Former Labor leader tells voters not to support ALP in Longman byelection because of ‘Shorten’s dishonesty’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The former Labor leader Mark Latham has lent his support to One Nation in a robocall urging voters not to vote for Labor in the Longman byelection to punish “[Bill] Shorten’s dishonesty”.

The robocall is an escalation of hostilities between Pauline Hanson and Labor, who have traded barbs in the campaign over One Nation’s former support for the company tax cut, but represents a new low in relations between Latham and his former party.

With public polling showing the Longman byelection is on a knife-edge, One Nation’s decision to preference the Liberal-National party over Labor may prove decisive in the Queensland seat when voters go to the polls. Longman is one of five electorates being contested in the 28 July “Super Saturday” byelections.

In a recording, played by Sky News on Monday, Latham introduces himself as the “former Labor party leader”.

“I’ve had personal experience with Bill Shorten’s dishonesty,” he says. “He just lies and lies and lies.”

Latham claims “the reason we’re having a Longman byelection is that Shorten lied about the citizenship of his Labor MPs”.

“Whatever you do, don’t reward Shorten’s dishonesty, don’t vote Labor,” Latham says. “Please support minor parties and independents to shake up the system and put some honest politics back into Canberra.”

The message concludes with an authorisation from Hanson stating the ad is for her One Nation party.

Latham’s political allegiance has shifted significantly since his 2004 election loss. The former Labor leader is now an outspoken supporter of the US president, Donald Trump, and became a member of the Liberal Democratic party in 2017. He is due to appear on Sky News with Hanson on Monday night.

The Labor MP and incoming national president, Wayne Swan, said that Latham had “ratted on battlers and working Australians years ago, so it’s no wonder he’s teamed up with Hanson”.

“This is the same bloke who had a go at domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty and can now be found in his basement making YouTube videos,” he said.

Swan said that Hanson “voted with Malcolm Turnbull and the top end of town 90% of the time down in Canberra ... When you vote Hanson, you get more Turnbull.”

In June, Labor authorised robocalls against One Nation in Longman warning that “Pauline Hanson plans to vote with Malcolm Turnbull to give another tax cut to the top end of town”.

Labor’s message said that Hanson was “giving herself a massive tax cut” by voting for the Coalition’s income tax package and suggested she was “selling Queenslanders out”.

Mark Latham joins Liberal Democrats and sparks speculation of return to politics Read more

Labor’s candidate for Longman, Susan Lamb, resigned in May when the high court ruled that taking reasonable steps to renounce dual citizenship was not sufficient to escape the constitutional disqualification on foreign citizens being elected.

Despite knowing that the UK Home Office had not processed Lamb’s renunciation, Labor maintained she was eligible because she had taken “all steps reasonably required” of her to renounce her foreign citizenship.

In February, Lamb explained in a tearful speech to parliament that she had been unable to renounce British citizenship without her parents’ marriage certificate.

After the high court ruled on 9 May that only those “irremediably prevented” from renouncing could access the defence, Lamb was able to renounce her British citizenship by 14 May, a fact confirmed by her candidate eligibility checklist.

On Monday the Australian Electoral Commission published the eligibility checklists of the candidates in the five byelections.

The Liberal candidate for Mayo, Georgina Downer, and Centre Alliance candidate, Rebekha Sharkie, submitted checklists but did not give permission for them to be published, although Sharkie did publish a letter from the US consulate.

Thirteen minor party and independent candidates refused to hand in the checklists, which ask where potential MPs their parents and grandparents were born.