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We need a Trump-like movement in Australia: Christensen

George Christensen hopes a Trump-like movement springs from the Coalition.

George Christensen hopes a Trump-like movement springs from the Coalition. Photo: Twitter

Nationals MP George Christensen says he hopes a Trump-style movement emerges out of the Coalition.

The Queensland MP is one of the few supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the Australian Parliament.

Mr Trump appealed to him because he came from “outside establishment politics” and had run on an agenda of “conservatism fused with nationalism”.

“Are we going to see a Trump movement here in Australia?

“For sure I think we will and I hope just like the US it is contained within the Liberal-National Coalition rather than one that springs up from outside it,” he told the Financial Review on Wednesday in a video interview.

Such a movement would ensure the Coalition parties focused on the national interest and listened to the public’s concerns.

https://twitter.com/GChristensenMP/status/796100697796186113

Voters were keen for the government to intervene in some markets, such as petrol and electricity, he said.

“Perhaps there is a place for government to be in that space, regulating, controlling or standing up and lecturing (fuel and electricity providers),” Mr Christensen said.

He hopes the US election will put an end to plans for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal involving Australia and other countries in the region.

Barnaby Joyce rejects Trump isolationism

Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said the TPP was still worth pursuing as farmers benefited from free trade.

“I think it’s a retrograde step back to a form of isolationism — it’s not something that serves anybody well,” Mr Joyce told reporters.

“I hope cooler heads after the election come into play. America can’t just trade with America, it has to trade with the world.”

National Farmers’ Federation president Brent Finlay said the agriculture sector was concerned about the “protectionist rhetoric” coming out of the US.

“Trade is critical to rural and regional Australia and the Australian economy … and if there is any increase in tariffs that will impact on Australian agriculture,” he told ABC radio on Wednesday.

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