‘Lying cowards’: Andrew Hastie steps up attacks on One Nation

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie has branded One Nation’s leader Pauline Hanson and former Coalition colleague Barnaby Joyce “lying cowards” after they denied calling him a traitor.

In a blistering interview with News24 on Wednesday afternoon, Hastie declared he was putting his career on the line to fight the ascendant populist party after lying low while subjected to an online hate campaign.

“I was quiet for quite some months as all this was going on, but I’m drawing a line under it, and I’m locked in,” he said.

The federal police recently provided Hastie with upgraded security at his home and office over threats to his safety over his testimony for the defence in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case against this masthead.

The Liberal frontbencher sent out a newsletter to his supporters on Tuesday that claimed the minor party had “picked a fight with the wrong veteran” after labelling him a traitor for testifying in the Roberts-Smith case.

Hastie told the Federal Court in 2022 that it was a “fairly well-established rumour” that Roberts-Smith had kicked a person under the control of Australian troops off a cliff in Afghanistan, and had a reputation as a bully among the ranks.

He defended his testimony and accused One Nation of exploiting anger over the war crimes charges Roberts-Smith is now contesting.

“Swearing an oath as a Christian before God, I did that. I took that very seriously, as did other witnesses as well. And there’s a legal proceeding underfoot, and they have politicised that to the detriment of everyone involved, including Ben Roberts-Smith. How are we ever going to have a fair trial with this sort of politicisation of an issue so central to who we are as a country?”

Hanson denied calling him a traitor but told The Nightly that she “will call him a wanker”.

On Wednesday, the former SAS captain pointed to the minor party’s Please Explain cartoon, an episode of which is pinned to the top of leader Pauline Hanson’s account on X.

“It’s still there, and in that cartoon, I’m called a ‘traitor’ eight times, along with ‘gutless maggot’ – that I don’t really care about. But when you start calling me a traitor to my own country, then we have a big, big problem,” Hastie said.

“It’s a slur on me. It’s a slur on other veterans who have given under oath evidence to federal court, and I’m calling on Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce to either own this, don’t be weak, don’t be cowards, own it, and explain why I’m a traitor and why other veterans are traitors, or delete it.”

Hastie said he stood with Australians “who believe in the rule of law, who believe that Australian soldiers should be held to high standards of battlefield conduct”, contrasting with Hanson and Joyce “who never ever served a day in our uniform overseas on operations”.

“They don’t get to define Anzac Day or Anzac or the values that underpin our defence force.”

Joyce said he had never called Hastie a traitor “nor ventured anywhere close to any such statement about him. In fact, I have never said a bad word about him”.

He said Hanson had told him she had also not used the term.

“This is now apparent as a fact, she hasn’t. There has now come to my attention a satirical cartoon that made the claim. I had not seen it nor was I aware of it,” Joyce said.

Hanson’s office was contacted for comment.

Hastie’s decision to hit back is not the first time he has criticised One Nation, which will target his seat at the next federal election. But it is notable because the MP’s criticism of the rival right-wing party contrasts with the approach of some in the Coalition.

Earlier this year, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor rejected South Australian right-winger Tony Pasin’s proposal that the Coalition and One Nation divvy up seats to defeat the Labor government. The argument still has some sway in Coalition ranks.

Taylor has described One Nation as unfit to govern, but typically takes a more low-key approach to criticising One Nation than Hastie and other Liberals such as Queenslander Garth Hamilton.

Asked at a doorstop if he had leadership ambitions, Hastie said: “The leader right now is Angus Taylor. I support him. I consider him a good, close friend, and my actions speak for me.”

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