One Nation | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation |
|
| President | Pauline Hanson |
| Founded | 11 April 1997; 28 years ago (1997-04-11) |
| Registered | 27 June 1997; 28 years ago (27 June 1997)[1] |
| Headquarters | 2/6–12 Boronia Rd,Brisbane |
| Youth wing | Young Nation |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing[11] tofar-right[14] |
| Colours | Orange Blue |
| Party branches | |
| House of Representatives | 0 / 150 |
| Senate | 4 / 76 |
| State and territory lower houses[a] | 0 / 465 |
| State and territory upper houses[a] | 3 / 156 |
| Website | |
| onenation | |
| Seats inlocal government | |
|---|---|
| Brighton(Tas.)[15] | 1 / 9 |
| Clarence(Tas.)[16] | 1 / 12 |
| Lake Macquarie(NSW)[17] | 1 / 13 |
| Campbelltown(NSW)[18] | 1 / 15 |
| Cessnock(NSW)[19] | 1 / 13 |
| Victor Harbor(SA)[20] | 1 / 10 |
| Mount Barker(SA)[21] | 1 / 11 |
| Esperance(WA)[22] | 1 / 9 |
| Baw Baw(Vic.)[23] | 1 / 9 |
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| Part ofa series on |
| Conservatism in Australia |
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One Nation (ON), orPauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON),[b] is aconservativeright-wing populistpolitical party in Australia. It is led by its founder,former representative, andincumbent senatorPauline Hanson.[2][24]
The party had electoral success when it was established in the late 1990s, before suffering an extended decline after 2001. Nevertheless, it has had a profound impact on debates onmulticulturalism andimmigration in Australia.[25] Following Hanson's return as leader and the2016 federal election, the party gained four seats in theSenate, including one for Hanson herself, in Queensland. Since 2025, the party has had four seats in the senate.
One Nation's platform is conservative in nature and includes policies such ascitizen-initiated referenda, expanding access tomedical cannabis, opposition to theintroduction of a treaty with Australia's Aboriginal population. It also favours restricting foreign ownership of Australian land and denounceseconomic rationalism andglobalisation. The party's policies and platform onmass immigration have been characterised asracist andxenophobic by critics.[25]
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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 MPTony Abbott as a political advisor.[26] One Nation was launched on 11 April 1997, at an event held inIpswich, Queensland.[27] The party was officially registered by theAustralian Electoral Commission (AEC) on 27 June.[28]
The1998 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 led to commentators saying One Nation might secure the balance of power in a hung parliament.[29] 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%.[29] 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.[29]
With nearly 23% of the vote, One Nation gained a higher percentage of the vote than any other third party (i.e. not Labor orCoalition) at the state or territory level since Federation. This was also the only election at which a third party gained more votes than both theLiberal Party and theNational Party considered separately.
Subsequently, the One Nation contingent in the Queensland Parliament split, with dissident members forming the rivalCity-Country Alliance in late 1999.[30]
At the1998 federal election, Hanson contested the new seat ofBlair after a redistribution effectively split Oxley in half. Hanson lost toLiberal candidateCameron Thompson, and the One Nation candidate in Oxley lost the seat to ALP candidateBernie Ripoll.[31] One Nation candidateHeather Hill was elected as a senator for Queensland. Hill's eligibility to sit as a senator was successfully challenged inSue v Hill under theAustralian 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'sLen Harris following a recount.[32]
Political scientistsIan 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 towardsLabor'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"[33]
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.[26]
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.[34] 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.[26]
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.[35]
At the1999 New South Wales state election,David Oldfield was elected to theNew South Wales Legislative Council. In October 2000, Hanson expelled Oldfield from the party after a disagreement.[26] 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".[26] Oldfield engineered a split within the party, creatingOne Nation NSW, in 2001.[26] 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.[26]
At the2001 Western Australian state election One Nation won three seats in the state, however the party was reduced to three seats the same year at the2001 Queensland state election. During the2001 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 theNew South Wales Legislative Council.[26]
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.[36] Hanson appeared before theBrisbane Magistrates Court to face charges ofelectoral 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.[26]
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".[26]
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. On November 6 of that same year, Hanson was released from prison after successfully appealing her conviction; she was acquitted on all counts.[26]
At the2004 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 the2004 federal election, but lost it (effectively to the National Party). Len Harris's Senate term expired on 30 June 2005.[37]
On 8 February 2005, One Nation lost federal party status but was re-registered in time for the2007 federal election. It still had state parties in Queensland and New South Wales. Subsequently, it created another state party in Western Australia. In the February2005 Western Australian state election, the One Nation vote collapsed.[26]
In the2006 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 ofHammond and 2.7% inGoyder, 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.[26]
In the2006 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 byRosa Lee Long.[38] Tablelands was abolished prior to the2009 Queensland state election, with Lee Long failing to win the seat ofDalrymple.
