In a development that will shock absolutely no one who has ever watched Australian politics, Tasmanian senator and veteran Jacqui Lambie has called One Nation leader Pauline Hanson a "bloody coward" for posting an animated cartoon that calls Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie a traitor. The cartoon, shared on Hanson's social media, repeatedly labels Hastie a traitor for giving evidence against Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith in his failed defamation case against Nine newspapers.

Lambie, herself a veteran, defended Hastie on Thursday, telling ABC radio the cartoon should be taken down immediately and that Hanson was showing her "true colours." She did not mince words: "What she's doing in those cartoons is absolutely disgusting. They are full of bloody violence. But attacking Andrew Hastie, a veteran that has served in our Afghanistan war, or any other veteran, is the lowest ebb you can possibly do. That woman is nothing less than a bloody coward." She added, for good measure, that any veteran considering voting for One Nation or standing for them should "think twice."

Senior Liberals also joined the condemnation. Opposition leader Angus Taylor called for the cartoon to be taken down, saying, "Andrew Hastie has served this country with distinction as an officer in the SAS. She should take it down." Taylor declined, however, to endorse Hastie's description of Hanson as "weak and glass-jawed."

Hastie himself ruled out legal action against Hanson, citing her billionaire backer Gina Rinehart. "I think it shows [Hanson] to be weak and glass-jawed. I gave her the opportunity to either own her words publicly or to take it down. She chose neither," he told ABC radio. "She's not fit to govern this country. And she's also cast a massive slur on veterans around the country who think that Australian soldiers should hold high standards of conduct on the battlefield. I'm not after legal action, particularly when she's financed by Australia's richest person. Why would I walk into a fight that I can't win financially? But yes, I'm going to impose costs politically."

Hanson, for her part, again claimed she had not personally called Hastie a coward, despite posting the video on her social media accounts. She told The Nightly newspaper that she would call Hastie a "wanker" instead - because nothing says mature political debate like upgrading from "traitor" to schoolyard taunts.

The spat has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum. Greens senator David Shoebridge told News24 it was disgraceful to attack Hastie for giving evidence under oath: "I disagree with pretty much everything that comes out of Hastie's mouth, like his whole suite of policies are things that I tend to oppose … but for the life of me, I can't work out how any political party can stand by an attack on somebody because they go into court and they tell the truth as they understand it. I mean it's actually pretty fucking disgraceful to attack him for that."

Shadow defence minister James Paterson said Hanson and her strategist James Ashby "should be ashamed of themselves." He added: "I would never dream of accusing someone who has served in uniform for our country of being a traitor. There's no graver accusation to make, particularly about someone like Andrew Hastie. Andrew Hastie signed up to the ADF after 9/11. He signed up to fight Islamist terrorists as part of the global war on terror. He served on the front lines in Afghanistan over multiple tours. What service has anyone in One Nation given that compares in any way, shape or form to Andrew Hastie's service?"

Hastie's evidence was given in Roberts-Smith's failed defamation case against Nine newspapers. Hanson and Rinehart have argued Roberts-Smith is being unfairly targeted over war crimes allegations related to his service between 2009 and 2012. Meanwhile, Hastie has promised a costly political battle, proving that in Australian politics, the only thing more reliable than a fierce disagreement is the promise of another one.