Insider stirs pot about Andrew Hastie's political future as leadership hopeful's 'Toadfish from Neighbours' attack on Pauline Hanson sparks chatter

By DANIEL PIOTROWSKI, DEPUTY EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 02:11, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 02:12, 2 July 2026 Andrew Hastie could abandon the Liberal party in a 'devastating' blow to the Opposition if he feels he's receiving lacklustre support from his colleagues, a political insider has suggested.  Hastie, long touted as a future leader of the struggling party, told his colleagues at a party room meeting last month that he would not 'bend the knee' to Pauline Hanson's One Nation.  Meanwhile, some of the former SAS captain's colleagues have suggested the Liberals should consider doing a deal with the surging minor party, which is neck-and-neck with Labor in a series of polls published this week.  One Nation has personally targeted Hastie - with chief strategist James Ashby announcing that the party will target his seat of Canning at the next election.  Hastie also copped criticism for testifying against Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith during his defamation case against Nine newspapers. Threats against Hastie have prompted a security upgrade at his family home and office.  Niki Savva - a columnist, author and former longtime staffer to former treasurer Peter Costello - wrote in her occasional column for Nine newspapers on Thursday that Hastie's stances have 'undoubtedly cost him support internally, to the point where if he feels abandoned by the Liberal Party in this fight to the death, he will abandon the Liberal Party. 'The departure of (Liberal frontbencher) Senator Jonno Duniam for family reasons was bad enough; the departure of Hastie would be devastating.' However, Hastie has also been trailing his coat as a possible successor to Angus Taylor, the Daily Mail's political editor Peter van Onselen said. The Coalition is wallowing in the polls, with its primary vote stalled at just 17 per cent in a Newspoll survey released on Monday.  Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie has long been touted as a leadership hopeful as the party plunges to new depths in the polls Columnist and political insider Niki Savva suggested Hastie would 'abandon' the Liberals if they 'abandoned' him van Onselen wrote: 'Andrew Hastie delivered the Tom Hughes Oration in Sydney at the beginning of last week... It was ostensibly a speech about artificial intelligence, sovereignty and the future of Australia.  'Whether Hastie admits it or not, it was also his first public pitch to replace Angus Taylor as Liberal leader.' van Onselen noted that Hastie, the shadow minister for industry and sovereign capability, mounted an argument about national independence, energy abundance, Australia's strategic vulnerability and the collapse of education standards. 'It was ambitious, had scale, and was unmistakably a new leadership manifesto,' he wrote.  'And it landed at a moment when the Liberal Party is desperate for someone to look like they know where the country is going and how to manage it.' Taylor's inability to lift the party in the polls has renewed leadership rumblings in the party.  Hastie sparked headlines on Monday for mocking Hanson's call for a 'monoculture' in Australia in an ABC interview. It was notable given Taylor left Liberals dumbfounded last week when he repeatedly refused to say whether he supported multiculturalism in Australia. Hastie said: 'Let's take monoculture, for example. How do you police that? Do we want government more involved in our lives, policing who fits into Pauline Hanson's definition of Australian culture and who doesn't?  'How do you do that? Particularly with Australia looking very differently to what it was 40 years ago. 'She mentioned Norman Gunston and Paul Hogan. Well, that's a throwback to the 80s.  'Are we going to watch reruns of Neighbours with Toadfish and Harold Bishop?'  Pauline Hanson sparked debate with her call for Australia to be a 'monoculture' during a landmark address to the National Press Club last month Ryan Moloney as Toadfish on Neighbours with Madeleine West, who played Dee The Canning MP sent supporters the following email on June 26 after his comments to the party room were reported publicly: 'There's been plenty of commentary this week about my remarks on One  Nation. Rather than rely on headlines, I want you to hear directly from me. Pauline Hanson and James Ashby have made it clear on the public record that they’re targeting me in Canning. But they haven’t just targeted my seat. They’ve run a relentless campaign of personal attacks against me online. It's become serious enough that security at my home and electorate office needs to be upgraded. I explained this to the Joint Party Room this week in Parliament, and my comments were briefed to the media. Yes, I said I’d never surrender to One Nation. And yes, I said that they’d have to take me out in a box before that happens. Here are four takeaways for you: 1. One Nation has declared war on me, so they shall have war. I won’t be pushed around by One Nation. Nor will I bow the knee to them. This is now personal, and they will have to blast me out of Canning. 2. All this talk of preferences from some people in the Liberal Party is premature. It signals weakness. We should only act from a position of strength. If One Nation really wants to make peace, then come to the table. But it will be on our terms. 3. There's plenty of fight left in us. We're firing up for the biggest battle since Sir Robert Menzies formed the Liberal Party in 1944. I believe the Liberals can defeat Labor to win government, take back control of Australia, and build our nation into a respected regional power. 4. But if One Nation wants to meet us on the battlefield, then so be it. They should heed Sun Tzu’s wisdom to never press a determined foe. Two years is a long time in politics, and One Nation will be closely scrutinised. The real enemy isn’t me. It’s Labor. And here’s the irony: while One Nation is targeting me, Labor is targeting you. If One Nation were serious about defeating Labor, they'd be in Parliament helping us stop Labor's new taxes instead of attacking Coalition MPs. A case in point: Barnaby Joyce - one of the key architects of Australia’s disastrous Net Zero policy - didn’t turn up to Parliament to fight Labor’s new taxes. Instead, he was off on a frolic in London. One Nation are a rudderless super-yacht trying to navigate a dynamic world. Meanwhile, the Liberals are gathering strength, and we will do what we must to defeat Labor. We're working hard to get ready for the long campaign ahead. What is our policy? End mass migration. Unlock our energy abundance by dumping Net Zero. Cut taxes for millions of Australians. Prepare for the AI revolution. Strengthen Australia’s security. What is our aim? Defeat the Albanese government, and form a centre-right government that delivers our reform agenda for the Australian people. We aren’t just preparing to fight - we're preparing to win.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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