One Nation Running ‘US-Style MAGA Politics’: Hastie

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has accused One Nation of importing “U.S.-style MAGA politics” into Australia as a fight divides conservative voters across Western Australia.

Hastie made the comments on Sept. 16, saying the national political tone had “taken a real dip” and become “quite personal.”

“MAGA politics have been run by One Nation, and I have decided to push back,” he said on ABC News Breakfast.

“We want to win the next election as the Coalition and it’s a three-cornered contest and the Liberal party should be striving to be number one on the ballot. That’s what I’ve been arguing for.”

MAGA, short for Make America Great Again, is the political movement associated with U.S. President Donald Trump and is generally associated with stricter immigration controls, economic nationalism, and hardline confrontation with political rivals and institutions.

Hastie’s comments come after One Nation’s Luke Herdegen won the Secret Harbour state by-election on Aug. 29. Secret Harbour is almost entirely within the federal electorate of Canning, which Hastie has represented since 2015.

The result has increased attention on the contest between Hastie and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

On Sep.9, Hastie publicly clashed with Hanson and One Nation over a satirical cartoon, posted to Hanson’s X account in July that allegedly depicted him as a “traitor.”

However, Hanson has denied personally calling Hastie a traitor.

“I’ve never called him a traitor,” she told a reporter from The Nightly on Sept. 8.

After the Secret Harbour result, Hanson said Hastie was concerned about losing his seat and warned that One Nation would not step aside.

“If he thinks he’s going to be saved, and that I won’t run a candidate in his seat, he’s wrong,” she told reporters after the election win.

One Nation’s Migration Policy

One Nation recently released a migration plan proposing to cut temporary visa holders by 750,000 places over three years and pursue net-negative migration. This policy includes a focus on reducing migration and illegal immigrants, an issue also central to Trump’s political platform.

“Australians are screaming out for mass migration to be cut because they are doing it tough. They can’t find a home, can’t get a hospital bed and spend every morning stuck in traffic,” Hanson said on X.

Hanson also pointed out that more than 150,000 Australians are homeless, living in cars, tents, or couch surfing.

“I’m listening to them, not economists who keep getting it wrong, bureaucrats, politicians, or big business chasing cheap labour.”

The Epoch Times has contacted One Nation for comment.