which have kept so many Australians safe.”

Ms O’Dwyer will retire at the next election and her replacement as Higgins’ Liberal candidate, local doctor Katie Allen, is facing a battle with both Labor and the Greens in the traditional blue-ribbon seat.

Attorney-General Christian Porter said today there was a “real question to be asked” if One Nation breached any Australian laws in seeking money from the NRA.

“I’m sure that that question will be thoroughly considered and investigated, I’m not

investigating it, but I think that there is a real question that needs to be answered here,” he told ABC News.

Mr Porter would also not state if One Nation should be put last on Liberal tickets, and that he would want to be supporters of far-right senator Fraser Anning last.

“I have a marginal electorate. One Nation will likely run there. I think that the sensible time at

which to make a decision as to which can date we’d like to see last is after nominations when you know who all of the candidates are,” he told ABC News.

“It’s not inconceivable. If a Fraser Anning type of person was in my seat, that is the person that I would like to see put last.”