Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON or ONP), also known as One Nation or One Nation Party, is a right-wing populist political party in Australia. It is led by Pauline Hanson.
Pauline Hanson's One Nation | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | |
| President | Pauline Hanson |
| General Secretary | Damian Huxham |
| Founder | Pauline Hanson |
| Founded | 11 April 1997 |
| Registered | 27 June 1997[3] |
| Headquarters | 17/109 Holt St, Eagle Farm, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing to far-right[5][4][6] |
| Colours | Orange |
| House of Representatives | 0 / 151 |
| Senate | 2 / 76 |
| State and territory lower houses[b] | 1 / 465 |
| State and territory upper houses[b] | 4 / 155 |
| Website | |
| onenation | |
| Seats in local government | |
|---|---|
| Brighton (Tas.)[7] | 1 / 9 |
| Clarence (Tas.)[8] | 1 / 12 |
| Lake Macquarie (NSW)[9] | 1 / 13 |
| Victor Harbor (SA)[10] | 1 / 10 |
| Mackay (Qld.)[11] | 1 / 11 |
One Nation was founded in 1997, by member of parliament Pauline Hanson and her advisors David Ettridge and David Oldfield after Hanson was disendorsed as a federal candidate for the Liberal Party of Australia. The disendorsement came before the 1996 federal election following comments she made about Indigenous Australians.[12] Oldfield, a councillor on Manly Council in suburban Sydney and at one time an employee of Liberal minister Tony Abbott, was the organisational architect of the party.[13] Hanson sat as an independent for one year before forming Pauline Hanson's One Nation.
One Nation had electoral success in the late 1990s, before suffering an extended decline after 2001. Nevertheless, One Nation has had a profound impact on debates on multiculturalism and immigration in Australia.[14] Following Hanson's return as leader and the 2016 federal election, the party gained four seats in the Senate, including one for Hanson herself, in Queensland.
Arguing that other political parties are out of touch with mainstream Australia, One Nation runs on a broadly populist and nationalist platform. It promises to drastically reduce immigration and to abolish "divisive and discriminatory policies ... attached to Aboriginal and multicultural affairs", condemning multiculturalism as a "threat to the very basis of the Australian culture, identity and shared values". During its inception, One Nation rallied against Liberal and Labor immigration and multicultural policies which, it argued, were leading to "the Asianisation of Australia."[15]
The party denounces economic rationalism and globalisation. Adopting strong protectionist policies, One Nation advocates the restoration of import tariffs, a revival of Australia's manufacturing industry, and an increase in support for small business and the rural sector.[16] One Nation's policies and platform have been characterised as racist and xenophobic by critics.[14]
History
1997: One Nation founded
_(cropped).jpg)
Shortly after being elected to federal parliament, Hanson formed the One Nation party with co-founders David Oldfield and David Ettridge. During the formative days of One Nation, Oldfield was employed by Liberal Party backbench MP Tony Abbott as a political advisor.[12] One Nation was launched on 11 April 1997, at an event held in Ipswich, Queensland.[17] The party was officially registered by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on 27 June.[18]
1998: First elections
The 1998 Queensland state election produced One Nation's greatest electoral success, with the ALP winning 44 seats to be the largest party in the Assembly, the Coalition winning 32 seats and One Nation winning 11 seats. During the campaign, polling for One Nation lead to commentators saying One Nation might secure the balance of power in a hung parliament.[19] During the campaign, all three major political parties suffered a decline in voter support due to One Nation having entered the fray. The National Party saw an 11.1% drop in support, their Liberal Party coalition partners lost 6.7% and Labor's vote dropped 4.0%.[19] To the surprise of many pundits, the One Nation Party received 22.7% of the first preference vote, giving them the second largest voter turnout for any party in Queensland during the 1998 election. One Nation drew the majority of its support from regional and rural Queensland, winning nine of its 11 seats in rural and regional electorates.[19] Subsequently, the One Nation contingent in the Queensland Parliament split, with dissident members forming the rival City-Country Alliance in late 1999.[20]
At the 1998 federal election, Hanson contested the new seat of Blair after a redistribution effectively split Oxley in half. Hanson lost to Liberal candidate Cameron Thompson, and the One Nation candidate in Oxley lost the seat to ALP candidate Bernie Ripoll.[21] One Nation candidate Heather Hill was elected as a senator for Queensland. Hill's eligibility to sit as a senator was successfully challenged in Sue v Hill under the Australian Constitution on the basis that she had failed to renounce her childhood British citizenship, despite being a naturalised Australian citizen. The seat went to the party's Len Harris following a recount.[22]
Political scientists Ian McAllister and Clive Bean, in an analysis of the 1998 federal election, found that although it was assumed that One Nation supporters came from a traditionally conservative demographic, instead:
"in a number of significant respects it in fact tends more towards Labor's profile instead. One Nation support, for example, comes disproportionately from manual workers, trade union members, those who describe themselves as working class, the less well educated, men and people who never attend church – a list of characteristics which comes close to defining the archetypal Labor voter … [The evidence] suggests that it is Labor-style voters in rural areas – rather than the much more predominantly urban Labor voter – who are chiefly attracted to One Nation"[23]
Within a year of One Nation's electoral success, three of the 11 Queensland MPs elected had quit the party claiming the leadership had too much control over the party.[12]
Internal disputes and claims of corruption
The party was affected by internal divisions and has split several times. Lawsuits involving ex-members did eventually force Hanson to repay approximately $500,000 of public funding won at the 1998 Queensland election amid claims by Abbott that the party was fraudulently registered. Abbott established a trust fund called "Australians for Honest Politics Trust" to help bankroll civil court cases against the party.[24] The suits alleged that the party was undemocratically constituted in order to concentrate all power in the hands of three people—Hanson, Ettridge and Oldfield (in particular Oldfield)—and that it technically had only two members: Ettridge and Hanson. Even though Hanson's fraud charges were dropped, the Electoral Commission of Queensland never reimbursed Hanson for the monies that they collected from the claim.[12]
