THE CONTINUING RISE OF ONE NATION

Hanson at Blenheim Palace, UK

Ever since early in 2026, there has been a daily avalanche of media reports about One Nation and its leader, Pauline Hanson. The extent of the news coverage from multiple sources is nothing short of astounding.

Hanson overtakes Albanese as the preferred Prime Minister

Support for One Nation has doubled among voters aged between 18 and 34 and there is also a growing number of younger, female and ethnic voters identifying as One Nation supporters. A recent Newspoll reported a rise in voter support to 31% with One Nation leading both Labor and the Coalition. A recent Sky News Pulse/YouGov poll showed that 50% of Australian voters believe that One Nation was ready to govern with a further 33% saying that the party would be ready by the next election.

The Hanson phenomenon shows no sign of running out of steam, with its appeal broadening well beyond its traditional base. The increasing slice of the vote for One Nation is coming from both Labor and the Coalition and the primary vote for One Nation in NSW and Victoria now rivals that in Hanson’s home state of Queensland.[i] 

Hanson has convinced many Australians that she is one of them and she understands their everyday concerns. If the current rise in One Nation’s support continues into 2028, One Nation could be sitting on the government benches.[ii]

The Bondi Massacre

The Bondi Beach massacre on 14 December 2025 was the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history.  It was a shock awakening as to how far Australia had strayed from its promise of tolerance and security after more than two years of anti-Semitic hatred and Islamist threats. The Sydney Harbour Bridge protest four months earlier amounted to an Islamist-dominated threat against Israel, its supporters and Jewish Australians. Hanson blamed the Prime Minister saying, “He has blood on his hands” adding, “The wrong people have been brought here with the wrong ideology, people who will not assimilate into Australian culture and values”.

Nine days after Bondi, the Brisbane Times reported that One Nation had been flooded with new members within hours of the massacre, with Hanson’s chief of staff, James Ashby claiming 300 members had signed up in one hour, with thousands more added over the course of that week. In her later National Press Club talk, Hanson addressed hate speech and Islamist extremism in strong language, saying she would restrict immigration from places “Immersed in extremism like radical Islam”. There was nothing surprising about Hanson’s statement or the way so many voters welcomed it.[iii]

Keeping Australia Safe

On 31 July 2026, One Nation published its proposed legislation to keep Australia safe. It aims to prevent the return of people who leave Australia to fight with terrorists. The proposed “Protecting Australians from Foreign Terrorist Fighters” Bill reflects the measures which the Labor and Coalition governments could have taken to prevent ISIS terrorists from returning, but they failed to do so. One Nation’s proposed legislation shows what could and should have been done to ensure the safety of the Australian community. The proposal also amends the Counter-Terrorism Act to add “The foreign terrorist fighter exclusion order” plus the Australian Passports Act by conferring power on the responsible minister to refuse Australian travel documents to anyone charged or convicted of a terrorism offence. The proposal will also amend the Criminal Code making it an offence to organise or facilitate the entry into Australia of anyone who has engaged in terrorism related conduct.

Hanson’s Appearance at the National Press Club

Pauline Hanson made her first appearance at the National Press Club on 17 June 2026 having first entered politics 30 years earlier. The Press Club President, Tom Connell described Hanson as one of the country’s most influential political figures. Her speech was hijacked by an activist group, GetUp when a protest banner was unfurled behind Hanson. It was quickly removed and the Press Club referred the incident to the Australian Federal Police.

Hanson banned the ABC, The Guardian and The Age from attending her meetings. Quizzed as to the reasons for doing so, Hanson said, “I’m not putting up with their rubbish, their spin and their lies. I want truth and honesty. You get it from me. I expect it back from the media”.[iv]

As for Prime Minister Albanese, he announced he would not tune in to watch Hanson’s address and instead would watch the State of Origin match which for him would be “Much more fulfilling”. That’s our PM!

Monoculture

Hanson spoke of her vision of a “monocultural” Australia, the core characteristics of which include homogeneity in which most of the population belongs to the same ethnic or cultural group as well as an expectation that those coming to Australia should adopt Australia’s language, values and practices. She called for migrants to identify first as Australians.

It was inevitable that Australia’s former Prime Minister, John Howard would join the debate over “monoculture “and “multiculturalism”, but in doing so he did not do himself or the Liberals any favours. His first observation was that he did “Not know what monoculture means in the context of immigration”. Then he said, “I have always felt uncomfortable with the expression ‘multicultural’”!

All Howard needed to do was to read what One Nation published on 26 June 2026 when Hanson wrote, “The Socceroos represent my vision of a monocultural Australia: people from different backgrounds and cultures and nations all wearing green and gold, representing one nation under one flag, and succeeding under the same set of rules”. She added, “If we are going to accept you, you must accept us”. She was, of course referring to the multicultural Australian soccer team. Despite their coming from different cultures and nations, they observed our rules and values.

