At the weekend, former Liberal senator Hollie Hughes defected to Pauline Hanson's One Nation, along with former party vice-president Teena McQueen, a friend of mining billionaire and Hanson supporter Gina Rinehart. These high-profile departures underscore the deepening crisis within the Liberal Party, which is haemorrhaging members and support.
Exodus Reflects Broader Malaise
The defections come amid a broader exodus from the Liberal Party, with at least eight senior figures leaving, mirroring the turmoil in the UK Conservative Party. Former home secretary Suella Braverman and onetime leadership candidate Robert Jenrick have joined Nigel Farage's Reform UK, which is surging in the polls. Local members are also quitting, and Reform swept local government elections in the UK this month.
According to political editor Tom McIlroy, the exodus is expected to continue as the party flounders in the polls. The Liberal Party's ageing membership, dissatisfaction, and resentments are testing long-held loyalties and putting at risk local branch structures, volunteer firepower, and fundraising capacity.
McQueen and Hughes: Two High-Profile Defectors
Teena McQueen was an extreme figure within the Liberals, known for dining with Rinehart at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club and celebrating the defeat of moderate Liberal MPs at the hard-right CPAC Australia conference in 2022. Unable to win back a spot on the Liberal executive, she declared: "I'm 100% behind Pauline."
Hollie Hughes, a former assistant minister who quit after being dumped in a preselection dispute, blames opposition leader Angus Taylor for her departure. Both women will use their profiles to attack Taylor and add to the growing hype around Hanson.
One Nation's Rise Fuels Liberal Malaise
One Nation's latest rise is fuelling the malaise sapping the Liberal Party ahead of the next election. Taylor's party was never a real chance in the Farrer byelection, and recent polls show One Nation on a primary vote of 27%, ahead of the Coalition on 20%. Nine's Resolve monitor had One Nation on 24%, still ahead of the Coalition.
Like UK Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, Taylor's position is not guaranteed up to the election. Good news for Hanson remains bad news for Taylor, but there is a possible silver lining: if more far-right diehards like McQueen exit to join Hanson, the remaining Liberal loyalists might reorient their movement back to the centre.
Return to the Centre: The Only Way Forward?
Serious strategists like Labor's election mastermind Paul Erickson and Liberal operative turned pollster Tony Barry say a return to the centre is the only way the opposition can win again. To do that, the Liberals need the exodus of public support to turn back their way.
For his part, Taylor struck on a smart message when asked about the defections: anyone angry at Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers should join the Liberals, not One Nation. If he fails, Liberal officials might need to write their own political death notice sooner than we think.
