Overview
- Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan said the party is not discussing a coalition with One Nation and that he wants to remain focused on the Liberal–National partnership.
- Tehan and other senior Liberals have publicly distanced themselves from migration remarks made by party president Tony Abbott in London, saying migration policy is set by the party room.
- Opposition leader Angus Taylor has ruled out carving up seats with One Nation but has left open the narrower option of preference deals that could affect outcomes at the ballot box.
- One Nation’s recent rise in national polling has heightened the chance that preference flows, not a formal coalition, could deliver the party influence in individual seats under Australia’s preferential voting system.
- The dispute sharpens internal Coalition tensions over migration messaging and leaves voters to watch seat-level preference agreements and local campaigning during the mid‑winter break.