Nationals MLC Wes Fang says he is “realistic” about his chances for re-election. Photo: Chris Roe.
Wagga-based MLC Wes Fang has “politely” declined to comment on a national media report this week suggesting he could be the next big-name Coalition figure to defect to One Nation.
The Australian reported this week that Barnaby Joyce had engaged in phone calls with Mr Fang amid speculation the Nationals MP could change teams to spearhead Pauline Hanson’s party’s campaign at the 2027 NSW state election.
Mr Joyce, a former deputy prime minister under a Coalition government, joined One Nation in 2025. Liberal Party stalwart Cory Bernardi followed suit earlier this year.
Mr Fang’s term in the NSW Upper House expires next year and he is due to face voters at the 2027 state election. Last month, he announced he had been preselected for the challenging number three spot on the National Party ticket.
“I am realistic about my chances for re-election. If the current polling is accurate, it will be difficult for us to return three members to the LC after March 2027. This reality, obviously weighs heavily on me, as I now contemplate life beyond the next election,” Mr Fang said in a Facebook post.
Region asked Mr Fang if he would run with One Nation for the Upper House or consider a tilt against independents Joe McGirr or Helen Dalton in the Lower House in 2027 but he said he would not comment.
One Nation Riverina branch president Paul Funnell, who has frequently clashed with the Wagga Nationals MLA over the past few years, said he’d be “extremely cautious” about welcoming Mr Fang to his team.
“He’s been a dyed-in-the-wool National Party man for so long, but maybe he’s finally woken up to himself,” he said.
“I’ll give him credit where credit is due. He asks the hard questions in Budget Estimates and that is great, he’s a good fighter. If he showed as much dedication to One Nation as he did to the Nationals that would be great. But he’s always been a Nationals man and has said some brutal things about his opponents.”
A Sky News/YouGov poll this week put nationwide support for One Nation well ahead of the Coalition, at 25 per cent compared to 20 per cent. This has fuelled speculation about whether there will be more defections to the party started by Pauline Hanson.
Wagga Nationals party branch member Marty Corboy said he was remaining loyal to a team that would ultimately withstand the challenge posed by One Nation.
“I personally think that the Coalition and in particular the Liberal Party is going through a form of reset that is also being seen in Europe and other Western nations. To use a raw term, a bit like a rebuilding footy side,” he said.
“The Coalition will weather the storm and will come out as the only viable opposition to a government and party that was once the champion of the underdog but now the enemy of the underdog.”
Mr Corboy, who ran for the Nationals in the Victorian seat of Indi in 2016, reminded observers that there was still at least 18 months before the next federal election.
“Yes, One Nation will dictate the narrative for a time but their lack of policy, volunteers and selection of candidates will be subject to new scrutiny, for them, especially when it comes to a general election where the established political parties excel ‘on the ground’.”
Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Region Riverina.
