A former Liberal minister has told frontbencher Andrew Hastie to back off from his public crusade to turn the party towards nationalist positions on everything from manufacturing to the Australian flag.

Amanda Vanstone, who held ministries including immigration in the Howard government, told Hastie via the ABC’s 7.30 : “I understand the frustration, when a party goes a way you don’t want to go, but it’s not your party. You don’t own it.”

Vanstone is the second moderate faction heavyweight to explicitly or implicitly rebuke Hastie, after John Howard’s former chief of staff Arthur Sinodinos issued a similar call for unity on Thursday morning.

Hastie has issued a series of statements on social media in recent weeks blaming immigrants for high house prices , calling for a revival of A

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