The first Annual General Meeting of the One Nation party was held in April 1999, which critic Paul Reynolds said demonstrated that One Nation lacked organisation.[25]
At the 1999 New South Wales state election, David Oldfield was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council. In October 2000, Hanson expelled Oldfield from the party after a disagreement.[12] His expulsion created even more instability in a party which was constantly embroiled in scandal and internal strife. Oldfield attacked Hanson publicly, saying that "everything including her maiden speech and every word of any consequence that she's said since, has actually been written for her".[12] Oldfield engineered a split within the party, creating One Nation NSW, in 2001.[12] The new party took advantage of electoral party registration laws to register itself as a political party under the 'One Nation' name with the NSW electoral commission, and achieved registration in April 2002.[12]
At the 2001 Western Australian state election One Nation won three seats in the state, however the party was reduced to 3 seats the same year at the 2001 Queensland state election. During the 2001 Australian federal election, the party's vote fell from 9% to 5.5%. Hanson failed in her bid to win a Senate seat from Queensland, despite polling a strong 10% of the primary vote. Hanson also failed to win a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Council.[12]
Electoral fraud charges
In 2001, disendorsed One Nation candidate Terry Sharples accused the party of not having the 500 members needed for registration, and called for the party to be deregistered, which was carried by the Supreme Court. Hanson appealed the verdict but was unsuccessful.[26] Hanson appeared before the Brisbane Magistrates Court to face charges of electoral fraud, that same year. Hanson pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming that she was being subjected to "a political witch-hunt." While court hearings proceeded, Hanson ran for a seat in the NSW Upper House as an independent, but only received 1.9 per cent of the vote.[12]
Both Ettridge and Hanson were found guilty of fraudulently registering One Nation and obtaining more than $500,000 from the AEC, in 2003. Crown lawyers accused them both of falsely claiming more than 500 people were party members when they were not truly members. Hanson was sentenced to three years in jail, stating outside the court that the verdict was "Rubbish, I'm not guilty... it's a joke".[12]
It was later disclosed that Abbott had been working behind the scenes to take Ettridge and Hanson down, meeting with several disgruntled One Nation members including Sharples. November 6 that same year Hanson was released from prison after successfully appealing her conviction and being acquitted on all counts.[12]
2004–2013: Electoral decline
At the 2004 Queensland state election, One Nation polled less than 5% of the vote and its sole elected representative, Rosa Lee Long, acted as an independent. One Nation attempted to defend its Queensland Senate seat at the 2004 federal election, but lost it (effectively to the National Party). Len Harris's Senate term expired on 30 June 2005.[27]
On 8 February 2005, One Nation lost federal party status but was re-registered in time for the 2007 federal election. It still had state parties in Queensland and New South Wales. Subsequently, it created another state party in Western Australia. In the February 2005 Western Australian state election, the One Nation vote collapsed.[12]
In the 2006 South Australian state election, six One Nation candidates stood for the lower house. Their highest levels of the primary vote was 4.1% in the district of Hammond and 2.7% in Goyder, with the other four hovering around 1%. They attracted 0.8% (7559 votes) of the upper house vote. One Nation consequently won no seats in that election.[12]
In the 2006 Queensland state election, the party contested four of 89 seats, and its vote collapsed. It suffered a swing of 4.3% to be left with just 0.6% of the vote. Its only remaining seat in the state (and country), Tablelands, was retained with an increased majority by Rosa Lee Long.[28] Tablelands was abolished prior to the 2009 Queensland state election, with Lee Long failing to win the seat of Dalrymple.
In the 2012 Queensland state election the party unsuccessfully contested six seats. The party received only 2,525 first preference votes (representing 0.1% of the total cast) across the state.[29]
2013–2015: Hanson's return as leader
Hanson rejoined One Nation as a rank-and-file member in 2013. Later that year, she unsuccessfully contested the Senate for New South Wales at the 2013 federal election. In 2014, Hanson was reappointed as leader by the One Nation executive.[30] She contested the seat of Lockyer for the party at the January 2015 Queensland state election, falling 114 votes short of defeating sitting Liberal National Party member Ian Rickuss.[31]
In 2013, it was reported by One Nation that the party had more then 5000 members, with the figure rising since Hanson returned as party leader.[32]
In July 2015, Hanson announced that the party was renamed the original "Pauline Hanson's One Nation" and contested in the Senate for Queensland at the 2016 federal election.[33]
In the lead up to the 2016 election, Hanson arranged a "Fed Up" tour that began in July 2015 as part of her re-election campaign, flying in a private plane to Rockhampton prior to a Reclaim Australia rally,[34] piloted by James Ashby.[35]
2016–present: Return to federal politics
At the 2016 federal election the party polled 4.3% (+3.8) of the nationwide primary vote in the Senate. Only Queensland polled higher for the party than their nationwide percentage − the party polled 9.2% (+8.6) of the primary vote in that state. Pauline Hanson (QLD) and three other One Nation candidates − Malcolm Roberts (QLD), Brian Burston (NSW) and Rod Culleton (WA) were elected to the Senate.[36] Elected to the 3rd Queensland Senate spot, as per convention Hanson is serving a six-year term while the three other One Nation Senators who were elected in the last half of spots were appointed to three-year terms. Culleton was stripped of his seat in January 2017 after he was declared bankrupt. In March 2017, the High Court ruled that Culleton's election to the Senate was invalid in any event because of a criminal conviction in New South Wales. After a court-ordered recount, Culleton was replaced by the second candidate on the WA list, Peter Georgiou.[37]
Resignations, disendorsements and ineligibility
Rod Culleton (WA) left the party in December 2016, after months of legal troubles and party infighting to sit as an independent bringing the number of party senators to 3.[38][39] On 3 February 2017, the High Court of Australia ruled that Culleton's election was invalid due to a conviction for which he was subject to being sentenced at the time of the election, notwithstanding that the conviction was subsequently annulled. The resulting vacancy was filled by a recount of the votes at the election, which resulted in Peter Georgiou taking the seat and returning the One Nation representation in the Senate to four.
