Victorian Liberal leader leaves door open to One Nation alliance to oust Allan government

Melbourne, May 17: A senior member of the Victorian Liberal Party has left the door open to a possible alliance with One Nation, saying the opposition must do everything possible to remove the Allan government from power.

Speaking to Sky News Australia host Steve Price, Victorian Upper House Liberal leader Bev McArthur declared that “Labor are our enemy” and said the Coalition needed to defeat the government “in any way we can”.

According to a report published by Sky News Australia and written by digital reporter Patrick Hannaford, Ms McArthur urged voters to support Opposition Leader Jess Wilson at the November state election.

“You’re going to have a choice come November. You can either vote for Jess Wilson or Jacinta Allan, and I suggest you vote for Jess Wilson,” Ms McArthur said.

She argued that Victorians unhappy with the Labor government should vote for the Liberal and National parties in order to remove Premier Jacinta Allan from office.

Ms Wilson had previously confirmed that the Liberal Party would enter preference negotiations with One Nation ahead of the election. However, she has also dismissed the prospect of a formal coalition with the party founded by Pauline Hanson.

During the interview, Steve Price asked whether the Coalition would rely on One Nation support if needed to form government. In response, Ms McArthur said the opposition would pursue every opportunity to remove Labor from power.

“Look, my enemy is the Labor Party,” she said. “We’ll make sure that we have the best opportunity to get rid of the Labor government in any way we can.”

The Western Victoria MP also highlighted the opposition’s recent cooperation with crossbench MPs in the Upper House. She pointed to support for a Royal Commission into CFMEU corruption and legislation aimed at giving IBAC greater powers to investigate financial misconduct.

Upper House Liberal leader Bev McArthur said the state opposition needed to remove the Allan government “in any way we can”. Picture: Facebook.

Ms McArthur claimed there was growing anger toward the Allan government in regional Victoria, citing concerns over deteriorating roads, hospital ramping, increased emergency services taxes and the construction of transmission lines across rural communities.

“People are very angry,” she said. “Everything is out of control. We’ve got roads that you can’t drive on, they’re unsafe.”