Andrew Hastie threw out his leadership shingle during a weekend-long interview. Some Liberals may be wondering if the factional heavyweights of the right made the best decision in selecting Angus Taylor to fill the position.
Taylor was the one who overthrew Sussan Lee, the leader of the Right, after Hastie ran for leadership in early this year. Taylor is a more senior member.
Taylor, however, has yet to make a mark.
He looks more like someone who would be suited for a time when things were less unconventional.
Hastie was the leader when Ley took over, and he conducted his guerrilla war from behind. Hastie is now shadow minister for Industry and Sovereign Capability under Taylor. He says that he enjoys his job, but as he showed in an interview with ABC Insiders on Sunday, he does not intend to be constrained.
Taylor who appointed Hastie as deputy leader of opposition to the House of Representatives, (Jane Hume is the actual deputy and a Senator) knows that it could be dangerous to attempt to put the lead rope around the candidate who will stalk him for the next 18-months.
Hastie criticized Donald Trump’s Iran policy in his interview on Sunday. Hastie urged comprehensive domestic tax reform, even sounding open towards some government thinking on the taxation of assets.
Hastie, like the Nationals leader Matt Canavan (agree with him or not), comes across as a person worth listening to, and not just someone with an excellent memory.
Hastie, like most Australians is not a fan Trump or the way that he runs his policy. He called Trump “petulant” after a recent outburst by Trump against his allies.
He said that he was “visceral”, on Sunday, in his reaction to Trump’s criticism of US Allies for not taking a more active role in the Iran war.
Why did we go in? [to the Iran war] now.
Last year, I believed we had done the work [with the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities].
It was not a consultation.
Had we had more time to prepare, we would have avoided the crisis that we face now, where we try and secure liquid fuel.
This was an enormous miscalculation. Iran is holding the entire world’s economy hostage.
Hastie, while a critic to the way Trump handled matters, does not go so far as now to reject war.
When I must choose between Israel and the United States, or Iran, I will choose a democratic regime over a murderous one that has the ambition to develop a nuclear bomb and could use it to attack Israel, America and its allies.
Don’t misunderstand me. A friend’s wounds can be trusted, but an enemy will multiply kisses. We can both be honest and ask tough questions as close friends of the United States.
Hastie is concerned about the erosion of Australians’ loyalty to the US alliance, as well as the credibility of the United States.
As this situation continues, I believe the pain of economic hardship will be greater and people are going to begin to doubt the judgment of the President.
Hastie doesn’t sympathize with large corporations when it comes to a potential super profit tax that would be imposed on gas exporters who will benefit from war profits.
In this regard, I am open-minded. The Liberal Party does not represent the corporate interests of Australia. The multinationals, big businesses and the government in Australia have all lost their social licence. They’ve done nothing to regain it and many Australians believe that they are being rigged.
You can also find out more about us on our website. [the Liberals] We were beaten in 2025; they were beaten in 2022.
Both the right and left are stealing our primary votes. It is more important to adopt a humble and open-minded attitude than being reactive.
The macroeconomic and geopolitical contexts suggest that we are on the verge of a possible recession. Gas is one of our biggest assets. Will introducing a tax at this point in time help us?
Prior to February 28, [the start of the Iran war]This conversation was very different. Now we’re living in a new era.
It’s a New Era […] We need to revamp the entire system [tax] system. Pauline Hanson and others will tear down the system unless we fix it.
Okay, no one is going to award us a medal for our final stand against neoliberal politics. No medal is awarded for this. It’s not a medal for me. I want to deliver a centre-right coalition government in this country. The best way to defeat Labor is by listening and addressing their concerns, not slapping people down.
Labor will point out that Hastie did not read the fine print, when asked about Liberals’ claims last week that the batteries policy of the government had integrity problems. It will claim that this is proof he doesn’t pay attention to details.
Labor strategists who are looking at the long term may be hoping that the Liberals will not decide to elect a third party leader in this election.
In the meantime, Anthony Albanese, prime minister, will convene a national Cabinet on Monday to attempt to maximize federal-state cooperation as fuel crises intensify. Federal government officials said at the weekend that they wanted to make the next steps voluntary rather than compulsory.
On Monday, the government will introduce new legislation to give it additional powers in order to guarantee companies’ imports of fuels, fertilisers and other vital items.
Albanese stated:
The government will use these powers to assist in securing the extra fuel supply for Australia that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive for suppliers to obtain on commercial terms.
This will allow suppliers to obtain additional cargoes at their discretion and to use them to meet uncontracted demands, such as for independent and regional fuel suppliers. We want fuel, but we also want it to get to the correct place.
We need to be prepared for anything that may happen.
