Australian PM Albanese says Liberals and Nationals 'legitimised' One Nation at Farrer by-election
Australian PM Anthony Albanese said the result of the Farrer by-election showed that the Coalition partners had legitimised the One Nation party. The comments reignited the opposition leadership race. The Australian dollar held flat against the US dollar following the remarks.
Prime Minister Albanese addressed the Farrer by-election result at his weekly press conference in Canberra on Monday. He said the Liberal and National parties' open preference recommendations for One Nation represented a structural shift. One Nation received the highest second-preference share in its history at the by-election.
Sussan Ley and the Liberal leadership pushed back on the comments. Ley said preference arrangements were set at the local level and there was no intention of forming a coalition with One Nation. National Party leader David Littleproud said the comments were aimed at distracting from the election campaign.
The political maths makes it harder for the Coalition to manage preference leakage to One Nation at the next federal election. The Australian Senate seat distribution will be pivotal at the 2027 election. The remarks had no immediate impact on AUD/USD, while Sydney's ASX 200 fell 0.2%.
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