During the 2017 Western Australian state election, several One Nation candidates either quit or were disendorsed.[40] Dane Sorensen provided a copy of the party's Western Australian "candidate agreement" form for this election, which all candidates had to sign. It includes an "administration fee" of $250,000 if an elected candidate subsequently leaves the party.[41] One Nation previously formed a 'conservative bloc' with the Liberal Democratic Party and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party in the Western Australia Legislative Council.[42]
On 27 October 2017, the full High Court, as Court of Disputed Returns, ruled that Malcolm Roberts had been ineligible to be elected to the Parliament. On 13 November, Senator Fraser Anning took Roberts' seat after a Senate recount. However, on the same day Anning left the party to become an Independent.[43]
On 14 June 2018, Senator Brian Burston announced his resignation from the party to sit as an independent, following a month-long clash with Hanson centred around the Turnbull Government's corporate tax cuts, on which Hanson had reversed her position. This reduced the party to 2 senators, with Hanson remaining the only member of One Nation elected at the 2016 Federal election.[44]
Hanson wears a burqa into the Senate
Hanson drew widespread condemnation when she wore the full Islamic dress into Senate Question Time, before calling for the burqa to be banned in Australia. Audible gasps of shock were heard in the parliament. Liberal party Senator and Attorney-General of Australia, George Brandis condemned Hanson's actions, declaring to the parliament that "To ridicule that community, to drive it into a corner, to mock its religious garments is an appalling thing to do. I would ask you to reflect on that". Senator Brandis received applause and praise from all sides of parliament for his response.[45]
"it is OK to be white"
On 15 October 2018, a Senate motion brought by the party stating "it is OK to be white" was defeated 31–28 in a vote. The government expressed regret at the support the vote received, blaming it to an administrative error in which its senators were mistakenly instructed to vote positively. Critics noted that the phrase "it's OK to be white" has been associated with white supremacist rhetoric.[46]
Mark Latham joins One Nation
Former Labor Party leader Mark Latham joined the party in November 2018 as leader for New South Wales.[47] He successfully contested a seat in the Legislative Council, winning it in March 2019.[48]
James Ashby controversies
On 22 May 2017, a new scandal arose when a taped conversation between Hanson and political advisor James Ashby was released. The tape showed that Ashby had supported charging One Nation candidates inflated prices for campaign materials.[49][50]
In March 2019, One Nation was the subject of a two-part Al Jazeera documentary series asserting that the party was soliciting financial assistance from the National Rifle Association of America and Koch Industries in order to change Australian gun control laws.[51] Al Jazeera used an undercover reporter posing as a gun rights advocate.[52][53][54][55][56] In response, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson condemned the documentary as a "hit piece" by a Qatar government backed news agency and announced that she had filed a complaint with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.[57][54][55] Similar sentiments were echoed by the One Nation officials, James Ashby and Steve Dickson, who were featured in the documentary.[58] In response to the documentary, the Australian Electoral Commission said that none of the activities shown in the documentary violated section 326 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 since they occurred overseas.[54]
2019 election and Family Court claims
At the May 2019 federal election One Nation polled 5.40% (up 1.12%) for the nationwide Senate primary vote. The party polled higher than their national vote in Queensland, taking 10.27% up 1.08%, of the primary vote in the senate.
