Kevin Hogan’s ABC interview sheds light — and why it’s all good for regional Australia

ABC radio interviews are rarely friendly ground for Nationals politicians.

Party legend Tim Fischer once described them as painful but essential — “your enemy talking to your friends.”

Which is why Kevin Hogan’s appearance on ABC North Coast today stood out.

Instead of damage control, it offered clarity — and a glimpse of why the Nationals believe their message is cutting through in regional Australia.

That confidence rests on free speech and gun laws, and on a growing sense that metropolitan politics is drifting away from regional reality.

Speaking during the interview, Hogan said the Nationals were not opposing hate speech laws in principle, but objecting to what he described as dangerous grey areas.

“We certainly want really bad groups like neo-Nazis outlawed, and we support legislation that would do that,” he said.

“But when you get into this type of legal speak, you start getting into areas where free speech might be finished in ways we would be uncomfortable with.”

He said the party attempted to tighten the bill by confining it strictly to inciting violence.

“We wanted it tightened up and really best confined to violence.

“When those amendments didn’t get up, we were therefore going to vote against the legislation.”

 

Talkback breaks the pattern

What made the interview notable was the audience response.

Calls and text messages were openly supportive of the Nationals’ stance  — an entirely positive ABC reaction mostly afforded only to Greens MPs.

One listener texted: “I’m not a Nationals voter, but I’m a supporter of them on this draconian speech and the gun laws.”

Another listener, Greg from Wardrop Valley, told the program: “First time I’ve agreed with Kevin Hogan.”

On gun laws, Hogan rejected what he described as a knee-jerk reaction following the Bondi attack, arguing Australia already has some of the toughest firearm regulations in the world.

“You have to lock them up, you have safety checks, fit and proper processes.

“If you’re charged with domestic violence, your firearms are taken. We support that.”

He warned proposed changes risked punishing lawful gun owners for the actions of others.

“There are a lot of law-abiding, great people in our community. 

“I’ve been to most of our sporting shooter clubs and know a lot of farmers. They do it responsibly, and many of them are now going to be impinged by this,” he said.

The ABC’s breakfast host Bridie Tanner effectively acknowledged that even she “gets it”,  telling listeners she grew up in Grafton and understood firearms culture thanks to her grandfather.

When conservatives win over the ABC and its audience, there is little room for second thoughts.

By the end of the interview, Hogan could hardly have doubted that he and his colleagues had made the right call.

 

Why this split is different

Concerns about Liberal leader Susan Ley were evident from the very beginning of this term.

Immediately after last May’s federal election, the Nationals walked from the marriage, only to capitulate a week later once a deal was struck.

At the time, cynics suggested senior Nationals figures were tempted back by the higher salaries, staffing and resources that come with shadow ministry roles — benefits they would have forfeited outside the Coalition.

What made this rupture different was Kevin Hogan’s willingness to confront that perception head-on.

“Even if we have to forgo pay,” he said.

In other words, this time they’re serious.

So how long will this political separation last?

My tip is just over a week, ending with the next parliamentary sitting on February 3.

By then, pressure is likely to peak, with internal moves possible to install a Liberal Party leader capable of bringing the Coalition back together.

The Nationals were never comfortable under Ley’s leadership.

Despite nearly two decades in parliament and a stint as deputy leader, she carried little public profile before taking the top job.

Her most widely remembered moment remains a 2017 frontbench sacking over travel allowance claims (— a relatively minor misdemeanour by today’s parliamentary standards, but still not what you’d want to be best remembered for.)

There is also a detail often overlooked by the Canberra press gallery.

Ley entered parliament in 2001 by winning the seat of Farrer, formerly held by Nationals legend Tim Fischer.

Political parties have long memories and that victory has never endeared her to the Nationals.

 

Why timing now matters

Recent federal history shows how quickly leadership patience evaporates when polling turns toxic.

When Malcolm Turnbull rolled Tony Abbott, he cited 20 consecutive negative Newspolls as justification.

The same benchmark was later used against Turnbull himself, clearing the path for Scott Morrison.

That was almost a decade ago, when a week was said to be a long time in politics.

In 2026, parties do not need 20 bad Newspolls.

Last Monday’s first Newspoll for 2026 was dynamite enough.

It showed One Nation overtaking both Coalition partners to become the dominant right-of-centre force.

No one would be more alarmed than the Nationals.

Their regional seats would be most exposed, particularly as new One Nation branches form and two of the most effective retail politicians in the country — Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson — begin criss-crossing the country.

The Nationals’ abject fear and loathing of One Nation — and its ultimate electoral prospects — was evident during the ABC interview when a caller suggested to Kevin Hogan that maybe the parties should join forces.

“I very much doubt it,” Hogan said, shutting it down immediately, “ I very much doubt it,” he repeated.

“We are a proud, rural-based party.  We stand on principles — I very much doubt that,” he said a third time.

Whatever their differences, their shared willingness to act on hate speech and gun laws shows how competition between two parties for rural and regional interests can deliver positive outcomes.

Across regional Australia, many see it as unreasonable that law-abiding farmers, sporting shooters and licensed gun owners should pay a price for an Islamist-inspired terror attack they had no role in.

We’re a long way from the seats of government, and too often regional voices only cut through when political pressure intensifies.

The rise of One Nation guarantees regional contests of an intensity rarely seen before, forcing major parties to listen longer and engage more seriously with communities like ours.

Whatever the political outcome, that scrutiny matters.