At CPAC, Angus Taylor faced the reality of Pauline Hanson's growing appeal

Angus Taylor spoke at the 2026 Australian Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Brisbane this weekend. The reception he received was in stark contrast to that given to Pauline Hanson, the leader of One Nation, who received a standing ovation when she took the stage. When Taylor finished speaking, about 50 people stood to applaud him, while hundreds rose to their feet to give Hanson a standing ovation. This contrast in reception has raised questions about why Taylor bothered to attend the conference at all.

Taylor's address hit many of the same points as Hanson's speech, but it was clear the audience was giving all the credit to the latter. The opposition leader also pulled his punches when it came to One Nation, despite the party's surge in the polls correlating with the Coalition's decline. Hanson showed no such qualms, delivering a sharp jab in Taylor's direction as she noted that voters did not want Anthony Albanese as prime minister, but neither were they keen on a "smarmy management consultant".

Taylor's willingness to participate in the conference had a notable effect on the tenor of the proceedings. Protesters were seen outside the conference, but the event itself was marked by a sense of unity among the conservative faithful. The discussion of how to “unite the right” echoed around the Brisbane convention centre, with Hanson repeatedly criticising the Coalition to laughter from the audience.

The Liberal leader's speech ran through a list of relatively well-explained Coalition policies, but it was clear that much of the crowd wasn't buying what he was selling. The biggest claps Taylor got were when he railed against socialism and big government, not for talking up fiscal discipline. This is where the problem lies for Taylor, presenting a vexed conundrum with no easy solution.

Taylor's decision to attend the conference and share the stage with Hanson has been seen as a risk, given the party's surge in the polls and the Coalition's decline. However, the Liberal leader's willingness to participate has also been seen as a sign of his commitment to working with other conservative parties to defeat Labor.