The PHON House of Representatives candidate for the Division of O'Connor, Dean Smith,[59][60] who won 8.4% (7,252) votes, was in December of the same year a target of recruitment for Neo-Nazi group The Base. In secretly recorded tapes of his "interview" by a recruiter, Smith tells of his hatred of immigrants and his wish to "save the race". He tells the recruiter that he had become "more and more extreme and passionate about my views", and disillusioned with One Nation and the possibility of a political solution. However, he was deemed too great a risk for The Base because of his political profile, so was not admitted into their ranks.[61]
Also in 2019, Hanson received widespread condemnation in the Australian media after claiming that domestic violence victims routinely lie to the Family Court. The Law Council of Australia called for the abandonment of a federal parliamentary inquiry into the family law system, citing concerns that the hearings were being used by Hanson for political purposes to undermine domestic violence claims made by women.[62]
2022 elections and the Albanese Government
In April 2022, it was "formally confirmed" that during the 2022 South Australian state election that One Nation's Sarah Game won a seat within the South Australia legislative council (upper house) making history as One Nation's first member of South Australian parliament.[63]
In April 2022, Queensland MP George Christensen who had represented the division of Dawson for the Liberal National party announced he had joined One Nation with the intention of contesting for the Senate in the upcoming Federal election.[64]
One Nation ran 149 candidates in the 2022 federal election, the only seats where they did not run in were inner Melbourne-based Higgins and the rural Queensland seat of Kennedy, held by Bob Katter.[65] One Nation was criticised for running "ghost candidates" in several electorates for the 2022 federal election, who were not campaigning in the lead-up to the election and who had no online presence. Additionally, many did not live in the electorates they were listed as being the candidates for. Despite this, the AEC has said that it is not against the rules. One Nation had promised in the lead-up to the election that it would run candidates in all seats.[66]
In December 2022, One Nation won its first seat in Victorian parliament, with Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell winning a seat during the 2022 Victorian state election, representing the Northern Victoria Region in the Victorian Legislative Council.[67][68][69]
2023 and the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum
On 17 January 2023, New South Wales MP, Tania Mihailuk, announced her intention to join the party, previously representing the electoral district of Bankstown for the Labor Party before becoming an independent. Mihailuk announced that she would run for a seat in the Legislative Council at the 2023 state election.[70]
One Nation contested the 2023 Narracan state supplementary election in Victoria on January 28, One Nation candidate Casey Murphy received 6.04% of the vote.[71]
One Nation increased their total from to two to three seats in the Legislative Council, with leader Mark Latham re-elected for another term, Tania Mihailuk filled the vacant seat left behind by Latham, who had previously resigned to recontest the upper house at the top of One Nations ticket.[72]
One Nation ran in the 2023 Fadden by-election, One Nation ran Sandy Roach, their candidate in the 2022 election, One Nation received 8.90% of the vote, coming in third place.[73]
In August 2023, Pauline Hanson intervened in the New South Wales state branch of the party, and removed Mark Latham as leader of the party in New South Wales.[74] On 22 August 2023, Mark Latham left the party to become an independent; he was joined by his colleague Rod Roberts.[75]
One Nation campaigned heavily against the Indigenous Voice to parliament in the referendum held in October that year, One Nation supported the No vote and was against holding a referendum on the matter. The referendum was defeated in all states and territories with the exception of the Australian Capital Territory.[76]
Tania Mihailuk was announced as the next leader of One Nation in New South Wales in December.[77]
2024
One Nation offered to support the Albanese Governments tax cut changes. Pauline Hanson stated that Anthony Albanese had broken his promise on tax cut changes, but was willing to support the changes because going against it would be like "throwing the baby out with the bathwater".[78]
Then United Australia Party National Director Craig Kelly joined One Nation on 27 February and took up the position as the Federal Campaign Director for One Nation.[79]
On 29 February, Independent Ben Dawkins, a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, announced he would be joining One Nation, making him the first One Nation member in the State since the party lost all its seats in the 2021 Western Australian state election, which the Labor party won in a landslide.[80]
State and territory branches
| Branch | Leader | Lower house seats | Upper house seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – ACT | No leader | 0 / 25 | |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – New South Wales | Tania Mihailuk | 0 / 93 | 1 / 42 |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – Northern Territory | No leader | 0 / 25 | |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – Queensland | No leader[c] | 1 / 93 | |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – South Australia | Jennifer Game | 0 / 47 | 1 / 22 |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – Tasmania | No leader[d] | 0 / 25 | 0 / 15 |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – Victoria | Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell | 0 / 88 | 1 / 40 |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – Western Australia | Rod Caddies | 0 / 59 | 1 / 36 [a] |
Ideology
One Nation's policies and ideology have been described as based on ultranationalism,[81][82][83] populism,[84][85][86] and opposition to high levels of immigration.[87] Its policies have been also described as nationalist,[88][89][90] national-conservative,[88] socially conservative,[91] conservative,[92][93] and protectionist.[94] Its political position has been described as right-wing,[95] extreme right[96] and far-right.[97][98]
Writer Hans-Georg Betz described One Nation and Pauline Hanson in 2019 as among "the first prominent radical right-wing populist entrepreneurs to mobilize popular resentment against a very specific target — the intellectual elite" and that in the twenty first century where "today's army of self-styled commentators and pundits summarily dismissing radical right-wing populist voters as uncouth, uneducated plebeians intellectually incapable of understanding the blessings of progressive identity politics, Hanson's anti-elite rhetoric anno 1996 proved remarkably prescient, if rather tame." Betz also argued that One Nation differs from European right-wing parties by focusing on its own brand of populism which he termed Hansonism based on Hanson's personality and debates unique to Australian society.[99] Political scientist Ian McAllister argues the current version of One Nation from 2017 does not have much in the way of policy beyond an "anti-establishment stance"[100] while others have argued it has changed to focus its policies on opposition to Islam.[101][102]