One Nation is dedicated to fighting radical Islam and the threat it represents to the peace of this country. One Nation would deny migrant entry into Australia from countries which promote extremist ideology, Islamist threats and anti-Semitism. The Australian public expects migrants to accept  Hanson’s concept called “Monoculture” which requires migrants to adapt to Australian  customs and culture. Clearly Multiculturalism and monoculture are not mutually exclusive.[v]

Winning Support From the People

When the Liberal leader, Angus Taylor held a fundraising dinner in Perth on 11 June 2026 there were just over a dozen people present, paying $2,000 per head. More than 50 people attended Hanson’s fundraiser dinner on the same night, also in Perth with each attendee paying $15,000. The room was packed with senior business people from mining, agriculture and energy.

Hanson’s party is also attracting support and money on Australia’s east coast from businesses which have had enough of the two major parties. The Sydney businessman Angus Aitken who donated $1Million, held a private dinner for Hanson at his home with one attendee remarking that there was close to $90 billion of wealth around the table.  Aitken spoke of the pro-Palestine rallies, the Bondi terror attack and the government permitting ISIS brides into Australia and he described the Prime Minister as “The worst Prime Minister in my memory and it’s hard to believe anyone could be worse than Malcolm Turnbull as PM, but he is”.[vi]

A Super Progressive Movie

On Australia Day, One Nation released its animated feature film, A Super Progressive Movie, which attacks “woke” culture and political opponents including Albanese, while celebrating Hanson. Although publicly available, Parliament House cancelled the screening of the trailer at the last minute claiming that it was “likely to cause offence”. Hanson’s response was that no one has the right to be “unoffended”.

No one can accuse Hanson of being too timid to say what she thinks. This has enabled her to benefit from the confusion and lack of conviction displayed by the Coalition. Nor can anyone accuse Hanson or her team of telling political lies. Indeed, they often get into strife for being too forthright about what they truly believe.

Labor launched a “Stop One Nation” fundraising appeal to combat Hanson’s growing popularity. However, One Nation’s “Fire the Liar” campaign was launched shortly after that and its campaign surged past $4 million in donations in only five days. One nation was reported to have received more than 65,000 individual donations, using part of those funds to send Fire the Liar billboard trucks into Albanese’s electorate.

Moving Forward

Hanson announced Warren Pickering as One Nation’s Victorian State leader. She also said Colleen Harkin, a former member of the Liberal Party’s state administrative committee had joined One Nation. Another new One Nation member, Catherine Lucre explained why she had abandoned Labor, claiming that Labor’s “Socialist agenda is not compatible with Australian life”.

Hanson also said the party would soon announce its Lower House candidates in 84 of 88 seats. In Addition, One Nation policies would be released prior to the election so that people would know what its policies are. The Victorian election in November is expected to be a major test for One Nation as will the New South Wales election early in 2027.

James Ashby, One Nation’s chief of staff has a new role as the Party’s national director with oversight across all operations and elections. The veteran policy advisor, Chris Taylor who previously served as Morrison’s senior staffer has been recruited to run Senator Hanson’s office and to finalise One Nation’s policy agenda. Taylor noted that One Nation’s primary vote in Newspoll had surged to 30%, saying Hanson was “building the strongest team One Nation has ever had”.[vii]

One Nation in NSW is not restricted to Western Sydney. The electorate of Wentworth in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has also recorded an increase in One Nation supporters. The Wentworth branch currently has 300 members but aims to have 800 by the end of the year. Speaking at a recent gathering, Western Sydney lawyer, Tony Nikolic was adamant that those turning up to One Nation meetings were not “Neanderthals or rednecks”, but included “barristers, doctors and professors”. They were showing up and saying they were sick of what the major parties were not doing.[viii]

Conclusion

Hanson has not changed what she stands for and her views have not changed in 30 years. She knows her audience and she is no fence-sitter, nor does she speak out of “both sides of her mouth”. This is the reason why her language, which some scoff as being “bogan” is so successful. She comes across as genuine and relatable to many Australians. Who can forget Hanson’s famous statement  in 1996 when she was asked if she was “xenophobic” to which she responded, “Please explain – what do you mean by that?” There is nothing fake about Pauline Hanson.

AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM – HEAR THE OTHER SIDE

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[i] The Australian, Uncharted Territory – 20 June 2026

[ii] Sydney Morning Herald, Voters prefer Hanson as PM – 15 June 2026

[iii] Chris Kenny in The Australian, "Bondi lit the fuse" – 20 June 2026

[iv] The Conversation, Hanson bans major media outlets – 3 Aug 26

[v] The Australian (AU), John Howard declares Hanson's monoculture push is "pointless" – 3 Aug 26

[vi] Janet Albrechtsen, Serious money talks – and listens to Hanson – 10 June 2026

[vii] AU, Ashby to be One Nation party boss, Chris Taylor becomes chief of staff – 3 Aug 26

[viii] Sydney Morning Herald, Not neanderthals or rednecks – 25 July 26