One Nation leader Pauline Hanson told Brisbane’s Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday that conservative voters should abandon the Coalition at the ballot box—then promised her party would still help the Liberals and Nationals remove Anthony Albanese’s government if the numbers require it.
Hanson’s pitch to the right
Addressing a spin-off of the U.S. and U.K. CPAC forums, Senator Hanson described Opposition Leader Angus Taylor as a “smarmy management consultant” and blamed the Liberal Party for committing Australia to Paris Agreement targets and the safeguard mechanism that Labor later legislated.
“The Liberals signed us up to Paris and net zero,” she said. “They signed us up to this mess, so why would we trust them to get us out of it?”
Hanson pledged a royal commission into net zero policy if One Nation wins power, and repeated her promise to abolish the eSafety Commissioner, arguing the office has chilled online speech. Her harshest language was reserved for Labor, which she called “wretched and corrupt,” but the speech’s political novelty was the dual message: reject the Coalition, yet cooperate to end Labor’s term.
Taylor’s CPAC appearance
Taylor became the first sitting Coalition leader to address the annual conference, following appearances by figures such as Tony Abbott and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. He made only one apparent reference to Hanson’s personal dominance of One Nation, telling the crowd that “good government isn’t built around one figure” and that teams matter.
He opened by acknowledging “mistakes” in past Coalition governments, citing immigration settings, pandemic spending and the decision to adopt net zero. “We made the mistake as a government of signing up to net zero,” Taylor said. “Your frustrations about where we let you down in the recent past are understandable and reasonable.”
Like Hanson, he directed his strongest attacks at Labor, saying Australians were being left “poorer, weaker, and demoralised.” He did not engage directly with One Nation’s policy slate.
Supply, confidence and grudges
Hanson’s headline line for broadcasters was explicit: “One Nation will work with the Liberals and Nationals to remove this horrible Labor government and deliver something better.” She later told reporters the offer covered supply and confidence only—not a coalition cabinet share.
“We will give them the numbers if they need it to form government,” she said, adding she would prefer One Nation hold the balance of power and receive Coalition support in return. She referenced her 2003 electoral-fraud conviction, later quashed, under the Howard government, but said she would put “personal grievances aside” for younger relatives’ futures.
Nationals leader Matt Canavan struck a similar unity note in a later session, urging the room to “put the Labor Party last” despite differences among right-leaning groups.
What it means before the election
CPAC’s Brisbane program shows how the conservative movement is negotiating fault lines before the next federal contest. Hanson is trying to peel primary votes from the Coalition while keeping a parliamentary escape hatch; Taylor is courting the same activists without endorsing One Nation’s institutional demolition agenda.
Neither side spelled out how climate or communications policy would be reconciled in a hung parliament. For now, Hanson’s Saturday commitment is procedural—numbers to change government—not a shared platform. Whether that distinction survives campaign pressure will test both parties as polling tightens.