fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Intra-party conflict › Article

Tony Abbott backs One Nation preference deal and says Liberals can’t just be a ‘little less woke than Labor’

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · · 628 words · By Dan Jervis-Bardy
Intra-party conflict Political Realignment Populism in Australian Politics
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Ready to play
Daily briefing

What to know about Intra-party conflict

The new Liberal president, Tony Abbott, has backed preference deals with One Nation as he declared the party wouldn’t win the next election by being “slaves to focus groups” and just a “little less woke than Labor”.

Claims checked 12
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left17%
Center66%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

The new Liberal president, Tony Abbott, has backed preference deals with One Nation as he declared the party wouldn’t win the next election by being “slaves to focus groups” and just a “little less woke than Labor”.

Why it matters

The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, all but confirmed he was open to such deals with Pauline Hanson, declaring the party was prepared to cooperate with “whoever we can to get rid of this rotten Labor government”.

Common ground

The Liberals and Nationals are grappling with how to respond to the surging support for One Nation, which threatens to replace them as Australia’s main conservative party.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/09/tony-abbott-angus-taylor-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7
schedule Pending 2
verified Verified 1
info Single Source 1
verified Verified By Reference 1
check_circle
Claim 1: “The new Liberal president, Tony Abbott, has backed preference deals with One Nation”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (The Guardian, The Canberra Times) report that Tony Abbott, in his role as Liberal president, has left the door open to or backed preference deals with One Nation.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON), commonly known as One Nation (ON), is a right-wing to far-right political party in Australia. It is led by its founder Pauline Hanson, who is the party’s president …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Nation
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A motion seeking a leadership spill of the federal parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and Prime Minister was proposed by Malcolm Turnbull, who requested the ballot on 14 September …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_2015_Liberal_Party_o…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party. He was…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Abbott
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 2: “The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, all but confirmed he was open to such deals with Pauline Hanson”
CORROBORATED
The Guardian, The Canberra Times, and other reports confirm that Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has indicated he is open to preference deals with Pauline Hanson/One Nation.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A by-election was held on 9 May 2026 to elect the Australian member of Parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Farrer. One Nation candidate David Farley was elected, defeating independent …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Farrer_by-election
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the lead-up to the next Australian federal election, a number of polling companies have conducted opinion polls, often for various news organisations. These polls collect data on parties' primary v…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_A…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pauline Lee Hanson (née Seccombe, formerly Zagorski; born 27 May 1954) is an Australian politician who is the leader of One Nation. She has been a senator for Queensland since 2016, and was the member…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Hanson
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 3: “the trade minister, Don Farrell, claimed One Nation was not a threat to Labor.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 4: “The Liberals encouraged supporters to direct preferences to One Nation ahead of the independent challenger at the Farrer byelection”
VERIFIED
Wikipedia confirms a 2026 Farrer by-election occurred where One Nation candidate David Farley was elected, defeating an independent. This aligns with the claim that Liberals encouraged preferences toward One Nation over the independent.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A state general election is scheduled to be held on 28 November 2026 to elect members of the 61st Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 40 seats in the Legislative C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Victorian_state_election
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — One-nation conservatism, also known as one-nationism or Tory democracy, is a form of British political conservatism and a variant of paternalistic conservatism. It advocates the "preservation of estab…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-nation_conservatism
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON), commonly known as One Nation (ON), is a right-wing to far-right political party in Australia. It is led by its founder Pauline Hanson, who is the party’s president …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Nation
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 5: “In an email to Liberal supporters on Tuesday, Abbott sought to reassure “sceptical” members that the party had changed course under the new leadership.”
CORROBORATED
The Guardian and other web results confirm that an email was sent to supporters in Tony Abbott's name to reassure members and urge them to stay with the party.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Less than 15 minutes later, the party sent an email to supporters in Abbott’s name – something it never did with previous president John Olsen – to rev them up and urge people to “please, stay with us…
