Hastie Brands Hanson and Joyce 'Lying Cowards' Over Traitor Cartoon

Federal politics erupted on Wednesday as Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie launched a fierce public attack on One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, calling them both "lying cowards" over a cartoon on the One Nation website that brands him a traitor to his country.

The cartoon, part of One Nation's long-running "Please Explain" series, singles out Hastie and depicts him as a traitor — a label the former SAS officer and Afghanistan veteran finds deeply offensive. Hastie says he believes the attack is directly linked to his role in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case, where he was one of roughly 20 elite soldiers subpoenaed to give evidence under oath.

Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, had pursued a defamation claim against Nine newspapers over reporting that alleged he committed war crimes during his service in Afghanistan. The Federal Court ultimately dismissed the case, finding the newspapers had substantially proved their reporting. Hastie stressed he had no choice but to testify — he was subpoenaed and legally bound to tell the truth in court.

"Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce are lying cowards, and I'll say it again so there's no ambiguity — they are lying cowards," Hastie said publicly. "When you start calling me a traitor to my own country, then we have a very big problem."

Hanson hit back, insisting the cartoon is simply satire and denying she ever personally called Hastie a traitor. "It is a satirical cartoon, for Christ's sake," she said in a television interview. "I never said that." She confirmed the cartoon would remain on the One Nation website.

Political analysts have noted the dispute carries an obvious strategic dimension. One Nation has flagged it will contest all 150 seats at the next federal election, including Hastie's Western Australian seat of Canning. The party won the state seat of Secret Harbour in WA at the last state election, giving it grounds for confidence in the region. Targeting a high-profile Liberal frontbencher in a marginal seat fits squarely within that electoral strategy.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing separate scrutiny after it emerged that his local golf club in the Sydney electorate of Marrickville received a $6.05 million grant through an invitation-only federal funding scheme. Albanese holds honorary membership of the club, though he told parliament on Wednesday the membership was worth just five dollars and that he had no knowledge of being granted the honour some 15 years ago.

Opposition figures, including Senator Bridget McKenzie — who herself resigned from cabinet in 2020 over the sports rorts affair — have drawn pointed comparisons between the two cases, arguing the same standards should apply regardless of which side of politics is in government. The Prime Minister's office maintains there was no ministerial involvement in the grant decision.

4BC federal political editor Michael Pachi described it as one of the most turbulent single days in Canberra in recent memory, with the Hastie-Hanson clash, the golf club grant controversy, and tributes to a recently deceased national figure all competing for attention simultaneously.