Albanese Backs Liberal MP Hastie Against One Nation for Seat of Canning

Liberal member for Canning, Andrew Hastie, Liberal Senator, Jonno Duniam and Liberal Senator Alex Antic depart a meeting room following a Liberal Party leadership spill at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Feb. 13, 2026. Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty ImagesPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has offered him his moral support to Liberal MP Andrew Hastie as he challenges One Nation over his seat at the next federal election.The contest for the Western Australian electorate of Canning—south of Perth—has emerged as one of the more talked about political battles in the lead-up to the next election, with One Nation polling strongly in the seat.“There’s a lot of chatter about the member for Canning, who’s insisting he’s running again,” Albanese told Parliament on July 2.“Good luck to you, Member for Canning. Certainly, if it’s you or One Nation, I’m for this bloke, let me tell you.“That’s where I come from. Good on you, for standing up to them.”One Nation was quick to respond on X to Albanese’s comments, simply stating: “We continue to live rent free in Hastie’s head as he forms new political tag team with Albo.”Hastie has represented Canning since winning a 2015 by-election but it’s now in the crosshairs of One Nation, who loom heavy over several Liberal and National seats.In June, Hastie emailed supporters claiming One Nation was targeting both his seat and him personally.“They’ve run a relentless campaign of personal attacks against me online,” Hastie wrote in his email in June.“It’s become serious enough that security at my home and electorate office needs to be upgraded.”Hastie vowed to stay firm saying the conservative-leaning party would need to “blast” him out of Canning.“One Nation has declared war on me, so they shall have war,” he wrote.The comments came after One Nation adviser James Ashby criticised the former SAS soldier of failing to stand by veteran Ben Roberts-Smith, who has denied the war crimes charges levelled against him.Polls conducted in March revealed Canning as one of two Western Australian seats at risk of falling to One Nation, with the other being Forrest.DemosAU’s survey of 8,400 people found One Nation could claim 46-55 of the 128 federal lower house seats if an election was held that month.Since late last year, One Nation has seen a surge of popularity across multiple polls—now the most popular party in Australia—compared to its 2007 low where it received 0.26 percent of the popular vote, about 32,650 votes.