Australia’s populist hard-right One Nation party usurps main opposition in poll
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Senator Pauline Hanson's One Nation recorded 22 per cent in a Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper on Jan 19, up from 15 per cent in the prior survey.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SYDNEY – Australia’s populist One Nation party has pulled ahead of the main centre-right opposition for the first time, in a sign the fracturing of the conservative vote in developed democracies may now be emerging in Australia.
One Nation recorded 22 per cent in a Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper on Jan 19, up from 15 per cent in the prior survey and ahead of the Liberal-National Coalition’s record-low 21 per cent.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor party slid to 32 per cent in the poll, which did not provide a margin of error.
The result comes after December’s terrorist attack on a Hanukkah celebration
It also reflects a growing backlash in Australia against immigration, an issue One Nation and its leader Senator Pauline Hanson have campaigned against for three decades.
The poll showed majorities of voters were dissatisfied with both Mr Albanese and opposition Coalition leader Sussan Ley, according to the Newspoll released as Parliament returned in Canberra for an emergency sitting
The government dropped a proposal to crack down heavily on hate speech as part of its response to the attack, after objections from the Coalition and the Greens, which cited potential negative impacts including restrictions on freedom of speech.
Ms Hanson and One Nation’s surge in the poll mirrors the rise of the populist right in Britain and Europe, as voters turn away from the traditional post-World War II parties that form government.
Ms Hanson was suspended from the Australian Senate in late 2025 after appearing in the Upper House chamber in a burqa
