Hastie threatens One Nation with legal action over 'traitor' attacks

Andrew Hastie, a Liberal MP and former SAS captain, has drawn a line. In an email to supporters on Tuesday, he warned Pauline Hanson and One Nation strategist James Ashby that if they continue attacking him, he will pursue legal action—and make it expensive. The conflict centers on Hastie's decision to testify under oath against Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith in a defamation case brought against Nine newspapers. Roberts-Smith, now facing war crimes charges related to his service in Afghanistan, has the backing of One Nation and billionaire Gina Rinehart, who view his prosecution as unfair. Hastie's willingness to give evidence has made him a target.

The attacks have been personal and sustained. Hastie has been called a rat, a traitor, a dog, and worse. People he once trusted have distanced themselves from him. His family has faced threats serious enough that the federal government upgraded security around his home and office earlier this year. Yet Hastie has framed his decision to testify not as disloyalty but as a matter of principle—he believed in the rule of law, received a subpoena, and complied rather than risk contempt of court. "I gave evidence under oath, before God," he wrote.

What rankles Hastie most is the suggestion that his service record is in question. He deployed twice to Afghanistan as a captain in the SAS, leaving his wife knowing he might not return. He has defended his war service publicly and called out One Nation for failing to support efforts to hold Australian soldiers to high standards of battlefield conduct. In his email, he directly challenged Hanson and her party: "I'm calling time on cowards who have never served a day in the Australian Defence Force attacking my service record, my integrity, and my loyalty to Australia."

The political stakes are rising. One Nation won a state byelection this month in the Western Australian seat of Secret Harbour, which overlaps Hastie's federal electorate of Canning. The party has already signaled it will mount a strong campaign against him at the next federal election, scheduled for 2028. For Hastie, the threat is concrete: One Nation is trying to unseat him, and they are using his testimony as the weapon.

Hastie's position within the Liberal Party adds another layer. He is considered a leading alternative to opposition leader Angus Taylor and chose not to challenge Taylor in a leadership race earlier this year. A reshuffle of the opposition frontbench is looming, prompted by shadow home affairs minister Jonno Duniam's announcement that he will quit parliament within the next month or two. Hastie could benefit from that shift. Taylor, for his part, has told Liberal MPs that One Nation is "unfit to govern the country" and raised serious questions about the party's Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, after allegations emerged this week about Pickering's history of heavy drug use. Hanson has said Pickering denies the allegations and that she remains satisfied with him in the role.

Hastie's threat of legal action marks a significant escalation. He is not backing down, not apologizing for his testimony, and not accepting the framing that loyalty to a fellow veteran means silence about conduct. Instead, he is naming the cost One Nation will pay if they continue. Whether that cost materializes in court or remains a warning, the message is clear: the question of who gets to define loyalty in Australian politics, and at what price, is far from settled.