Liberal backbencher Jane Hume insists her party is capable of going it alone after Pauline Hanson floated the idea of working with either of the traditional Coalition partners, and while reconciliation talks with the Nationals stall.
“Pauline might be getting a little bit ahead of herself here – we’re two years out from an election, and at this stage, One Nation has only one member of the House of Representatives. I think the Liberal Party can govern on its own merits too,” Hume told Sunrise.
Hume attributed One Nation’s rise to “grievance politics”, which she said she understood as inflation persists and the cost of living continues to be a challenge for Australians.
“People are rightly aggrieved, and that’s why they’re talking about One Nation. But come the election, I want to make sure that it’s the Liberal Party that are presenting those incredible and genuine alternatives,” she said.
Repeatedly asked whether going it alone also meant without the National Party, Hume said: “We’re talking to our Coalition partner – our former Coalition partner – because let’s face it, we’re better in Coalition with the National Party, but the Liberal Party can do this on its own. Do not, do not be under any illusions that we can’t.”
The Liberal Party holds 28 seats in the House to Labor’s 94.
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