West Australian Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas is open to the working with One Nation ahead of the next state election, and believes ignoring the Pauline Hanson-led party would be ignoring the will of the people.
Speaking as the guest of honour at Monday’s Leadership Matters breakfast at Crown Perth, Zempilas acknowledged One Nation’s upward surge following recent poll results showing the party had overtaken the federal government in popularity.
A Newspoll published on Monday was the third major poll in a row, following surveys from YouGov and Redbridge last week, that showed One Nation just above Labor on first-preference votes.
Zempilas told the audience at Crown it would be impossible to speak and not acknowledge the recent polls, and that, as a “rising political force”, One Nation deserved respect.
“If their support holds, inevitably it will be people in my position’s job to find a way to work with or alongside One Nation,” he said.
“That will be important, and it’s something that at this stage, almost three years away from our next state election, I have an open mind about.”
Zempilas said the recent polls showed there was a level of frustration with the current state of politics within Australia.
“What you cannot deny and what you cannot ignore is that currently 30 per cent of the Australian – and likely West Australian – population are suggesting they could or would vote for One Nation,” he said.
“In our position, you have to consider everything that is in front of you, and there’s a very significant movement towards One Nation in this state and around Australia.
“So, our job is to see how we can work with that phenomenon, whether it’s alongside it, next to it, or around it, to achieve what ostensibly is the same goal, and that is to remove a tired Labor government.”
Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti was quick to label Zempilas’ comments as a sign of desperation from the Liberal leader.
“This is Basil, about saving Basil, and his commitment to join with One Nation in election campaigns again shows a level of desperation and making sure that Basil’s top priority is Basil,” she said.
“I mean, Zak Kirkup waited for a week before the election to give up, and for Basil Zempilas to be considering a deal [with One Nation] three years out from the election shows how desperate he is to try and gain power.”
Saffioti added that it was important to differentiate between people who supported One Nation and the party itself, but was firm in her belief that the party broadcast racist messages.
“I think some of their comments, in particular, are about dividing the community,” she said.
“I think we’re going to differentiate people that support them to some of the statements they make.
“I’m saying they do say things that are very racist. I’ll say that, but there are a number of reasons why people go to One Nation, and they may not agree on all their views, and we understand that.”
Zempilas would not be drawn on how the WA Liberal party would potentially work with One Nation in the future, declining to say whether it would be vote preferences or a new kind of coalition.
“There are lots of things that I have seen and heard from One Nation that I wouldn’t say or be involved in, but what I note, and as the leader of a major political party here in Western Australia, I note that there are lots of people suggesting they could or would support One Nation, so my job is to look at the possibilities and to keep an open mind,” he said.
“As I said, this doesn’t guarantee a position from us, but I’m not closing the door on anything either.”
As the guest speaker at the event, Zempilas also outlined several key commitments the state Liberal party would pursue as election policies, including addressing the state’s Sunday trading laws; overturning the Labor government’s uranium mining ban; “gold standard” transparency on the money spent to bring major events to WA; establishing a parliamentary budget office to cost election commitments; and introduce legislation to create better lighting on trains to make level crossings safer.
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