'They don't inspire me': Pauline Hanson and Hollie Hughes disagree over Liberal leadership candidates
The Liberal Party was left leaderless on Saturday, as the outgoing opposition leader lost his Queensland seat of Dickson amid a resounding defeat in the federal election.
Deputy leader Sussan Ley and shadow treasurer Angus Taylor have emerged as the frontrunners to be the new leader, with the party set to come to a decision on Tuesday after a party room ballot at 10am.
Pauline Hanson and Hollie Hughes joined Rowan Dean for Sky News Australia's program The World According to Rowan Dean. The latest episode is available to watch now, and new episodes are out every Friday, for SkyNews.com.au subscribers.
Both candidates on Friday formally announced their intentions to run for the leadership of the party, but One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson said she wasn't convinced by either of them.
"Sussan Ley... she was the one years ago who didn't support the sheep export. She was quite happy to get rid of the live sheep export, also I went to her (when she was) environmental minister in the Morrison government, about environmental issues about a coal mine in Queensland, which she could have done something about, she never did anything about it," Senator Hanson said on The World According to Rowan Dean.
"So she doesn't inspire me as a leader, I've watched her in these interviews, she leaves me just wanting, what are you standing for? Show me some leadership skills or qualities."
The One Nation Leader also said Mr Taylor's performance in the election for the Liberal Party left a lot to be desired.
"Angus Taylor, well, I think that he could have actually done more during the election with finance and with... you know, decent policies to actually counteract the Labor Party's policies. So they don't inspire me.
"I think both parties are lacking good talent on the floor of parliament. Go back to the (John) Howard days, there was great frontbench ministers on either side of parliament, we're lacking that today in our parliament."
Senator Hughes was also unconvinced by the shadow treasurer, dishing out a scathing assessment of his preparation for the election campaign, and throwing her support behind Ms Ley to become leader.
"I think Susan is fantastic. I've known both of them for a very, very long time. She has an incredible background, whether it is growing up all around the world," she said.
"She understands rural and regional areas. I'm pretty sure she's one of the few people in parliament who can shear a sheep. She's a commercial pilot. You know, she's got a huge depth of experience.
"She's not standing there going, 'hey, I went to a GPS school and (I'm) a Rhodes Scholar, so the achievements I made before 30 are the reason you should be electing me', which if you listen to some of the reasoning behind Angus Taylor. It's like someone in their 40s putting their HSC result on their CV. I mean, come on, grow up, what have you done recently?
"And I think what Angus has done recently showed that he either didn't do the work or he wasn't up to the job because the policy dearth that we had to sell during this campaign, we didn't have a tax policy."
Senator Hanson also weighed into the defection of Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from the Nationals to the Liberal Party.
She said while she has "a lot of time" for her, she is not sure the shadow indigenous affairs minister has enough experience for a leadership role, amid reports she will join Mr Taylor's push to lead, and suggested the move will cause dramas within the Coalition.
"I can see that it's going to be beneficial to her in the long run, but she can't stay in the Senate. She's only in for three years. So what's going happen in the next election?" she asked.
"They will have to find her a safe seat. So then where are they going to put her? And also, this is going to cause problems between the two parties because the Nats and Libs will have to get over this."
The Senator also suggested Michaelia Cash and James Paterson would have been better positioned for a tilt at deputy leader, as they contain "untapped" talent.
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