One Nation channels preferences towards Labor in five seats aimed at 'Liberal-leaning leftists'.

One Nation has divided its support between the major political parties when it comes to how-to-vote cards. They have directed their supporters to prefer Labor in at least five seats, but have chosen to support the Coalition in the Leichhardt seat in Queensland and Braddon in Tasmania.

Pauline Hanson, the leader of One Nation, announced this plan on Thursday as a means of retaliating against certain moderate MPs from the Liberal party. The Liberal party had decided to place One Nation behind the Jacqui Lambie Network in Tasmania, prompting this response from One Nation.

However, One Nation will still benefit from the Liberal-National Senate preferences in Queensland. The Liberal party has advised its supporters to place Hanson's party second in that state.

Jacqui Lambie, on the other hand, rejected any claims that her party had made a deal with the Liberals. It remains unclear how she will direct her voters in the key marginal seats of Bass and Braddon in northern Tasmania.

Hanson confirmed that she will not prefer the Liberal MP Bridget Archer, who currently holds the Bass seat with a slim margin of 0.4%. However, she will support the Liberal MP Gavin Pearce in the Braddon seat, where the margin is 3.1%.

Other MPs on Hanson's list include Tim Wilson in Goldstein (Victoria), Trent Zimmerman in North Sydney, James Stevens in Sturt (South Australia), and independent Helen Haines in Indi (Victoria). These are four seats where One Nation did not field candidates in the 2019 election.

Hanson expressed her disappointment with the Liberal party for supporting the Lambie network without any discussion or negotiation. She also criticized the decision to prioritize Derryn Hinch's Justice Party over One Nation in Victoria.

She stated that she would balance out her support for Labor by assisting the Nationals in other seats, although she did not provide any specific names, citing exhaustion.

Hanson claimed that she was doing Scott Morrison's job by getting rid of left-leaning Liberals who were damaging the conservative cause.

Contrary to earlier reports, One Nation will not be targeting the Liberal MP Warren Entsch in Leichhardt. However, they will support Labor in Longman by advising voters to place the Liberal MP Terry Young last.

Ross Taylor, the One Nation candidate in Longman, confirmed that the decision to rank Labor sixth, ahead of the Greens and LNP, was his own.

Lambie criticized One Nation for lacking principles and offering insincere support for Labor in certain seats. She emphasized that Tasmanian voters should decide their own preferences and that One Nation in Queensland should not dictate their choices.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged the preferences would be determined by different arrangements in different states and territories. He also acknowledged Hanson's dissatisfaction with the Liberal party's actions in Tasmania, but dismissed it as mere politics.

Morrison later clarified that the responsibility for preferences lies with the party organization.

Other parties benefiting from Liberal Senate preferences include the Liberal Democrats and the United Australia Party in New South Wales, the UAP in Victoria, Bob Day in South Australia, and the Australian Christians in Western Australia. Labor, on the other hand, is committed to placing One Nation last or near the bottom in preferences across the country.

According to Paul Williams, a scholar specializing in political science at Griffith University, the impact of One Nation preferences cannot be underestimated in Queensland. In certain regional districts like Flynn, where the Labor party is actively campaigning, One Nation could potentially secure up to one-third of the primary vote, making their preferences hugely influential.

Williams emphasized the significance of One Nation preferences in the Longman district, describing it as the "easiest target" in Queensland with a narrow margin of 3.3%.

However, Williams issued a cautionary message regarding the behavior of One Nation voters when it comes to distributing their preferences. He observed that these voters tend to be among the least disciplined in following party directives.

"This mindset reflects the overarching principles of the One Nation party, characterized by a rebellious attitude towards authority and a disdain for the elite. These voters are unlikely to conform to their own party's preferences. Instead, they scatter their support across various candidates," Williams explained.