{"url":"https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/orange-is-the-new-blue-liberals-take-on-one-nation-with-desperate-flyers-20260407-p5zlxj.html","title":"Liberals hit One Nation with desperate orange flyers","domain":"theage.com.au","imageUrl":"https://images.pexels.com/photos/7103152/pexels-photo-7103152.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&h=650&w=940","pexelsSearchTerm":"Australian election flyers","category":"Politics","language":"en","slug":"2fffc308","id":"2fffc308-b431-49b5-aa08-e55755c0f327","description":"Victorian Liberals distributed unbranded orange flyers in the Nepean byelection to warn voters against One Nation.","summary":"## TL;DR\n- Victorian Liberals distributed unbranded orange flyers in the Nepean byelection to warn voters against One Nation.\n- Flyers claim a One Nation vote helps Labor stay in power and question the party's experience on hospitals, roads and budgets.\n- Move highlights Liberal fears of One Nation splitting the right-wing vote before the November state election.\n\n## The story at a glance\nVictorian Liberals are using anonymous orange flyers in the **Nepean** byelection on May 2 to attack **One Nation**, warning that supporting the minor party keeps Labor in office. The tactic targets **Darren Hercus** from One Nation and independent **Tracee Hutchison** with a separate pink flyer, amid internal party debates on handling One Nation's rise. It's reported now as the first test of Liberal vulnerability on their right flank since One Nation's gains elsewhere, following **Sam Groth**'s resignation from the seat.\n\n## Key points\n- Unbranded orange flyers ask: “Thinking of voting ONE NATION?” and state “a vote for One Nation helps keep Labor in power in November”, authorised by Liberal state director **Alyson Hannam**.\n- Flyers list One Nation's lack of experience: “Have One Nation ever: Built a hospital? Built a road? Led a state? Delivered a budget? Made a government program work?”, with clippings on state debt and CFMEU issues.\n- **Nepean** has been Liberal-held since 2002 except 2018; **Anthony Marsh** is the new candidate with a 6.4 per cent two-party preferred margin from 2022; Labor is not contesting.\n- One Nation claims nearly **400 members** on the peninsula; polls vary, with Resolve showing **11 per cent** support versus **30 per cent** Coalition and **28 per cent** Labor.\n- Pink flyer against Hutchison cites her past Labor considerations and a 2007 piece calling the flag a white supremacist symbol.\n- Liberal president **Phil Davis** says the party wins from the centre, not by imitating One Nation; Sky News's **Peta Credlin** called this “nonsense”.\n\n## Details and context\nThe Nepean byelection follows Groth's resignation, forcing voters to go to polls twice in seven months before the November state election. Liberals fear One Nation's growth after its South Australian success and polls showing high-20s support in some areas, prompting preference talks despite leader **Jess Wilson**'s warnings.[[1]](https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/orange-is-the-new-blue-liberals-take-on-one-nation-with-desperate-flyers-20260407-p5zlxj.html)[[2]](https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/one-nation-s-sa-surge-sends-an-early-ripple-through-victorian-seats-20260322-p5rmgk.html)\n\nOne Nation's **Warren Pickering** sees the flyers as major parties panicking over poor governance. Hutchison calls the attacks “lazy and dishonest”, confirming only brief 2019 Labor talks over hospitals.\n\nPremier **Jacinta Allan** links the Coalition to One Nation's divisive style, while Wilson insists only Liberals-Nationals can change government.\n\n## Key quotes\n- Orange flyer: “With out-of-control crime and debt, we need people with the experience to provide real solutions... Taking a risk will see us ending up with more of this.” (*The Age*)\n- **Phil Davis**: “People in the party who are trying to drag us to be One Nation-lite fundamentally do not understand Victorian politics... We don’t win from the fringe.” (*The Age*)\n- **Darren Hercus**: “Amused” by leaflet as “dirty tactic” and “act of desperation.” (*The Age*)\n\n## Why it matters\nOne Nation's rise threatens to split the conservative vote in Victoria, complicating the Coalition's path to power in November. For voters in marginal seats like Nepean, it means more attack-style campaigning and choices over experience versus protest. Watch the May 2 byelection result and any preference deals, though their impact remains unclear amid shifting polls.\n\n\n**LANG:** en**","hashtags":["#victorianpolitics","#liberals","#onenation","#byelection","#morguelection"],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/orange-is-the-new-blue-liberals-take-on-one-nation-with-desperate-flyers-20260407-p5zlxj.html","title":"Original article"},{"url":"https://www.smh.com.au/politics/victoria/one-nation-s-sa-surge-sends-an-early-ripple-through-victorian-seats-20260322-p5rmgk.html","title":""}],"viewCount":2,"publishedAt":"2026-04-08T20:12:50.298Z","createdAt":"2026-04-08T20:12:50.298Z","articlePublishedAt":"2026-04-08T19:30:00.000Z"}