‘We don’t want to be part of coalition with One Nation’: Senior Liberal MP Dan Tehan shuts door on conservative alliance

The Coalition’s manager of opposition business Dan Tehan has declared the party does not want to be part of an alliance with One Nation.

Mr Tehan made the comments during a tense ABC interview on Sunday in which he was pressed on whether he would support a post-election coalition involving One Nation.

“What I want to be part of is a Liberal Party and a National Party that, in coalition, runs this country again,” Mr Tehan said.

When asked directly whether he would consider any arrangement with One Nation, he said: “It’s a no.”

“We are a Coalition – Liberal Party, National Party – and it’s not even being talked about,” Mr Tehan said.

“We do not want to be part of a coalition with One Nation. We want to be part of a coalition with the Liberal Party and the National Party.”

The comments come amid deepening divisions within the Coalition over how to respond to One Nation’s rapid rise in the polls.

Recent modelling has suggested One Nation could win as many as 63 seats if an election were held today, while the Liberals could lose as many as 40 seats.

The latest Sky News / YouGov poll also found that 46 per cent of people who voted for the Coalition in 2025 would now vote for One Nation.

As Pauline Hanson surges in the polls, One Nation senators have been left baffled as to why Liberal and National MPs keep attacking them rather than Labor.

Liberal and Nationals MPs have repeatedly criticised One Nation, as disgruntled conservative voters turn from the Coalition to Pauline Hanson’s party.

In an exclusive interview with SkyNews.com.au, One Nation Senators Sean Bell and Tyron Whitten said the Coalition was focusing on the wrong political opponent.

Senators Bell and Whitten said the decline of the Coalition had been “sad” to watch.

“When Matt Canavan got anointed, I was sort of, you know, almost a little excited for them,” Mr Whitten said.

“Oh, they’re going to finally get our side of politics back together … But the first thing he did was attack us. I thought, what are you doing, man? The enemy is over there.

“It was like, ‘Wow, you are not going to win friends with that’. That is not what people want to hear at the moment.”

Senator Bell said that despite the Coalition’s attacks, One Nation remained focused on holding the Albanese government to account.

“We are so focused on the government, on the policies and the destruction the Labor government is doing,” Mr Bell said.

“We were there … and then suddenly we’re copping fire from the other side. Surely for the greater interest of the country, we could work on taking down Anthony Albanese.”

Mr Bell said that conservative parties should work together, but suggested the Liberal-National Coalition had its own internal turmoil.

“I always say it’s pretty simple. Conservative parties preference each other, Labor, Greens, Teals go last, everything else sorts itself out,” he said.

“Before the Coalition starts talking to us about working together, they should probably talk to themselves about working together.

“Because right now … it appears there’s a fair bit of division going on there. I think we’re just lucky that we’re working together as a strong united team.”