June 23, 2026 — 11:22amLiberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie has told Coalition colleagues he has been identified for security upgrades at his home and electorate office which he believes are linked to an online campaign against him over his role as a potential witness in the Ben Roberts-Smith war crime allegations.Speaking in Tuesday morning’s Coalition party room, Hastie said Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had recently told him he would receive enhanced security measures but had not disclosed the nature of any specific threats.Liberal MP Andrew Hastie was a witness in the Ben Roberts Smith civil case. Alex EllinghausenAccording to multiple sources present, Hastie told colleagues he believed the decision was driven by an orchestrated campaign against him online that had been fuelled by One Nation and its supporters over the Roberts-Smith controversy.“I would rather get taken out in a box than bend the knee to One Nation,” Hastie told the meeting, according to one source.He also vowed to continue fighting the minor party, declaring: “I will never surrender to One Nation, and we will do them, and do them slowly.”The remarks underscore the deepening political fault line on the right over Roberts-Smith, the Victoria Cross recipient who has been charged with five counts of war crime murder over the alleged killing of unarmed Afghan detainees.His plight has become a rallying point for some conservative activists and politicians at a time when the Liberals and Nationals also face electoral wipeout against One Nation.Hastie is a former SAS captain and one of more than 20 current and former soldiers who provided evidence during defamation proceedings brought by Roberts-Smith against Nine newspapers. The Liberal MP has faced sustained criticism from Roberts-Smith supporters since a Federal Court judge found in 2023 that allegations were substantially true on the balance of probabilities. Roberts-Smith has consistently denied wrongdoing.One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has repeatedly backed Roberts-Smith and criticised those who testified against him. Her party, which receives significant financial support from mining billionaire and prominent Roberts-Smith supporter Gina Rinehart, has targeted Hastie in recent months.Hanson’s chief of staff, James Ashby, has publicly flagged running a strong One Nation candidate against Hastie in the West Australian seat of Canning, citing the party’s membership base in the electorate.Hastie has said he may be called as a witness in any criminal proceedings involving Roberts-Smith.In an interview with Sydney radio station 2GB last week, Hastie said he welcomed the political contest with Hanson and Ashby.“If Pauline Hanson and James Ashby want war, I’m going to give them war,” he said.“I back myself for delivery for my local community, so I welcome the fight.”While conceding some voters in Canning had told him they supported Hanson, Hastie dismissed One Nation’s social media campaigning as offering “sugar hits”.“It’s easy to pop off on a 30-second reel online and get a whole bunch of likes,” he said. “It’s much, much harder to model a policy, cost a policy and get a policy out the door and win an election.”This masthead revealed in April that politicians would get increased protection at home, in their electorate offices and at high-risk public events under a $150 million proposal to shield public figures from what analysts say is the most dangerous security environment in generations.Several MPs have expressed anxiety about their safety amid hostilities and divisions that have been exacerbated by global events and rising extremism.At least 10 people have been charged with serious offences since September after making violent threats to politicians. The AFP investigated 950 politically motivated threats in the 2024-25 financial year – a 63 per cent increase on the combined total of the previous four years.One Nation said in a statement: “One Nation isn’t driving any campaign against Andrew Hastie. The Liberals are doing plenty of damage to themselves; they don’t need our help. We make no apology for joining the many Australians who support Ben Roberts-Smith VC.”Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.From our partners