In the2012 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.[39]
Hanson rejoined One Nation as arank-and-file member in 2013. Later that year, she unsuccessfully contested theSenate forNew South Wales at the2013 federal election. In 2014, Hanson was reappointed as leader by the One Nation executive.[40] She contested the seat ofLockyer for the party at the January2015 Queensland state election, falling 114 votes short of defeating sittingLiberal National Party memberIan Rickuss.[41]
In 2013, it was reported by One Nation that the party had more than 5000 members, with the figure rising since Hanson returned as party leader.[42]
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 the2016 federal election.[43]
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 aReclaim Australia rally,[44] piloted byJames Ashby.[45]
At the2016 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) andRod Culleton (WA) were elected to the Senate.[46] Elected to the3rd 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, theHigh 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.[47]
Rod Culleton (WA) left the party in December 2016, after months of legal troubles and party infighting to sit as anindependent bringing the number of party senators to three.[48][49] On 3 February 2017, theHigh 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 arecount of the votes at theelection, which resulted inPeter Georgiou taking the seat and returning the One Nation representation in the Senate to four.
During the2017 Western Australian state election, several One Nation candidates either quit or were disendorsed.[50] 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.[51] One Nation previously formed a 'conservative bloc' with theLiberal Democratic Party andShooters, Fishers and Farmers Party in theWestern Australia Legislative Council.[52]
On 27 October 2017, the full High Court, as Court of Disputed Returns, ruled thatMalcolm Roberts had been ineligible to be elected to the Parliament. On 13 November, SenatorFraser Anning took Roberts' seat after a Senate recount. However, on the same day Anning left the party to become anIndependent.[53]
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.[54]
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 andAttorney-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.[55]
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 withwhite supremacist rhetoric.[56]
FormerLabor Party leaderMark Latham joined the party in November 2018 as leader for New South Wales.[57] He successfully contested a seat in the Legislative Council, winning it in March 2019.[58]
On 22 May 2017, a new scandal arose when a taped conversation between Hanson and political advisorJames Ashby was released. The tape showed that Ashby had supported charging One Nation candidates inflated prices for campaign materials.[59][60]
In March 2019, One Nation was the subject of a two-partAl Jazeera documentary series asserting that the party was soliciting financial assistance from theNational Rifle Association of America andKoch Industries in order to changeAustralian gun control laws.[61] Al Jazeera used an undercover reporter posing as agun rights advocate.[62][63][64][65][66] 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 theAustralian Security Intelligence Organisation.[67][64][65] Similar sentiments were echoed by the One Nation officials, James Ashby and Steve Dickson, who were featured in the documentary.[68] In response to the documentary, theAustralian Electoral Commission said that none of the activities shown in the documentary violated section 326 of theCommonwealth Electoral Act 1918 since they occurred overseas.[64]
At theMay 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 PHONHouse of Representatives candidate for theDivision of O'Connor, Dean Smith,[69][70] who won 8.4% (7,252) votes, was in December of the same year a target of recruitment forNeo-Nazi groupThe 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.[71]
Also in 2019, Hanson received widespread condemnation in the Australian media after claiming thatdomestic violence victims routinely lie to theFamily Court. TheLaw 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.[72]
In April 2022, it was "formally confirmed" that during the2022 South Australian state election that One Nation'sSarah Game won a seat within the South Australia legislative council (upper house) making history as One Nation's first member of South Australian parliament.[73]
In April 2022, Queensland MPGeorge Christensen who had represented thedivision of Dawson for theLiberal National party announced he had joined One Nation with the intention of contesting for the Senate in the upcoming Federal election.[74]
One Nation ran 149 candidates in the2022 federal election, the only seats where they did not run in were inner Melbourne-basedHiggins and the rural Queensland seat ofKennedy, held byBob Katter.[75] 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, theAEC 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.[76]
In December 2022, One Nation won its first seat in Victorian parliament, withRikkie-Lee Tyrrell winning a seat during the2022 Victorian state election, representing theNorthern Victoria Region in the Victorian Legislative Council.[77][78][79]
On 17 January 2023, New South Wales MP,Tania Mihailuk, announced her intention to join the party, previously representing theelectoral district of Bankstown for theLabor Party before becoming anindependent. Mihailuk announced that she would run for a seat in theLegislative Council at the2023 state election.[80]
One Nation contested the2023 Narracan state supplementary election in Victoria on January 28, One Nation candidate Casey Murphy received 6.04% of the vote.[81]
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.[82]
One Nation ran in the2023 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.[83]
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.[84] On 22 August 2023, Mark Latham left the party to become an independent; he was joined by his colleagueRod Roberts.[85]
One Nation campaigned heavily against the Indigenous Voice to parliament in thereferendum 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 theAustralian Capital Territory.[86]
Tania Mihailuk was announced as the next leader of One Nation in New South Wales in December.[87]
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".[88]
ThenUnited Australia Party National DirectorCraig Kelly joined One Nation on 27 February; he took the position of Federal Campaign Director for the party.[89] He left the party in late August.[90]
On 29 February, IndependentBen Dawkins, a member of theWestern 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 the2021 Western Australian state election, which the Labor party won in a landslide.[91]
In early August,incumbent MP for Mirani Stephen Andrew announced his resignation from One Nation after they did not endorse him as their candidate for Mirani.[92] One Nation did not win any seats at the State election held that year, but did see a slight increase in its primary vote. New South Wales MLC Tania Mihailuk announced her resignation from One Nation on 20 December 2024.[93] Western Australian MLC Ben Dawkins had announced his own resignation three days earlier.
