Tim Wilson refuses to rule out forming future minority government with One Nation
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The news: Opposition treasury spokesman Tim Wilson has defended the Liberals’ decision to preference One Nation in Farrer and refused to rule out forming a minority government with Pauline Hanson’s party in the future.
“What people want to see is change,” Wilson said. “One of the most consistent messages is people want somebody who’s going to fight for them and for their future”.
The context: On Saturday, One Nation won the by-election for former Liberal leader Sussan Ley’s seat of Farrer. One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson is now eyeing future wins in areas once considered safe Liberal and Nationals seats.
Both the Liberals and the Nationals preferenced One Nation’s David Farley above independent rival Michelle Milthorpe, with Liberal Leader Angus Taylor saying it was the “least worst” option.
Wilson defended the decision on ABC Insiders.
“It was the call that was made and ... I don’t think [changing it] would have made any difference,” he said.
But he also said there is “no point pretending” it didn’t have an effect.
“When you win seats it obviously gives them an opportunity and platform that also comes with risks,” Wilson said.
He then refused to rule out forming minority government with One Nation in the future, despite in previous years referring to them as “despicable” and “toxic”.
“My objective is to make sure that the Liberal Party is in a position to govern as strong as possible,” he said, before adding his objective is also to beat One Nation candidates.
Wilson said preference decisions would be “based on what obviously puts us in the best position to defeat the government, to be in a position to win seats”.
Asked about what the One Nation win means for the Liberal s, he said it “reflects ... the need for us to be bigger, better, bolder, confident Liberals defining the future of the country”.
He said it was important for the Liberals to “obviously outline what we’re opposed to, but most importantly we have to define what we’re for”.
When pressed on what this is, he listed “families, communities and small business and self-starters”.
Wilson was also asked about the upcoming federal budget due to be released on Tuesday. He declined to say whether he would vote against any proposed tax changes to capital gains taxes or negative gearing, saying he would “have a look at what the government’s going to put forward” before declaring a position.
“My position is clear ... we need to be having a tax system that’s orientated towards encouraging wealth creation, jobs and growth for the next generation of Australians,” he said.
He noted that so far commentary has indicated that changing negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts has not suggested it would help boost housing supply and “it’s very hard to see how you could back that”.
“It will come down to the detail of what the government’s putting forward,” he said, when asked specifically about tax changes relating to trusts.
More broadly, he said he wanted to see “inflationary offsets” for any cost-of-living support provided in the budget. “My view has always been that we need to reduce spending quite considerably,” he said.
What they said: ”The idea that the pendulum ... swings between Liberal and Labor is simply no longer right. There are different axes and it goes in all sorts of directions, including up and down, and we’ve got to be the party focused on building the future of the country and projecting out that vision and that sense of confidence,” Wilson said.
“We want people to love Australia, to be committed to Australia and, most importantly, to have economic pathways to be part of contributing to our success as a nation and then going on and building the future success of the nation.”
The source: ABC Insiders
