Australia’s leading opposition Liberal Party may have to work with a far-right, anti-Islamic party that defeated it in a “bloodbath” by-election, a senior government minister said Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One Nation, whose leader Pauline Hanson wants to slash immigration and has repeatedly made anti-Islamic remarks, won its first lower house federal election battle on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We are coming after those other seats,” Hanson vowed after the win. “You are not going to be the forgotten people any more.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One Nation’s David Farley took 39 percent of the vote in the rural New South Wales seat of Farrer, snatching the seat at a time of rising prices, unaffordable housing and concern over issues like immigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His nearest rival, an independent candidate, secured 28 percent of the vote while the conservative Liberal Party’s contender got 12 percent, and the rural-based National Party 10 percent, official results showed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This wasn’t a by-election — it was a bloodbath for the coalition,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers told Sky News Australia, referring to a Liberal-National party alliance that has governed Australia for much of the postwar period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What it shows is that the coalition can’t beat One Nation. They’ll have to join them. There’s no future coalition government, I think, without One Nation in it,” Chalmers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until the weekend, traditional conservative Liberal and National parties had held the seat of Farrer since 1949.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior Liberal Party lawmaker Tim Wilson refused to rule out forming a minority government with One Nation’s support in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“My objective is make sure that the Liberal Party is in a position to govern as strongly as possible,” he said when pressed on the possibility in an interview with national broadcaster ABC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Of course, we traditionally form a coalition with the National Party. But it is up to the Australian people to decide who they want to vote for.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stressed, however, that he wanted his party to defeat One Nation candidates in any election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deputy Liberal Party leader Jane Hume would not be drawn on the question of an alliance with One Nation, telling an interviewer that her party’s long-standing coalition with the National Party had served the country well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Talking about coalitions is very premature and probably irrelevant right now,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor Party did not contest the by-election, which it considered unwinnable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next general elections are expected to be held by May 2028, and the Labor Party has a significant lead in the opinion polls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Farrer by-election was triggered when former Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley — who held it for 25 years — resigned in February after being toppled as her party slumped in opinion polls behind One Nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Liberal Party under new leader Angus Taylor is still battling for second place with One Nation, which has surged in the polls since mid-2025 but has few parliamentary seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One Nation holds four senate seats and two in the lower house following the Farrer by-election victory, including one gained by a high-profile defection from the National Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking after his party’s defeat on Saturday, the Liberal Party leader called for cuts to immigration and attacked the country’s target of achieving net zero carbon emissions — similar lines to One Nation’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We need to take our medicine,” Taylor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Australia’s leading opposition Liberal Party may have to work with a far-right, anti-Islamic party that defeated it in a “bloodbath” by-election, a senior government minister said Sunday. One Nation, whose leader Pauline Hanson wants to slash immigration and has repeatedly made anti-Islamic remarks, won its first lower house federal election battle on Saturday. “We are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":255,"featured_media":88655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[8074,13694],"class_list":["post-88654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","tag-australia-3","tag-vote-2"],"yoast_head":"\n