Pauline Hanson's One Nation has emerged as the Turnbull government's most reliable voting partner in the Senate, defying early predictions that the upper house in this term of Parliament would be even less manageable than before.
An analysis of Senate voting patterns by Fairfax Media shows Ms Hanson – who regularly attacks both major parties for being out of touch with voters – sided with the government on 74 per cent of votes from August to December last year. There were 183 votes over this period.
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By contrast, Derryn Hinch voted with the government 61 per cent of the time, Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm 60 per cent and the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) 54 per cent.
On issues where the Coalition and Labor were divided, One Nation voted with the government 85 per cent of the time, compared with 77 per cent for Senator Leyonhjelm and 66 per cent for the NXT senators.
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On the 66 substantial votes on legislation – not including procedural votes or symbolic motions – One Nation voted with the government 88 per cent of the time, topped only by Senator Hinch on 89 per cent of votes.
Most significantly, One Nation voted with the Turnbull government on double dissolution trigger bills to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission and introduce tougher governance standards for unions.
Although described as a populist, Ms Hanson has also emerged as a champion of reduced welfare spending and tackling government debt.
In recent days, she has had to backtrack from past comments calling for penalty rates to be abolished entirely.
"Right across the board, get rid of the penalty rates," Ms Hanson said on Sunrise three years ago.
Trade Minister Steve Ciobo last month praised One Nation as "more economically responsible" than the Labor opposition and noted the party had regularly supported the government in the Senate.
Labor has voted with the government on 40 per cent of substantive Senate votes compared with 9 per cent for the Greens and 29 per cent for Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie.
Queensland Labor senator Murray Watt said: "With Pauline Hanson voting with the government 85 per cent of the time, it's increasingly clear that One Nation has become a new arm of the Liberal Party.
"Pauline Hanson runs around complaining about politicians then rolls up to Canberra and delivers to the Liberals pretty much every time."
A spokesman for Ms Hanson did not respond to requests for comment.
When the Senate election results emerged last July, it was widely assumed Malcolm Turnbull would face a more difficult Senate than in the previous Parliament.
While she has consistently voted with the government so far, Ms Hanson can make life difficult in the future.
She has said she won't support the government's omnibus bill – which includes major changes to childcare – because the plan to extend the taxpayer-funded paid parental leave scheme is too generous and can encourage women to get pregnant to access government benefits.
One Nation has also indicated opposition to the government's plan to deregulate the media sector on the grounds it can reduce diversity and extend the influence of foreign media corporations.