Former Liberal senator turned Sky News commentator Cory Bernardi will lead One Nation's ticket for the legislative council at the South Australian election in March, party leader Pauline Hanson confirmed on Monday.
Bernardi, who served under Liberal leaders Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott before leaving the party in 2017 to launch the Australian Conservatives, is the latest conservative politician to join One Nation as Hanson seeks to convert surging poll support into seats.
Hanson said Bernardi has “strong, sound conservative values” and is “keen to make the positive differences in his home state the Liberals just can’t bring themselves to make”. One Nation plans to run candidates in all lower-house seats at the election, which will test whether the party can turn national popularity into state-level gains.
Bernardi claimed One Nation would “reduce spending, reduce taxes and get our debt under control” without detailing specific policies. He voiced concern about “red, green and black tape”, government debt, health and education services, and environmental policies, arguing the major parties are letting down ordinary South Australians.
Bernardi quit the Senate in 2020 and hosted a podcast on Sky News Australia until 2023. He wrote last week that he was “lending my shoulder to the ON wheel”. Several media reports speculated that Liberal senator Alex Antic might defect, but Guardian Australia understands he has assured colleagues he will not.
