Taylor Rejects Joyce Claim of Talks on One Nation Support Deal
Opposition leader Angus Taylor said on 23 September that the Liberals held no talks with Barnaby Joyce about One Nation backing them to remove Anthony Albanese from power.
Joyce left the Nationals in December to join Pauline Hanson's One Nation. He claimed he had spoken with senior Liberals about such an arrangement. Taylor rejected that account at a campaign stop in NSW. He said he gave no authority to anyone else to have a supply-and-confidence conversation with Joyce The Guardian. He named no other channel. Joyce has not named the Liberals he said he spoke to.
Taylor said no talks had taken place. Joyce has said separately that he spoke with "very, very senior Liberals" about a power-sharing arrangement if One Nation wins enough seats The Guardian. Joyce has also said One Nation would guarantee confidence and supply to a Coalition minority government in return for major policy concessions, as reported on 22 September The Daily Telegraph.
Other senior Liberals also rejected the claim. Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume called Joyce "clutching at straws." She said the Coalition is focused on replacing the Labor government and is not interested in a confidence-and-supply conversation with One Nation. Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson called the claimed talks a "figment of Barnaby's imagination." Joyce called Wilson "a clown" in response.
One Nation has ruled out a formal coalition agreement with the Liberals and Nationals. In July, Taylor said he will not enter a Coalition with Pauline Hanson's One Nation, saying "I'm ruling it out." Taylor has also left open the option of leading a minority government with a promise from One Nation not to vote against government bills. Joyce said One Nation would expect the same supply-and-confidence deal if it wins more seats than the Coalition.
Hanson has called on the Coalition and Taylor to unite against Labor before the 2028 election. Liberal powerbroker Alex Antic has urged colleagues to work closely with Hanson. Joyce said One Nation is "on the up and up" and will "go for government."
Joyce also defended One Nation's superannuation policy. He said its effect on inflation would be "minute." He also claimed that "people who look like they've recently arrived" are outbidding Australian buyers at home auctions.
The broader context here is numbers, not partnership. Think of a coalition as a formal merger between parties, while supply and confidence is more like a landlord agreement. One Nation would promise not to vote down budgets or back a no-confidence motion that could topple a minority government, but other laws would still be negotiated vote by vote. That difference lets Taylor say no to a coalition while still leaving room for crossbench votes.
In my view, Joyce's talk of negotiations builds pressure before 2028 by testing how far Liberals will go on preferences or policy without signing a pact. The sharp replies from Hume and Wilson suggest the Liberals see more danger than benefit in letting Joyce frame that debate now.
