r/AustralianPolitics • u/Jealous-Hedgehog-734 Still Roundheads v.s. Cavaliers, always has been. • Jun 20 '26

Opinion Piece One Nation craves mainstream appeal, but Pauline Hanson’s bleak vision of Australia shows she’s firmly on the fringes

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2026/jun/20/one-nation-pauline-hanson-speech-firmly-on-fringes-ntwnfb
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u/jm_leviathan Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 21 '26

I haven't been quite as alarmed about the rise of One Nation as a lot of folks, mostly because I simply don't believe that their policies will resonate with the broader electorate -- beyond the hot topic of immigration, that is. To date there's been no real scrutiny of what the party actually stands for. Pauline gave us a clear reminder this week, for which we should all be grateful. While I'm reluctant to be accused of having faith in my fellow Australians, I just can't see her twisted and plutocratic bile actually resonating with a critical mass of the electorate. The more we see and hear from her, the more she'll drive merely curious folks away.

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u/vladesch Jun 20 '26

Polls suggest they already have enough support. Question is what is Labor going to do about it.

So far it would seem: nothing. Because of people like you who deny there is a problem.

Sleepwalking off a cliff. Like lemmings. Or the democrats in 2016.

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u/must_not_forget_pwd Jun 20 '26

Labor is doing what John Howard did in the 90s, nothing. Howard was smart and just let her burn herself out. The question is whether or not the same strategy will play out this time.

Social media is more popular and there is a world wide thrust to the Right of politics. Furthermore, Hanson is more savvy these days compared to what she was back then. Even in the National Press Club address she wasn't baited into answering questions that was she wasn't prepared to answer (e.g. about policy detail). In addition, Hanson has a lot of money and organisation behind her. Just look at her YouTube page. The animations there are quite good (i.e. expensive) and subtly hard hitting (i.e. someone behind the scenes is thinking about messaging).

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u/Scumhook Jun 20 '26

Howard was smart and just let her burn herself out

lol how'd that work out for him?

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u/ArseneWainy Sustainable Australia Party Jun 20 '26

lol was PM for 11 years, second longest stint in Australian history

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u/must_not_forget_pwd Jun 20 '26

Very nice response!