Andrew Hastie has accepted an apology from former colleague Barnaby Joyce after a One Nation cartoon labelled him a traitor, but he still calls Pauline Hanson a “lying coward”.
The cartoon, posted to social media in late July, depicts Hastie as a pitiful opposition leader manipulated by Anthony Albanese. It refers to him as a traitor for giving evidence against Victoria Cross‑winner Ben Roberts‑Smith in a failed defamation trial.
Joyce quickly distanced himself from the video, saying he was unaware of it. He later contacted Hastie, and on Friday the former MP accepted Joyce’s explanation that he did not know about the cartoon.
Hanson, however, refused to apologise or remove the video. She thanked Hastie for drawing attention to the clip, posted a photo of Jacqui Lambie on X, and urged critics to “take a chill pill”. The animation remained pinned to her account.
Other politicians weighed in. Sean Bell called the controversy a shame and said the party had nothing to apologise for. Defence Minister Richard Marles described the use of the word “traitor” as tasteless and defended Hastie as a respected veteran.
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