Skip to content
Sign in
Politics · Asia Pacific

Outgoing Tasmanian Liberal senator Jonno Duniam urges party to return to its roots, not mimic One Nation

Jonno Duniam, an outgoing Tasmanian Liberal senator, used his final Senate speech to urge the Liberal Party not to mimic One Nation or 'pretend to be someone else' to win votes. He warned against ceding ground to Pauline Hanson, urged colleagues to back Liberal values with conviction and said the party should present a clear policy pitch to voters.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 3 independent reports from 4 outlets · Full text read from 1 of 3 reportsHow it's made

4 outlets3 regionsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Mostly CenterL 0 · C 2 · R 1 · 1 unrated
Updat3 graphic: Asia Pacific
Updat3 graphic · Map data: Natural Earth Natural Earth (public domain)

What happened

Key facts

  • Jonno Duniam is an outgoing Tasmanian Liberal senator who delivered a final speech in the Senate on Wednesday afternoon (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Duniam told the party it should not mimic One Nation or 'pretend to be someone else' to win votes (per The Sydney Morning Herald, streamlinefeed.co.ke, watoday.com.au).
  • Duniam warned against ceding ground to Pauline Hanson and against preference deals or plans to form government with One Nation (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • He said the Liberals have sunk in the polls after losing dozens of seats across two successive elections but expressed belief the party would form government again (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Duniam urged the Liberals to return to their roots, back their values with conviction and present a clear policy pitch to voters (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Duniam joined the Senate in 2016, worked as a staffer to politicians since 2003, served as an assistant minister in the Morrison government and on the frontbench since the Coalition’s 2022 election loss, and announced in June that he was leaving his 10-year parliamentary career to spend more time with his family (per The Sydney Morning Herald).

The brief

Outgoing Tasmanian Liberal senator Jonno Duniam used his valedictory Senate speech to warn colleagues against adopting the tactics of One Nation and urged the Liberal Party to return to its traditional principles.

Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Duniam told senators the party should not 'pretend to be someone else' to capture votes and cautioned against ceding ground to Pauline Hanson. He explicitly warned members not to pursue preference deals or plans to form government with One Nation.

Duniam framed his intervention around the party’s electoral fortunes, saying the Liberals have 'sunk in the polls' after losing dozens of seats across two successive elections while also expressing his belief the party would form government again. He argued that the remedy lies in a clear policy pitch rooted in the party’s history and convictions rather than in mimicry.

In the chamber he invoked the phrase 'We should never wave the white flag' as part of his appeal for renewed political clarity. The senator’s speech mixed policy counsel with personal reflections and acknowledgements.

Duniam paid tribute to colleagues, including Labor finance minister Katy Gallagher, and made light remarks about the Prime Minister’s Office assisting with spell-checking his speech.

The remarks recalled his own political background: he entered the Senate in 2016 after working as a staffer since 2003, served as an assistant minister in the Morrison government and maintained frontbench roles after the Coalition’s 2022 defeat.

Duniam announced in June that he would leave parliament after a 10-year career to spend more time with his family; his valedictory remarks set out what he sees as a path back to electoral relevance for the Liberal Party. He urged colleagues to back the party’s values with conviction and to make a distinct and honest offer to voters rather than adopting another party’s style.

Throughout the speech he emphasised internal unity and a focus on clear messaging as the means to recover lost support. Duniam’s intervention in his final Senate appearance amounted to a public caution about strategic alignment with One Nation and a call for ideological clarity.

By naming Pauline Hanson and rejecting preference deals with her party, he placed the question of future Coalition strategy squarely on the agenda for those who will lead the party after his departure.

Why it matters

  • Australian Liberal Party members bear the immediate political cost: Duniam says the party has 'sunk in the polls' after losing dozens of seats across two successive elections, implying electoral recovery hinges on strategic choices he outlines.
  • Voters concerned about party identity face a clear choice over tactics and alliances because Duniam warned against preference deals or plans to form government with One Nation, a strategic decision that would directly affect how the party campaigns.
  • Parliamentary colleagues and party strategists hold a documented stake in future direction because Duniam publicly urged them to return to core Liberal values and present a clear policy pitch, positioning internal debate over strategy ahead of the next electoral cycle.

What to watch next

  • Whether Liberal Party decision-makers adopt or reject preference deals or plans to form government with One Nation, an issue Duniam specifically warned against.
  • Whether senior Liberal figures change the party’s public messaging to emphasise a return to traditional Liberal values and a clearer policy pitch, as Duniam recommended.
  • Whether internal party discussions or formal strategy documents reference Duniam’s valedictory call against mimicking One Nation in shaping candidate or coalition strategy.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
4 source articles · 4 unique outlets · 3 distinct reports
Coverage mix: Mostly Center· 2 Center · 1 Right
Where the outlets are based: Asia 50% · Middle East 25% · Other 25%
Coverage mix
Mostly Center
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
1 outlet
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
4 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

How we got here

The immediate backdrop includes Jonno Duniam’s parliamentary career: he entered the Senate as a Tasmanian Liberal in 2016 and announced in June 2026 that he would not recontest, ending a 10‑year parliamentary tenure that began after his 2016 election.

Before his Senate service, Duniam worked as a political staffer from 2003, a documented part of his career trajectory that led to his appointment as an assistant minister during Scott Morrison’s prime ministership (Morrison served as Prime Minister from August 2018 until the Coalition’s defeat in the federal election of 21 May 2022).

Original sources

4 articles from 4 outlets

Every story links to the reporting it was built from. How we choose sources

Spotted a factual error, a broken link or a misleading summary? Tell us.