In its early years, One Nation's policies were said to be synonymous with opposition to affirmative action for Aboriginal communities. Some key themes of Pauline Hanson's 1998 maiden speech were opposition to what she said were increasingly high rates of immigration from Asian countries and an argument for economic protectionist policies.[15][16] Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating denounced Hanson in a speech in 1996, saying that she projected "the ugly face of racism" and was "dangerously divisive and deeply hurtful to many of her fellow Australians."[103] Hanson and One Nation have disputed accusations of racism and argue that the main parties are out of touch with many Australians on the issues of immigration, asylum seekers and multiculturalism, and have ended up adopting some of the policies One Nation initially called for.[104] Milton Osborne noted in 1999 that research indicated Hanson's initial supporters did not cite immigration as a major reason for their support for One Nation, but instead they were most concerned about economic issues and unemployment.[105] A 2001 study showed that One Nation had extensive informal ties and received endorsements from far-right movements due to the party requiring "the support of those groups in establishing the party and because of a convergence of interests".[106]
Policies
Immigration and asylum
One Nation says that whilst it recognises the positive contributions of immigrants to Australian life, it supports a general reduction in the levels of net migration to "closer to the 20th century average of 70,000", to stabilise population numbers, citing economic, cultural and environmental arguments against mass migration. The party also calls for a travel ban on certain countries, similar to one enacted by the Trump administration in the United States, in order to combat radical Islam and prevent the immigration of people the party argues are more likely to reject Australian values and promote violent extremism. The party also supports stronger assimilation of immigrants. One Nation also seeks to withdraw Australia from the United Nations Refugee Convention and is opposed to the UN Global Compact on Migration.[104][107] Due to these statements, One Nation has been described as anti-Islam.[108][109]
Following the end of lockdowns in Australia as a result of COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, the party has voiced support for establishing a zero-net immigration policy, similar to the one Australia had introduced during the pandemic. One Nation supports permitting only highly skilled migrants from culturally cohesive countries to settle in Australia.[110]
The economy and employment
One Nation supports a broadly protectionist platform, saying that it would review free trade agreements and revoke any "that are not in Australia's best interest."[111] It is opposed to foreign ownership of Australian agricultural land and businesses.[112] Wishing to prioritise jobs for Australian nationals, it would investigate "the abuse of foreign work visas."[113]
One Nation backed the Turnbull Government's controversial 2018 corporate tax cuts.[114][115][116]
Domestic policies
The party argues for the introduction of Citizens Initiated Referenda (CIR) and states it will review the salaries and pensions paid to Australian politicians. In 2021, the Senate approved a motion tabled by Pauline Hanson which called on the federal government to reject the teaching of critical race theory in Australian schools.[117] It also supports a ban on wearing the burqa in public spaces.[118][119] One Nation has backed Hanson's comments regarding downplaying scientific consensus on climate change.[120][121] During the debate on the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 which would legalise same-sex marriage in Australia, Hanson and other members of One Nation expressed their opposition to same-sex marriage. However, Hanson also stated the party would not take an official stance on same-sex marriage and that One Nation senators would be allowed a free vote on the issue.[122][123]
Law and order
One Nation claims it will increase rehabilitation facilities for drug addicts and introduce life sentences for drug traffickers, Pauline Hanson has previously voiced her support of medicinal cannabis but strong objection to recreational drug usage and opposition to pill testing.[124] The party supports responsible gun ownership but wants tougher sentences for arms traffickers. The party also supports one law for all Australians and is opposed to any form of sharia law in Australia.[112]
Welfare
One Nation is in favour of a substantial increase in the aged pension and disability support pension.[125] It was reported in 2016 that One Nation had voted with the Liberal government on a number of welfare cuts.[126]
Multinationals
The party would move foreign-owned multinationals out of the corporation tax system and into a transactions based system, saying that too many of them pay no tax on profits made in Australia.[127]
COVID-19 vaccines
Many politicians, commentators and scientists claim that One Nation senators have spread misinformation and conspiracies on the effectiveness and scientific basis of COVID-19 vaccines.[128][129] One Nation opposes vaccine mandates, but denies being against vaccinations. However, in 2021, One Nation senator Mark Latham said that vaccinated people should be exempt from Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown.[130]
Climate change
One Nation senators are frequent critics of any action on climate change and have called climate science a ‘scam’. One Nation has spread debunked conspiracy theories about climate change not occurring or being part of a plot by the United Nations.[131][132]
Voting system and preferences
In 2019, One Nation called for the abolition of full preferential voting in favour of optional preferential voting at House of Representatives elections. The announcement came shortly after Scott Morrison announced that the Liberal Party would preference One Nation behind Labor in several seats for the 2019 federal election.[133] In Australia, optional preferential voting is currently only used for Legislative Assembly elections in New South Wales and for council elections in most warded local government areas in Queensland.
One Nation is also against the use of group voting tickets, which are currently only used for Legislative Council elections in Victoria. The party has strongly criticised Glenn Druery, a "preference whispererer" who founded the Minor Party Alliance. In the lead-up to the 2022 state election, Hanson claimed that Druery was rigging the election in favour of the incumbent state Labor government of Daniel Andrews, after a leaked video showed that Druery was trying to create a crossbench that Labor could work with.[134] Prior to the incident, in 2017, Druery admitted that he had been directing the preferences of micro-parties away from One Nation since 1999.[135]
Voter base
One Nation's voter base typically consists of older or middle-aged white voters in small rural towns, often from a working-class background.[136]
One Nation has historically performed best in regions where the Labor Party once performed well in, but in recent years have been trending more to the right over policies regarding mining and climate change. The regions where One Nation has seen the most electoral success are the Central Queensland, Darling Downs and Wide Bay–Burnett regions of Queensland and the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, all of which are working-class regions that have historically relied on coal mining as part of their local economy, and all were once strongholds for the Labor Party.
