Andrew Bragg was repeatedly pushed in an interview on whether his colleagues would be willing to do a deal with the right-wing populist party ahead of a likely 2028 election.
"We would definitely like to work out whoever would be interested in being in a coalition with us if that's what the numbers were. Of course. We're not crazy," Senator Bragg said on Channel Nine's Today Show on Monday.
But Liberal Leader Angus Taylor later told reporters in Queensland he had no plans to entertain the prospects of a coalition with the Pauline Hanson-led party.
"There will be no coalition with One Nation. Our coalition is with the National Party and that's the coalition that can deliver the strong plan and the strong team to get this country back to where it needs to be," Mr Taylor said.
The comments came just a fortnight after he categorically ruled out adding One Nation to the Liberals' coalition with the Nationals.
Pauline Hanson's party has surged in support during 2026, with the most recent Newspoll released in mid-July showing it had 30 per cent of the primary vote, matching Labor, while the coalition was at just 19 per cent.
Senator Bragg said the Liberals would need to be "pragmatic" close to election time if recent polling numbers were similar then.
"Elections are every three years - you don't have to decide who your preferences are now,'' he said.
Controversial comments made by Senator Hanson about paid parental leave and domestic violence in recent weeks, along with a high-profile visit to Europe that included an interview with a convicted far-right activist in London, have increased scrutiny of the party.
Shortly after Senator Bragg's comments, fellow Liberal frontbencher James Paterson denied his colleague had suggested the party could ever enter a coalition with One Nation.
"He made a sensible point that we'll work out our preferences in the normal time, in the normal way, closer to the election," Senator Paterson told ABC Radio National.
"Angus Taylor's made the position of the Liberal Party very clear. My assessment is it's widely supported by colleagues,'' he said.
''We have one coalition partner already, which is the National Party, our traditional coalition partner, and we are not in the market for any other coalition partners."
11°C