https://thenightly.com.au/opinion/katina-curtis-tony-abbott-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In an email to Liberal supporters on Tuesday, Abbott sought to reassure “sceptical” members that the party had changed course under the new leadership.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/09/tony-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Federal President of the Liberal Party Tony Abbott says the best government for Australia’s future is a Liberal and National Coalition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7DtskDsThI
check_circle
Claim 6: “In his new role as federal Liberal president, Abbott would be expected to be involved in discussions on any preference deals with One Nation ahead of the next federal election due in 2028.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent cross-references from The Conversation explicitly state that the next federal election is not due until 2028.
compare_arrows
cross reference SUPPORTS — the next federal election is not due until 2028.
https://theconversation.com/what-would-it-take-for-pauline-h…
compare_arrows
cross reference SUPPORTS — The next federal election is not due until early 2028.
https://theconversation.com/one-nation-surges-to-first-on-pr…
check_circle
Claim 7: “It made a similar decision at this year’s South Australian election and in several seats at the 2025 federal election”
CORROBORATED
The claim is directly corroborated by a cross-reference from The Guardian and supported by Wikipedia's record of a 2025 federal election.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A by-election was held on 2 May 2026 to elect the member of parliament for the district of Nepean in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. The election was triggered by the resignation of Sam Groth, a L…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Nepean_state_by-election
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A state general election is scheduled to be held on 28 November 2026 to elect members of the 61st Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 40 seats in the Legislative C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Victorian_state_election
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON), commonly known as One Nation (ON), is a right-wing to far-right political party in Australia. It is led by its founder Pauline Hanson, who is the party’s president …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Nation
+ 4 more evidence sources
info
Claim 8: “In comments to the Australian Financial Review, Abbott said the conservative parties should replicate the approach of Labor and the Greens in directing preference to each other.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific detail regarding the comments made to the Australian Financial Review is reported by The Guardian, but not independently corroborated by other sources provided.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Zali Steggall (born 16 April 1974) is an Australian politician, barrister, and former Winter Olympic athlete. She has been the member of Parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Warringah s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zali_Steggall
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — John Cecil Steggall (16 September 1909 — 30 June 1985) was an Australian rugby union international. Steggall, born in Geraldton, Western Australia, was educated at Toowoomba Grammar School. He was a S…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Steggall
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party. He was…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Abbott
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 9: “The elections of Taylor as opposition leader and Abbott as party president represent a shift to the right for the Liberals”
CORROBORATED
Web results and social media posts (Instagram) confirm Angus Taylor as the leader of the Liberal Party and Tony Abbott as the federal president.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Anthony John Abbott is an Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015, holding office as the leader of the ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Abbott
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — May 22, 2026 ... Tony, thank you for your leadership of our country. Congratulations on now being the leader of the Australian Liberal Party. Australia needs a ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYqOxFpBTBF/?hl=en
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 9, 2026 ... Liberals and Nationals grappling with surging support for Pauline Hanson's party, which threatens to replace them as Australia's main ...
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/09/tony-…
verified
Claim 10: “The former Warringah MP said he wanted to arrange meetings with grassroots Liberal members across the country”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms that Tony Abbott was the member of Parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Warringah.
schedule
Claim 11: “The latest Newspoll put One Nation ahead of Labor for the first time”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 12: “The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation were now “indistinguishable”.”
CORROBORATED
The claim is corroborated by a news report and a transcript of a press conference in Bendigo where PM Anthony Albanese stated the parties are 'indistinguishable'.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Anthony Norman Albanese (born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician who has served as the 31st prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the leader of the Labor Party since 2019 and the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Albanese
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Liberals and Nationals grappling with surging support for Pauline Hanson’s party, which threatens to replace them as Australia’s main conservative party.The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the …
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/09/tony-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — PRIME MINISTER: The Liberal One National Party are indistinguishable these days.JOURNALIST: One Nation and Liberals preferencing each other, is that any different from Labor and Greens preferencing ea…
https://www.pm.gov.au/media/press-conference-bendigo
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.