Election results
Federal
| Election year | House of Representatives | Senate | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | # votes | % votes | # seats | # overall seats | +/– | |
| 1998 | 936,621 |  8.43 | 0 / 148 |  0 | 1,007,439 | 8.99 | 1 / 40 | 1 / 76 | 1 |
| 2001 | 498,032 |  4.34 | 0 / 150 | 0 | 644,364 | 5.54 | 0 / 40 | 1 / 76 | 0 |
| 2004 | 139,956 | 1.19 | 0 / 150 | 0 | 206,445 | 1.73 | 0 / 40 | 0 / 76 | 1 |
| 2007 | 32,650 | 0.26 | 0 / 150 | 0 | 52,708 | 0.42 | 0 / 40 | 0 / 76 | 0 |
| 2010 | 27,184 | 0.22 | 0 / 150 | 0 | 70,672 | 0.56 | 0 / 40 | 0 / 76 | 0 |
| 2013 | 22,046 | 0.17 | 0 / 150 | 0 | 70,851 | 0.53 | 0 / 40 | 0 / 76 | 0 |
| 2016 (D-D) | 175,020 | 1.29 | 0 / 150 | 0 | 593,013 | 4.28 | 4 / 76 | 4 / 76 | 4 |
| 2019 | 438,587 | 3.08 | 0 / 151 | 0 | 788,203 | 5.40 | 1 / 40 | 2 / 76 | 2 |
| 2022 | 727,464 | 4.96 | 0 / 151 | 0 | 644,744 | 4.29 | 1 / 40 | 2 / 76 | 0 |
New South Wales
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 281,147 | 7.53 | 0 / 93 | 0 | |
| Party did not contest elections between 2003 (see One Nation NSW) and 2015 | |||||
| 2019 | 49,948 | 1.10 | 0 / 93 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 84,683 | 1.80 | 0 / 93 | 0 | |
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 225,668 | 6.34 | 1 / 42 | 1 | |
| Party did not contest elections between 2003 (see One Nation NSW) and 2015 | |||||
| 2019 | 306,933 | 6.90 | 2 / 42 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 273,496 | 5.92 | 3 / 42 | 1 | |
Victoria
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 8,181 | 0.29 | 0 / 88 | 0 | |
| Party did not contest 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 or 2018 state elections | |||||
| 2022 | 10,323 | 0.28 | 0 / 88 | 0 | |
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 76,734 | 2.04 | 1 / 40 | 1 |
Queensland
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 439,121 | 22.68 | 11 / 89 | 11 |
| 2001 | 179,076 | 8.69 | 3 / 89 | 8 |
| 2004 | 104,980 | 4.88 | 1 / 89 | 2 |
| 2006 | 13,207 | 0.60 | 1 / 89 | 0 |
| 2009 | 9,038 | 0.38 | 0 / 89 | 1 |
| 2012 | 2,525 | 0.10 | 0 / 89 | 0 |
| 2015 | 24,111 | 0.92 | 0 / 89 | 0 |
| 2017 | 371,193 | 13.73 | 1 / 93 | 1 |
| 2020 | 204,316 | 7.12 | 1 / 93 | 0 |
Western Australia
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 98,321 | 9.58 | 0 / 57 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 17,580 | 1.64 | 0 / 57 | 0 | |
| Party did contest Assembly in 2008, Party did not contest 2013 state election | |||||
| 2017 | 65,192 | 4.93 | 0 / 59 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 17,824 | 1.26 | 0 / 59 | 0 | |
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 103,571 | 9.88 | 3 / 34 | 3 | |
| 2005 | 17,435 | 1.59 | 0 / 34 | 3 | |
| 2008 | 7,012 | 0.63 | 0 / 36 | 0 | |
| Party did not contest 2013 state election | |||||
| 2017 | 110,480 | 8.19 | 3 / 36 | 3 | |
| 2021 | 21,259 | 1.48 | 0 / 36 | 3 | |
South Australia
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 22,833 | 2.41 | 0 / 47 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 2,591 | 0.28 | 0 / 47 | 0 | |
| Party did not contest 2010, 2014 or 2018 state elections in the House of Assembly | |||||
| 2022 | 28,664 | 2.63 | 0 / 47 | 0 | |
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 16,829 | 1.80 | 0 / 22 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 7,559 | 0.81 | 0 / 22 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 4,972 | 0.51 | 0 / 22 | 0 | |
| Party did not contest 2014 or 2018 state elections in the Legislative Council | |||||
| 2022 | 46,051 | 4.23 | 1 / 22 | 1 | |
Northern Territory
| Election year | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | # of overall seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1,074 | 1.32 | 0 / 25 | 0 |
Maps
Leaders
Federal
Unlike the Queensland state leadership, the changes of the federal leadership of the party were largely undocumented (besides Hanson's terms), due to previously having low media attention and confusion of branch leadership within the party.
The party has faced de-registration change of leadership, and reformatting since its creation. This list comprises the leaders, most distinguished, of the party.
In August 2017, the party's constitution was changed so that Hanson would be party President for as long as she may wish, and to choose her successor, who may also continue until resignation.[137]
| No. | Image | Name | Term start | Term end | Office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Pauline Hanson | 11 April 1997 | 5 August 2002 | MP for Oxley (1996–1998) | First leadership |
| 2 |  | John Fischer | 5 August 2002 | 1 June 2004 | MLC for Mining and Pastoral (2001–2005) | Resigned, leader of WA branch (2001–2004) |
| 3 | | Ian Nelson | 6 September 2008 | 31 March 2010 | Former party president and treasurer[138] | |
| 4 | | Jim Savage | 13 May 2013 | 18 November 2014 | Former executive and president of Queensland branch[139] | |
| (1) | .jpg) | Pauline Hanson | 18 November 2014 | Incumbent | Senator for Queensland (2016–present) | Second leadership |
New South Wales
| No. | Leader | Term of office | Office (or previous office) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Oldfield | 27 March 1999 | 8 October 2000 | MLC (1997–2007) Alderman for Manly (1991–1999) | Party executive, leader of breakaway party, One Nation NSW (2000–2004) |
| 2 | Mark Latham | 7 November 2018 | 14 August 2023 | MP for Werriwa (1994–2005) MLC (2019–present) Labor Leader (2003–2005) | Resigned from party after removal as state leader, position currently vacant |
| 3 | Tania Mihailuk | 10 December 2023 | Incumbent | Mayor of Bankstown (2006–2011) MLC (2023–present) MLA for Bankstown (2011–2023) | |
Oldfield was elected to New South Wales parliament in 1999, but left One Nation in 2000, he then formed a splinter party called One Nation NSW, which he led until 2004 when he resigned. Oldfield remained an independent in the legislative council until 2007, when he did not seek re-election.
