Australian news and politics live: Labor react to One Nation poll surge, Hanson’s record defended

Barnaby Joyce has jumped in to defend Pauline Hanson as criticism over her attendance in Parliament is questioned.

On Monday, The Australian reported Hanson has missed 88 per cent of Senate estimates.

“I think it is really important that people understand that the committees are chaired by Labor or the Coalition,” Mr Joyce told Sunrise.

He said time was “gobbled up by the Government giving talking points”.

Mr Joyce said Australians would understand that Senator Hanson was invited to multiple events as the leader of One Nation, something that would also keep her away.

Over the weekend, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott was elected unopposed as the Liberal Party’s new Federal president.

Speaking in light of that Redbridge polling showing One Nation is now the most popular political party, he says his presence in the senior role will demonstrate to people that the Liberals are serious about abolishing climate action, cutting “mass migration” and scrapping taxes.

“My government was actually very good at that, and my presence, I think, is an indicator that the Liberal Party hasn’t forgotten how to be a very, very good government,” he tells Radio National.

However, Mr Abbott says he doesn’t expect to be in the media every day, amid some concerns he might overshadow the actual Opposition Leader, Angus Taylor.

He says it is “absolutely not” a relaunch of his political career, which was cut short when community independent Zali Steggall won his seat of Warringah.

“My job as the incoming Liberal Party president will be to try to ensure that the organisation is in place – the members, the candidates, the funding – to make Angus Taylor the prime minister,” he says.

Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson described an assessment that the Liberals might be a minor party in waiting as “cute” when he faced questions over the latest polling.

His explanation for why people are not turning to the Coalition after abandoning Labor over the poorly received is that “there’s a chunk of voters who just go into the orange paddock of despair because there’s a lot of noise and attention there”.

“I don’t think the voters aren’t listening, I just think the space is highly contested these days. You’ve got to build out the channels of how you want to communicate to people as much as the message,” he told Radio National.

“Part of our challenge is to make sure that we’ve got ways to connect with people where they are, and particularly to speak to key constituencies.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has launched a political broadside against the Coalition, accusing it of planning a half-trillion-dollar hit to the Budget bottom line.

Labor has found itself under increasing pressure in recent weeks over its decision to wind back tax concessions for investments in property, shares and trusts.

But costings released by Dr Chalmers show repealing the changes - as the Coalition has promised - would cost the Federal Budget tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue.

The Opposition’s policies would cost a total of $544.4 billion over the next nine years, according to the analysis.

That includes $212 billion in lost revenue from indexing income taxes, $43.1 billion from repealing the CGT and negative gearing reforms, $44.2 billion from scrapping the new tax on trusts, $93.5 billion on increased defence spending and $50 billion from slashing Australia’s migrant intake.

While the Coalition would make some savings from scrapping various measures, including a tax discount on electric vehicles and a key housing fund, the Government’s figures suggest it would not come close to offsetting the extra spending.

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One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce, who defected from the Nationals to join Pauline Hanson, says that the party has not changed, Australians have.

“People are suffering from the cost of living,” Mr Joyce told Sunrise, something he claimed has come from Labor’s environmental laws.

He said Labor was all “talking points” and “no work”.

“The debt, under both governments, keeps going through the rough. We don’t get a sense that either government (Labor or the Coalition) is ready or prepared to protect us.

“It’s not One Nation that has changed, it is the Australian public that has changed.”

A Redbridge poll has put One Nation as the most popular party in Australia, now ahead of Labor.

Reacting to the major surge, which has followed weeks of a meteoric rise for One Nation, Tanya Plibersek says, “of course”, Labor cares, but is not driven by the latest result.

“Of course, we are interested in polls, but they don’t drive us,” she told Sunrise on Monday morning.

Ms Plibersek said Labor cared about the pressures Australians were under, adding: “We are all about reducing that pressure.”

“Higher wages, lower taxes and a way better health system,” she said, attempting to pitch why Labor was better for Australians.

“If Pauline Hanson wants to be prime minister, it is time for One Nation to start talking about how they would deliver some of these things.

“Just yesterday… Pauline Hanson said Australians are paid too much and should be easier to sack.”