As the Coalition competes with One Nation for rural and regional seats at the next federal election, the covert racism within the National Party and sections of the Liberals will become increasingly overt.

Those of us occupying the sensible centre – both Labor and Liberal – have a moral responsibility to fight racism in all its forms.

One Nation was created following Pauline Hanson’s election to the Australian Parliament in 1996, appearing on ballot papers as the Liberal candidate for the Queensland seat of Oxley.

Hanson had been disendorsed by the Liberals for racist remarks about First Nations people. But it came too late for the Australian Electoral Commission to print and issue new ballot papers.

 One Nation performed spectacularly well at the subsequent Queensland state election, winning 11 seats.

In 2016, Hanson won a place in the Australian Senate and has been there ever since. For a decade, One Nation was a fringe party, occasionally picking up and then losing Senate seats but not making a big impact electorally.

But when Barnaby Joyce defected from the Nationals before Christmas last year, the political........

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