{"id":63629,"date":"2026-08-02T23:47:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T23:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/63629\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T23:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T23:47:16","slug":"pauline-hanson-taps-ex-morrison-aide-chris-taylor-as-chief-of-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/63629\/","title":{"rendered":"Pauline Hanson taps ex-Morrison aide Chris Taylor as chief of staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former top aide to former prime minister Scott Morrison has been tapped by Pauline Hanson to replace James Ashby <\/a>as her chief of staff after the One Nation svengali claimed a new role as party director with oversight across all national operations and elections.<\/p>\n

Veteran policy adviser Chris Taylor, who served as Mr Morrison\u2019s general counsel and senior staffer <\/a>during the pandemic years, was recruited by the One Nation leader in recent weeks to free up Mr Ashby from day-to-day parliamentary duties and disclosure rules relating to political staffers.<\/p>\n

Mr Taylor, well-regarded in business and political circles after most recently working under Anna Bligh and Simon Birmingham as the Australian Banking Association\u2019s chief of policy, will run Senator Hanson\u2019s office and finalise One Nation\u2019s policy agenda<\/a> ahead of the next federal election, due by May 2028.<\/p>\n

The Australian understands Mr Ashby, who is updating his pilot\u2019s licence to fly the five-seater plane donated to One Nation by billionaire backer Gina Rinehart, will continue to wield influence across the party and travel frequently with Senator Hanson. <\/p>\n

While Mr Ashby will ramp-up One Nation\u2019s campaign infrastructure, advertising and digital operations, unlike ALP national secretary Paul Erickson and Liberal Party federal director Lincoln Folo the Queenslander will maintain a strong media presence.<\/p>\n

One Nation, which is seeking to capitalise on rising support in the polls, has recruited donors, staffers and campaigners previously aligned with the Coalition. <\/p>\n

More high-profile appointments are expected in the coming months.<\/p>\n

The recruitment of Mr Taylor is intended to signal that Senator Hanson and Mr Ashby are committed to strengthening One \u00adNation\u2019s credibility ahead of the next election.<\/p>\n

Mr Taylor, an economic conservative with 25 years of experience working as a lawyer in Australia and the US, advised Mr Morrison during the pandemic years and ahead of the 2022 election on national policy including industrial relations, legislative and regulatory matters. <\/p>\n

He has also worked on election campaigns and in senior private sector roles.<\/p>\n

Mr Ashby\u2019s elevation as party tsar comes ahead of the Secret Harbour by-election in Western Australia later this month, the Victorian state election in Nov\u00adember and the NSW state election in March. <\/p>\n

Senior One Nation figures increasingly believe Anthony Albanese could call an early election, potentially any time from August next year to early 2028.<\/p>\n

Mr Taylor, who commenced his role with Senator Hanson on Monday, said he had spent his \u00adcareer \u201ctaking on difficult problems across government, business and politics\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI refuse to believe our country\u2019s best days are behind it. Australians need someone who will stand up for them and help them get ahead. That is exactly what Pauline Hanson and her team are doing, and I\u2019m looking forward to being part of it,\u201d Mr Taylor said.<\/p>\n

Senator Hanson, whose party\u2019s primary vote in Newspoll has surged to 30 per cent, said she was focused on \u201cbuilding the strongest team One Nation has ever had, because Australians are asking more of us than ever \u00adbefore\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe major parties have stopped listening to regular Australians. Australians are looking for an alternative, and One \u00adNation is ready to stand up for them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why I am travelling the country asking Australians what is holding back their families, their businesses and their communities. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe intend to take what they tell us into our policy agenda for the next federal election.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 72-year-old said Mr Ashby, her chief-of-staff and top adviser since 2015, had built \u201can extraordinary campaign operation with me, including the success of Fire the Liar\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want him doing that work full-time, working with our campaign teams, strengthening our organisation and taking our message directly to Australians through the elections ahead so we can give Australians a voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Mr Taylor, she said: \u201cChris brings experience across campaigns, public policy and law at the highest levels of government and business, and I\u2019m delighted to have him join our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Ashby, whom political insiders believe will run for office at the next federal election, said the party director role gave him more time to listen to voters, recruit strong local candidates and sell One Nation\u2019s message directly to Australians. <\/p>\n

One Nation has historically had issues with vetting candidates and keeping successful candidates inside the party tent.<\/p>\n

Mr Ashby said: \u201cPauline has now given me one job: get out on the road and make sure Australians who have been ignored by the major parties are heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe major parties have enormous political machines behind them,\u201d Mr Ashby said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have Australians who are ready to stand up and fight for a better country. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know which side of this fight I would rather be on.\u201d <\/p>\n

Senator Hanson will use parliament\u2019s return next Tuesday to promote One Nation\u2019s proposed Protecting Australians from Foreign Terrorist Fighters Bill and put pressure on Labor over voter concerns about Islamic extremism and the return of ISIS fighters and brides.<\/p>\n

