Coalition talking points make scant mention of One Nation

Coalition focuses fire on Labor, not One Nation, in daily talking points Wed 1 Jul 2026 at 5:08am In short: Coalition talking points make almost no direct mention of One Nation despite the minor party surging in the polls. The document obtained by the ABC instead focuses attacks on Labor and leaves senior Liberals to devise their own responses to direct questions about Pauline Hanson and her party. What's next? Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has emphasised discipline and unity to colleagues ahead of the winter break, admitting it will take 'hard work' to win back voters. Daily talking points distributed to senior Coalition MPs instruct them to say the party must "stay the course" in the face of dismal polling, but do not offer guidance on direct questions about One Nation. The strategic document commonly used to ensure the shadow ministry is presenting a consistent message to the public makes no reference to Pauline Hanson and only once names her resurgent minor party, according to the latest version obtained by the ABC. The seven pages of talking points provided to senior Liberals and Nationals on Tuesday instead focus on topics ranging from taxes and auction clearance rates, to polling and multiculturalism. In a lengthy section responding to polling showing Ms Hanson's party continues to outperform the Coalition, opposition frontbenchers are urged to tell the public they will turn the result around with more time. "We will do that in three ways: prove we are the only party that can deliver real, credible and competent change; be clear about what the Coalition stands for; expose the risks of both Labor and One Nation," the document said. Coalition MPs are also encouraged to argue Labor's minor improvement in two separate polls published on Monday was a result of the federal government having "conned" voters into believing It had "fully backflipped" on its tax plan. About six points in the polling section explicitly criticise Labor's tax plans and a similar number of lines relate to the Coalition's own policies as a contrast, but no further mention of Ms Hanson's party appears anywhere in the document. Senior Liberal sources told the ABC this strategy, if deployed consistently, would clearly differentiate the Coalition from both Labor and One Nation. The approach is markedly different from the direct attacks launched by frontbenchers like Liberals Andrew Hastie and Garth Hamilton, and Nationals leader senator Matt Canavan. Mr Hastie told his supporters last week if Ms Hanson was after "war" that was what she would get from him. The talking points instead urge senior Coalition members to "stay the course" and insist Australians have simply "not heard enough" about what the opposition has to offer. "We have a lot more work to do,"the document said. A Liberal source said previous versions of the shadow ministry daily talking points have at times included more direct lines about One Nation, including suggestions on how to rebut and contrast policies put forward by Ms Hanson when she spoke at the National Press Club last month. Liberals 'tiptoeing' around One Nation Redbridge director and former Liberal strategist Tony Barry said both Labor and the Coalition did not fully understand the "profile" of a One Nation voter. "They attribute various motivations to why they're currently supporting the insurgent party, but it's not particularly based on research so there's a lot of guesswork going on," he said. Mr Barry said because the Coalition did not understand what was animating One Nation voters, they were struggling to respond. "They're tiptoeing around it, which is why there's been no improvement in their vote share,"he said. "They're just drifting." Opposition Leader Angus Taylor used the final Coalition party room meeting before parliament breaks for the winter to highlight the importance of discipline to his colleagues. Mr Taylor argued Australians were angry and frustrated due to Labor's failings and "broken trust". In the context of One Nation's rise, he stressed the importance of focusing on the issues Australians were angry about by demonstrating a strong plan, conviction and unity. But Mr Taylor also acknowledged it would take "hard work" for the party to win back support. Call for Liberal rebrand rejected by senior figures Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh on Monday sparked backlash from her colleagues after suggesting the party needed a "rebrand". The idea was rejected by former prime minister and Liberal Party federal president Tony Abbott. "(it) would hardly be the Liberal Party if weren't (called) the Liberal Party," Mr Abbott told the Australian. Ms McIntosh then doubled down on Tuesday, acknowledging her statement was a "bit blunt" but insisting the party might need to do something about its "brand" if voters continued to turn away from the Liberals. But shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash said Australians did not want the Liberals to rebrand. "They want us to change the country that is actually going backwards," she told Nine. Coalition talking points expand on multicultural debate In a section headlined "multiculturalism and monoculture" Coalition MPs are urged to say they believe in an Australia where "everyone respects our laws, shares our values and contributes to the fabric of our country". The points also expand on Mr Taylor's comments last week that he does not support the "version" of multiculturalism that exists under the current government. "We reject Labor's multiculturalism which sees different people held to different standards because of their cultural background," the document said. "That is how we have ended up with antisemitic hatred on our streets, ugly protests on the Harbour Bridge, terrorist sympathisers back into our community and non-citizens accessing benefits that should be there for Australians." The Coalition talking points said the opposition does not judge people based on "where they come from". Liberals urged to target Labor on so-called 'widow tax' The talking points state the Coalition's "message of the day" for Tuesday was to highlight Labor's decision to vote for what has become known as a "widow tax". The government last week confirmed it would introduce further amendments to ensure its grandfathered changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax continue to apply in situations where a couple divorce or a spouse has died. In a section titled "what we stand against," there are multiple attacks on Labor for its tax policy and economic management, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is branded "incompetent, a fraud and liar". Other topics covered include the CFMEU, a new agreement between Australia and Vanuatu, the alleged murder of a Thai teenager, the bird flu outbreak and latest on the Iran conflict.