Pauline Hanson can expect many more hugs from Michaelia Cash and perhaps a few more coffees with Tony Abbott as the Coalition finds common ground with Hanson’s One Nation Party.

George Brandis seemed quite animated when talking about the prospects of the government’s success with the new senate.

Crucially, Hanson has a phalanx of four senators and appears more open to persuasion than the “feral senate” of the last parliament. Suddenly Nick Xenophon has a crucial role to play.

Frank Carroll