Andrew Hastie to get extra security, citing One Nation campaign against him

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie will receive additional security due to an apparent higher risk he attributes to his stance on charges against alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP View image in fullscreen Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie will receive additional security due to an apparent higher risk he attributes to his stance on charges against alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP Andrew Hastie to get extra security, citing One Nation campaign against him Hastie tells colleagues home affairs minister did not disclose the threats made against him, but he has been targeted online for his views on Ben Roberts-Smith Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie is set to receive extra security in what he believes is a response to a One Nation-fuelled campaign against him, including over his stance on the Ben Roberts-Smith war crimes allegations. At a partyroom meeting on Tuesday, Hastie told colleagues that the home affairs minister, Tony Burke , had advised him that he had been identified for security measures at his home and electorate office. Hastie said Burke did not disclose the nature of the threats that prompted this. Liberal sources said Hastie told colleagues he believes the decision was a response to a months-long online campaign from One Nation and its supporters, including over his involvement in the Roberts-Smith case. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Hastie, a former SAS solider, served alongside Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan and was subpoenaed to give evidence in the defamation trial that the Victoria Cross recipient brought against the Nine newspapers. Hastie is a potential witness in the criminal trial after Roberts-Smith was charged with war crimes in April. Roberts-Smith has denied all allegations against him and said that he had “always acted within my values, within my training and within the rules of engagement”. The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, has been an enthusiastic supporter of Roberts-Smith, telling a recent rally that he was a “war hero” and a person “I respect and admire”. In comments first reported in the Nine papers and confirmed by Guardian Australia, Hastie told Tuesday’s meeting that he would not stop fighting One Nation. “I would rather get taken out in a box than bend the knee to One Nation,” he said. “I will never surrender to One Nation, and we will do them, and do them slowly.” A separate Coalition source said Hastie did not directly reference Roberts-Smith but accused One Nation of “weaponising issues” against him and his family and said he would “fight to the end”. The comments add to the tension inside the Coalition about how best to confront One Nation, as the populist party’s support surges. Some Liberals, including party president and former prime minister Tony Abbott, support working with Hanson’s party while others