In the lead-up to this federal election, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Coalition had outsourced policy development to One Nation.

The Coalition has effectively copied or adopted a range of One Nation’s policies for this campaign—not that Peter Dutton would ever acknowledge it – and this gives us some assurance that if the Coalition gains government on 3 May, then some sensible policies will be implemented to make a real difference in reducing the cost of living.

It also shows that One Nation’s influence extends beyond the votes it commands in various Australian parliaments. Even Labor has copied our policy to freeze increases on the alcohol excise, although as usual it’s a very weak copy as it only applies to draught beer for two years. Ours applies to all alcohol subject to the excise. 

However, it’s the Coalition that is eagerly waiting on new policy announcements from One Nation so they can adopt them as their own. 

Last week they said they’d halve the fuel excise. One Nation announced this policy almost two months ago. It means giving up some revenue (One Nation has allowed for this by slashing spending elsewhere), but it will have a big impact on the cost of living and doing business. It doesn’t just save money for motorists, because nearly everything in Australia is moved on trucks, and cutting the cost of fuel means cutting the cost of everything that trucks carry. 

Supporting nuclear energy is another copied policy, although for the Coalition it comes from a very different place: net zero. One Nation doesn’t subscribe to this ridiculous fantasy or climate change ideology. We support nuclear energy because it’s a safe, reliable, and proven technology that provides abundant baseload power and because Australia has about 25% of the world’s proven uranium reserves. 

Peter Dutton has been saying recently that only the Australian flag should be our national flag. It’s a little suspicious considering the Coalition never opposed indigenous flags being designated as national flags. One Nation has been much more consistent—we’ve never supported indigenous flags having national flag status, and we opposed their display in the Senate. The Coalition did not. Perhaps they’re a little worried about their support drifting to One Nation? 

We have some hope that, based on Jacinta Price’s call for an audit, a Coalition government would finally introduce some real accountability for the fraud, corruption, and nepotism of the aboriginal industry that has failed to close the gaps. One Nation has wanted an audit for years, while the Coalition only really started talking about it during the referendum campaign in 2023. With the referendum exposing the industry’s horrendously expensive failure, now is the time to act. 

The Coalition wants a ban on foreigners owning residential property—for a limited time. One Nation has been calling for this ban since before the 2022 election, only we want it to be permanent. The Coalition wants people to be able to access their superannuation to help pay for their home, another copied One Nation policy. The major difference is that our policy leaves an individual’s super intact. 

We’re happy to continue to shine a light that guides the Coalition back to the truly conservative party it should be. They will stumble on this path. They will fall. They will continue to fear the barbs of the far left, wasting time and votes dodging them, but if they can sideline their more progressive elements and keep listening to conservative Australians supporting One Nation, they may yet find their way. 

Senator Hanson has said Peter Dutton will make a good Prime Minister – not that Anthony Albanese has set a high bar by any means—but this will only become true if he keeps to the conservative values Australians expect, if he refuses to cave to far-left fearmongering, and if he keeps adopting One Nation policies.