Teena McQueen, the former federal Liberal Party vice president who crossed to One Nation only weeks ago, has died after a short but severe illness, her family has confirmed. She died on Wednesday, 24 June.

McQueen served as federal vice president of the Liberal Party from 2017 to 2023 and had been a member for around 40 years. She was also a longtime Sky News Australia contributor, on screens since 2017, where she built a following as one of the conservative movement's blunter voices.

The defection that shook the conservative base

Her death comes barely a month after one of the year's most striking conservative realignments. McQueen left the Liberals to join Pauline Hanson's One Nation alongside former NSW senator Hollie Hughes, with Hanson announcing the pair at an event at Hughes' regional pub.

McQueen was adamant the move was her own. "I asked to join," she told Sky News, making clear she'd approached One Nation herself rather than being courted or recruited. The Daily Telegraph, which first reported the switch, quoted her declaring that Hanson was "the only hope we have got."

It wasn't a quiet exit. Liberal MP Tim Wilson dismissed the defectors as heading for "the orange paddock of despair," a line that captured how raw the split had become.

Tributes from across politics

Pauline Hanson, whose party McQueen had only just joined, was among the first to pay tribute, releasing the following statement.

Barnaby Joyce, who is currently in London posted on Facebook:

''It is with great surprise and incredible sadness to hear just now of the passing of Teena McQueen. I spent a week with Teena merely a month or so ago and never realised she was sick. Teena dedicated herself to her nation via her passion for politics. Not as a politician but as the unpaid administration of the volunteer party structure. Conversations with Teena were often about, policies, our nation and the capabilities of politicians.To the very last this was her realm. Without Teena McQueen personalities party would not function. I offer my deep condolences to her family and note my abiding affection to this dear friend of mine.''

NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane paid tribute on X, calling her "a force of nature in Australian politics."

A conservative who never compromised

McQueen made her name as an unapologetic warrior of the party's right, and she never softened it. After the 2025 federal election she said the Liberals should "rejoice" at moderate "lefties" losing their seats, a remark that drew a furious response from the moderate wing and ultimately cost her the vice presidency. To her supporters it was exactly the conviction they wanted to see more of.

That same conviction, she said, was what drove her decision to leave. She told Sky News in May she'd weighed it for 18 months, tracing the decline to the moment:

"Tony Abbott lost his prime ministership" and saying the "left had been creeping in. I tried so very hard. You know, 10 years on federal executive, where I was bashing my head against a wall. I came to the conclusion, looking at my two grandchildren and the state of the country, that I really wanted to help One Nation. I'm not saying it's not tough. It wasn't an easy decision, but I feel it's the right one for myself and for One Nation."

Weeks later, she was gone. Her family said the illness was short but severe.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott, whose leadership McQueen long held up as the party's high point, also paid tribute on X.