Pauline Hanson calls Andrew Hastie a ‘w***er’ as bitter war erupts after he accused her of branding him a ‘traitor’
Australian senator Pauline Hanson and Liberal MP Andrew Hastie are locked in a bitter public row after Hastie accused the One Nation leader of calling him a "traitor" over a satirical cartoon posted to her X account. Hanson denies making the claim, insisting the video is satire, and has refused to remove it despite Hastie's demand that One Nation delete it or explain themselves in parliament. The dispute matters because it involves serious allegations of politicising Australia's justice system and disrespecting a former special forces soldier's military service, and it has escalated into personal insults between senior political figures.
The nine-minute cartoon, pinned to Hanson's account since 23 July, reportedly labels Hastie a traitor eight times, according to the MP, who also branded Hanson and Nationals figure Barnaby Joyce "lying cowards". The feud traces back to tension over Hastie's role testifying against accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith, with Hanson previously telling The Nightly she considered Hastie "a w****r". Joyce denied any knowledge of the cartoon and voiced hope no one was threatening Hastie or his family, while Hastie said he would not pursue legal action given Hanson's backing from Australia's richest person, and noted One Nation is targeting his Canning seat at the next election.
- Hastie accuses Hanson of calling him a "traitor" in an online cartoon.
- Hanson denies it, calls the video satire, refuses to delete it.
- Row rooted in Hastie's testimony against war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith.
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Pauline Hanson leads the right-wing One Nation party in the Australian Senate, while Andrew Hastie is a Liberal MP and former SAS soldier who has been a vocal figure on the party's conservative wing. Their falling out centres on a satirical video Hanson posted online, which Hastie says brands him a "traitor" multiple times; Hanson disputes his characterisation of it and has kept the video online despite his objections.
The row is also tangled up with older tensions from Hastie's involvement in giving evidence against Ben Roberts-Smith, a former soldier found by a court to have committed war crimes, which some on the political right saw as disloyal. That history has fed into a wider clash involving other figures, including Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, and has turned into a public exchange of insults between senior politicians.
The dispute matters beyond personal animosity because it touches on how Australia's political right handles disagreements over military conduct and loyalty, and because One Nation is reportedly looking to contest Hastie's own parliamentary seat at the next election, adding a political rivalry to the personal one.