Queensland
| No. | Leader | Term of office | Office (or previous office) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pauline Hanson | 11 April 1997 | 12 May 1998 | MP for Oxley (1996–1998) Senator for Queensland (2016–present) City of Ipswich Councillor (1994–1997) | |
| 2 | Heather Hill | 21 May 1998 | 13 June 1998 | Senator for Queensland (1998–1999) | Disqualified from Senate in 1999 |
| 3 | Bill Feldman | 23 June 1998 | 14 December 1999 | MLA for Caboolture (1998–2001) | Inaugural Qld. parliamentary leader, resigned from party, leader of breakaway party, City Country Alliance (1999–2001) |
| 4 | Bill Flynn | 6 March 2001 | 7 February 2004 | MLA for Lockyer (2001–2004) | Defeated at election |
| 5 | Rosa Lee Long | 7 February 2004 | 20 March 2009 | MLA for Tablelands (2001–2009) | Defeated at election |
| 6 | Steve Dickson | 23 January 2017 | 30 April 2019 | MLA for Buderim (2009–2017) | Position currently vacant |
South Australia
| No. | Leader | Term of office | Office (or previous office) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jennifer Game | 16 September 2021 | Incumbent | ||
Australian Capital Territory
| No. | Leader | Term of office | Office (or previous office) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shaun Nelson | June 1997 | December 1997 | MLA for Tablelands (1998–2001) | |
| 2 | Chris Spence | December 1997 | January 1998 | MLA for The Entrance (2011–2015) | Position currently vacant |
Tasmania
| No. | Leader | Term of office | Office (or previous office) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Mav | 13 October 2021 | 29 May 2022 | Position currently vacant | |
Victoria
| No. | Leader | Term of office | Office (or previous office) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell | 27 November 2022 | Incumbent | MLC for Northern Victoria (2022–present) | [140] |
Western Australia
| No. | Leader | Term of office | Office (or previous office) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Fischer | 10 February 2001 | 1 June 2004 | MLC for Mining and Pastoral Region (2001–2005) | |
| 2 | Colin Tincknell | 9 January 2017 | 2023 | MLC for South West Region (2017–2021) | |
| 3 | Rod Caddies | 2023 | Incumbent | [141] | |
Members of parliament
Current MPs
Federal Parliament
Senator Pauline Hanson (Qld.), 2016–present, MP for Oxley (1997–98)
Senator Malcolm Roberts (Qld.), 2016–2017, 2019–present
.jpg)
New South Wales
- Tania Mihailuk MLC (2023–present)
Victoria
- Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell MLC (Northern Victoria, 2022–present)
Queensland
- Stephen Andrew MLA (Mirani, 2017–present)
South Australia
- Sarah Game MLC (2022–present)
Western Australia
- Ben Dawkins MLC (South West, 2024–present)[a]
Former MPs
Federal Parliament
- Senator Heather Hill (Queensland, 1998–1999), elected in 1998 and retrospectively disqualified in 1999 after being found ineligibile due to her dual citizenship
- Senator Len Harris (Queensland, 1999–2005), appointed after the disqualification of Heather Hill
- Senator Brian Burston (New South Wales, 2016–2017), elected at the 2016 election, resigned after falling out with Pauline Hanson and joined the United Australia Party in 2017
- Senator Rod Culleton (Western Australia, 2016-2016), elected at the 2016 election but retrospectively disqualified after being found to have had a larceny charge in New South Wales at the time of the election, later established the Great Australian Party
- Senator Peter Georgiou (Western Australia, 2017–2019), appointed after the disqualification of Rod Culleton, defeated at 2019 election
- Senator Fraser Anning (Queensland, 2017–2019), appointed after the disqualification of Malcolm Roberts, Anning left the party the same day he was sworn in, later became an Independent and then formed his own party Conservative National Party
New South Wales
- David Oldfield MLC (1999–2007), formed One Nation NSW in 2000, but became an independent in 2004
- Mark Latham MLC (2019–2023), left the party after being removed as state leader, became an independent
- Rod Roberts MLC (2019–2023), joined his colleague Mark Latham in leaving the party, becoming an independent
Queensland
- Bill Feldman MLA (Caboolture, 1998–2001), formed City Country Alliance in 1999, leader of One Nation in Queensland from 1998 to 1999
- Jeff Knuth MLA (Burdekin, 1998–2001), became an independent in 1999, formed Country Party Queensland later that year, and joined the City Country Alliance in 2000, rejoined One Nation in 2014, parliamentary whip of One Nation from 1998 to 1999
- Dorothy Pratt MLA (Barambah 1998–2001), later Nanango, 2001–2012, became an independent in 1999
- Harry Black MLA (Whitsunday, 1998–2001), joined City Country Alliance in 1999
- David Dalgleish MLA (Hervey Bay, 1998–2001), joined City Country Alliance in 1999
- John Kingston MLA (Maryborough, 1998–2003), became an independent in 1999
- Shaun Nelson MLA (Tablelands, 1998–2001), became an independent in 1999
- Jack Paff MLA (Ipswich West, 1998–2001), joined City Country Alliance in 1999
- Peter Prenzler MLA (Lockyer, 1998–2001), joined City Country Alliance in 1999