\"Geoff<\/a>Geoff Chambers<\/a>Political editor<\/p>\n

Geoff Chambers is The Australian\u2019s political editor, based in Parliament House. He was previously chief political editor, Canberra bureau chief and Queensland bureau chief. Before joining the national broadsheet he was News Editor at The Daily and Sunday Telegraphs and Head of News at the Gold Coast Bulletin. As a senior journalist and political reporter, he has covered budgets and elections across the nation and worked in the Queensland, NSW and Canberra press galleries. He has covered major international news stories for News Corp, including earthquakes, people smuggling, and hostage situations, and has written extensively on Islamic extremism, migration, Indo-Pacific and China relations, resources and trade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A former top aide to former prime minister Scott Morrison has been tapped by Pauline Hanson to replace…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[76191,76175,76162,66954,76183,76192,76179,76178,45161,76205,47203,36911,40421,76190,76146,76161,76209,40647,76206,76157,47689,612,76202,76207,62135,76217,76198,76151,76204,483,49091,8171,22,76194,23,990,7458,21,76210,76169,76144,73134,51912,36917,28005,76197,76173,76196,76171,76156,76203,76176,76215,3123,31613,76158,76166,2547,76213,11674,76208,60204,76147,60226,45553,76148,38229,12690,19445,30007,27665,49710,3795,76154,76168,36888,76145,37045,76186,38364,50669,76185,40946,76139,25012,25868,7900,76150,1955,76141,76138,45017,68145,49064,76149,42903,48812,3121,76211,76216,11672,1926,9217,76189,76188,76199,76174,56711,76182,76152,13267,26884,76181,76214,26286,76170,7738,76172,76153,76160,47159,76163,76193,10264,76218,37024,76200,76187,76143,54951,76180,39137,76165,38919,76184,76155,37011,76195,76142,39103,76201,43131,76164,76177,46392,36628,76159,76167,76140,44709,76212,1491,353,59647],"class_list":["post-63629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-s-best-days","tag-s-campaign-infrastructure","tag-s-chief","tag-s-credibility","tag-s-elevation","tag-s-general-counsel","tag-s-licence","tag-s-message","tag-s-office","tag-s-policy-agenda","tag-s-primary-vote","tag-36911","tag-40421","tag-25-years","tag-a-better-country","tag-a-former-top-adviser","tag-a-former-top-aide","tag-a-lawyer","tag-a-new-role","tag-a-strong-media-presence-one-nation","tag-a-voice","tag-advertising","tag-all-national-operations-and-elections","tag-alp-national-secretary-paul-erickson","tag-an-alternative","tag-an-early-election","tag-an-economic-conservative","tag-an-extraordinary-campaign-operation","tag-anna-bligh-and","tag-anthony-albanese","tag-any-time","tag-ashby","tag-au","tag-august-next-year","tag-australia","tag-australian","tag-australians","tag-austrlia","tag-billionaire-backer-gina-rinehart","tag-business-and-political-circles","tag-business-and-politics","tag-campaigns","tag-candidates","tag-cent","tag-chris","tag-day-to-day-parliamentary-duties-and-disclosure-rules","tag-difficult-problems","tag-digital-operations","tag-donors","tag-early-2028-mr-taylor","tag-election-campaigns","tag-enormous-political-machines","tag-ex-morrison-aide","tag-experience","tag-fire-the-liar","tag-former-prime-minister-scott-morrison","tag-former-scott-morrison-aide","tag-government","tag-government-and-business","tag-hanson","tag-hanson-chief","tag-her-chief","tag-her-chief-of-staff-and-top-adviser","tag-her-team","tag-his-career","tag-his-pilot","tag-his-role","tag-industrial-relations","tag-influence","tag-issues","tag-james-ashby","tag-later-this-month","tag-law","tag-legislative-and-regulatory-matters","tag-liberal-party-federal-director-lincoln-folo","tag-march","tag-may-2028-the","tag-monday","tag-more-high-profile-appointments","tag-more-time","tag-mr-ashby","tag-mr-morrison","tag-mr-taylor","tag-national-policy","tag-newspoll","tag-november","tag-office","tag-one-job","tag-one-nation","tag-one-nation-party-boss","tag-our-campaign-teams","tag-our-country","tag-our-message","tag-our-organisation","tag-our-policy-agenda","tag-our-team","tag-oversight","tag-part","tag-party-director","tag-party-tsar","tag-pauline","tag-pauline-hanson","tag-policy","tag-political-insiders","tag-political-staffers-mr-taylor","tag-potentially","tag-public-policy-and","tag-recent-weeks","tag-regular-australians","tag-rising-support","tag-scott-morrison","tag-senator-hanson","tag-senior-one-nation-figures","tag-senior-private-sector-roles-mr","tag-senior-staffer","tag-simon-birmingham","tag-staff","tag-staffers-and-campaigners","tag-strong-local-candidates","tag-successful-candidates","tag-the-2022-election","tag-the-72-year-old","tag-the-australian-banking-association","tag-the-coalition","tag-the-coming-months-the-recruitment","tag-the-country","tag-the-elections","tag-the-five-seater-plane","tag-the-highest-levels","tag-the-major-parties","tag-the-next-election-mr-taylor","tag-the-next-federal-election","tag-the-nsw-state-election","tag-the-one-nation-leader","tag-the-one-nation-svengali","tag-the-pandemic-years","tag-the-party","tag-the-party-director-role","tag-the-party-tent-mr-ashby","tag-the-polls","tag-the-queenslander","tag-the-road","tag-the-secret-harbour-by-election","tag-the-strongest-team","tag-the-success","tag-the-us","tag-the-victorian-state-election","tag-their-businesses","tag-their-communities","tag-their-families","tag-veteran-policy-adviser-chris-taylor","tag-voters","tag-western-australia","tag-whose-party"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/austral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