Maverick frontbencher Andrew Hastie is sparking leadership speculation for the Liberal Party. Photo: Andrew Hastie Facebook.
This week in federal politics has ended just as badly for the Coalition as the previous few, with Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s authority under threat from another freewheeling frontbencher.
Shadow Home Affairs Minister Andrew Hastie is doing his best to undermine Ms Ley with controversial social media commentary over net zero, housing, manufacturing and Australia’s immigration intake.
Mr Hastie, who is not shy about his own ambitions to one day lead the Liberal Party, has even blasted some colleagues as “nameless cowards” and “muppets” for anonymously briefing the media against his approach.
It follows the recent sacking of Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from Ms Ley’s frontbench over her comment on immigration and for not supporting the leader.
Last week, Mr Hastie threatened to quit the front bench if the Coalition didn’t dump its commitment to the net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 goal.
Senator Nampijinpa Price has this week been publicly endorsing Mr Hastie’s commentary and touting him as a future Coalition leader.
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan has also praised Mr Hastie’s approach, but insists he still supports Ms Ley’s leadership.
Mr Hastie is also downplaying speculation he is preparing to challenge the leader, saying that he is just being “bolder” than his colleagues in discussing policy issues.
“Look, I support Sussan. Anyone who’s speculating otherwise is being mischievous,” he said during a 2GB radio interview on Thursday (25 September).
“As I said, I’m still on the team, I’m a team player. I’m just being a little bolder in some of the policy positions that I think we should adopt.
“I think, unless we get our act together, we’re going to be potentially in further decline and perhaps one day extinct.”
It is his commentary on immigration, however, that has attracted the biggest reaction this week, with even Liberal Party stalwarts publicly joining in to shoot the shadow minister down over his divisive remarks.
Mr Hastie wrote on Instagram that Australians were “starting to feel like strangers in our own home” and to expect “anger and frustration” if something isn’t done about it.
“In the last two years, we’ve added nearly a million extra people to our population,” he said.
“Australians are feeling the impact of Labor’s immigration policy.”
Immigration Minister Tony Burke hit back, pointing out that net overseas migration is down more than 40 per cent.
The minister described Mr Hastie’s conviction as “cosplay” unless he can name the specific visa classes he wants to slash.
“Modern Australia must be strange to a Liberal Party that stubbornly refuses to enter the 21st century,” Mr Burke said.
Former Liberal Party minister Arthur Sinodinos accused Mr Hastie of creating disquiet inside the party and focusing on “culture wars” instead of good policy.
But it is former Liberal Party immigration minister Amanda Vanstone who had the harshest criticisms for Mr Hasties.
“He could be a better team player than he’s displaying at the moment,” Ms Vanstone told 7.30.
“I can understand the frustration when a party goes a way you don’t want it to go, but it’s not your party.
“You don’t own it … It’s owned, in a sense, by the people who vote for it, not you. You are not the star of the show.
“Your job is to convince the people in your party room of the merit of the course of action you wanted.
“If you can’t convince them, why do you think you should be able to go and blab to the public at large?
“I’ve seen quite a few leadership aspirants over my time, and my own experience was that myself and other colleagues were never impressed with people who went out and shot their mouths off. Quite a few leadership aspirants over my time let ego get the better of them.”
Ms Vanstone also had a response to Mr Hastie’s “strangers in their own country” remark.
“I don’t feel that. I don’t feel a stranger in my own country at all,” she said.
“I know that we’re an immigration country. I didn’t need to have the immigration job to learn that.
“Unless you’re a full-blood Indigenous Australian, and there are precious few of them left, you’ve got migrant blood in your veins.
“So we are an immigration country. People who want to rail against it are railing against the core, the essence of who we are.
Meanwhile, Ms Ley has so far this week publicly remained silent on Mr Hastie’s outbursts.