- Charles Rappolt MLA (Mulgrave, 1998-1998), resigned from parliament
- Ken Turner MLA (Thuringowa, 1998–2001), became an independent in 1999
- Bill Flynn MLA (Lockyer, 2001–2004), leader of One Nation in Queensland from 2001 to 2004
- Elisa Roberts MLA (Gympie, 2001–2006), became an independent in 2002
- Rosa Lee Long MLA (Tablelands, 2001–2009), leader of One Nation in Queensland from 2002 to 2009, national leader of One Nation from 2004 to 2013
- Steve Dickson MLA (Buderim, 2017–2017), defected from the Liberal National Party in January 2017, was defeated at election
Western Australia
- John Fischer MLC (Mining and Pastoral, 2001–2005), became an independent in 2004, leader of One Nation in Western Australia from 2001 to 2004, national leader of One Nation from 2002 to 2004
- Frank Hough MLC (Agricultural, 2001–2005), became an independent in 2004, joined New Country Party later that year, leader of One Nation in Western Australia from 2004 to 2004
- Paddy Embry MLC (South West, 2001–2005), became an independent in 2003, joined New Country Party in 2004
- Charles Smith MLC (East Metropolitan, 2017–2019), became an independent in 2019 then joined the Western Australia Party, continuing his service as MLC until 2021
- Colin Tincknell MLC (South West, 2017–2021), defeated at election
- Robin Scott MLC (Mining and Pastoral, 2017–2021), defeated at election
Donors
A 2019 report found that Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party had received over $6,000 in disclosed donations from pro-gun groups during the 2011–2018 period, with concerns these donations threatened to compromise Australia's safety by undermining gun control laws.[142] The Queensland branch of the party received $17,000 from the agriculture sector (meat and sugar industry) between 2016 and 2021, totaling less than one percent of all publicly declared political donations during that period;[143] the state's two major parties (Labor, Liberal National) made up 85% of total publicly declared political donations, receiving $358,270 and $1,451,991, respectively.[143] The North Queensland-based Katter's Australian Party received over $280,000.[143]
See also
- Hansonism
- Conservatism in Australia
- Pauline Hanson's One Nation – South Australia
- Pauline Hanson's One Nation – New South Wales
- True Blue Crew, a far-right group whose members have been involved with Pauline Hanson's One Nation[144]
Footnotes
References
Further reading
- Abbott, Tony; Adams, Phillip; Brett, Judith; Brunton, Ron; Fraser, Malcolm; Goot, Murray; Grattan, Michelle; Kelly, Paul; Kingston, Margo; Lake, Marilyn; McGuinness, P.P.; Reynolds, Henry; Richardson, Graham; Rothwell, Nicolas; Sheridan, Greg; Wooldridge, Michael; (1998), Two Nations. The Causes and Effects of the Rise of the One Nation Party in Australia, Bookman Press, Melbourne (Victoria) ISBN 1-86395-177-6.
- Balson, Scott (2000), Inside One Nation. The inside story on a people's party born to fail, Interactive Presentations, Mt Crosby News, Queensland. ISBN 0-9577415-2-9.
- Campbell, Graeme and Uhlmann, Mark (1995), Australia Betrayed. How Australian democracy has been undermined and our naive trust betrayed, Foundation Press, Victoria Park, Western Australia. ISBN 1-875778-02-0.
- Davis, Rex and Stimson, Robert (1998), 'Disillusionment and disenchantment at the fringe: explaining the geography of the One Nation Party vote at the Queensland election,' People and Place, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 69–82.
- Dodd, Helen J (1997). Pauline. The Hanson Phenomenon, Boolarong Press, Moorooka, Queensland. ISBN 0-646-33217-1.
- Ettridge, David (2004), Consider Your Verdict, New Holland Publishers, Frenchs Forest, New South Wales. ISBN 1-74110-232-4.
- Grant, Bligh (ed.) (1997), Pauline Hanson. One Nation and Australian Politics, University of New England Press, Armidale, New South Wales. ISBN 1-875821-38-4.
- Hanson, Pauline (2007), Untamed and Unashamed – Pauline Hanson's autobiography, Jo-Jo Publishing, Docklands, Victoria. ISBN 0-9802836-2-0.
- Jayasuriya, Laksiri and Pookong, Kee (1999), The Asianisation of Australia? Some Facts about the Myths, Melbourne University Press, Carlton South, Victoria. ISBN 0-522-84854-0
- Jupp, James (1998), 'Populism in the land of Oz,' in Meanjin, Vol.57, No.4, pp. 740–747.
- Kingston, Margo (1999), Off the Rails. The Pauline Hanson Trip, Allen and Unwin, St Leonards, New South Wales. ISBN 1-86508-159-0.
- Leach, Michael; Stokes, Geoffrey; Ward, Ian; (eds.) (2000), The Rise and Fall of One Nation, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Queensland. ISBN 0-7022-3136-3.
- Mackay, Hugh (1999), Turning Point. Australians Choosing Their Future, Pan Macmillan, Sydney, New South Wales, Ch. 24, 'Xenophobia and Politics. Why Hanson was good for us.' ISBN 0-7329-1001-3.
- Merritt, George J (1997), Pauline Hanson. The Truth, St George Publications, Parkholme, South Australia. ISBN 0-646-32012-2.
- Pasquarelli, John (1998), The Pauline Hanson Story by the Man Who Knows, New Holland Publishers, Frenchs Forest, New South Wales. ISBN 1-86436-341-X.