At the2025 Western Australian state election One Nation had better fortunes and won two seats in theWestern Australian Legislative Council, which saw State leaderRod Caddies elected to Parliament.[94]
In the lead-up to the2025 Australian federal election, pollsters recorded an increase in One Nations primary vote, particularly near the end of the campaign period where the party began to come close to or surpass their result at the1998 Australian federal election. One Nation ran 147 candidates in the House of Representatives, and a Senate team for each state and territory except for theAustralian Capital Territory. One Nation won 6.4% of the vote in the House of Representatives, the second-best result for the party since its inception.[95] One Nation won a senate seat in New South Wales and Western Australia withWarwick Stacey andTyron Whitten.
In May 2025, South Australian MLCSarah Game quit the party, citing brand issues associated with One Nation, it came after her mother and leader of One Nation in South Australia, Jennifer Game, resigned from the party after she was not chosen to head the party ticket in the Legislative Council for the2026 South Australian state election.[96]
Since the2025 Australian federal election, One Nation has experienced a renewed polling surge, reaching up to 15% and overtaking that of the Greens.[97]. There has been media that formerdeputy prime minister of Australia andNationals memberBarnaby Joyce is in talks to join the party, and potentially succeeding Hanson as its leader.[98] During this period, Hanson announced she would begin the process to change the party's name from Pauline Hanson's One Nation to simply One Nation.[99]
| 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 | No leader[c] | 0 / 93 | 0 / 42 |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – Northern Territory | No leader | 0 / 25 | |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – Queensland | James Ashby | 0 / 93 | |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – South Australia | No leader[d] | 0 / 47 | 0 / 22 |
| Pauline Hanson's One Nation – Tasmania | No leader | 0 / 35 | 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 | 2 / 37 |
One Nation's policies and ideology have been described as based onultranationalism,[100][101][102]right-wing populism,[2][103][5]populism,[104][105] andopposition to immigration.[106] Its policies have been also described asnationalist,[107][108][109]national-conservative,[107]socially conservative,[110]conservative,[111][112] andprotectionist.[113] Its political position has been described asright-wing,[114] extreme right,[115] andfar-right.[116][117]
In its early years, One Nation's policies were said to be synonymous with opposition toaffirmative 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 foreconomic protectionist policies.[118][119]
During its inception, One Nation rallied againstLiberal andLabor immigration and multicultural policies which, it argued, were leading to "the Asianisation of Australia."[118]
Former Australian Prime MinisterPaul 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."[120]
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.[121] 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.[122] 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".[123]
WriterHans-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 fromEuropean right-wing parties by focusing on its own brand of populism which he termedHansonism based on Hanson's personality and debates unique to Australian society.[124]
Despite the party's early image as an anti-immigration party, the party has - since 2016 - ran a number of migrant Chinese and Indian candidates in elections.[125][126][127][128]
Political scientistIan McAllister argues the current version of One Nation from 2017 does not have much in the way of policy beyond an "anti-establishment stance"[129] while others have argued it has changed to focus its policies on opposition to Islam.[130][131]
During the2017 Queensland state election, One Nation disendorsed its Bundamba candidate Shan Ju Lin after her anti-gay social media post. Lin accusedJames Ashby of deciding on Hanson's behalf that Lin should be disendorsed.[132] In December 2016, Andy Semple withdrew as a candidate for Currumbin, after the party told him to delete an LGBT joke on Twitter.[133]
Various One Nation election candidates have made anti-LGBT comments, such as one saying in 2019, "The only thing worse than a gay person with power is a woman", another in 2017 calling same-sex marriage "poof poof marriage" and making the comment, "You see when we consummate a marriage kids are generally born 9 mths later when gays consummate its [sic] just bum sex for enjoyment", and a third – also in 2017 – saying that "Norwegian homosexuals" are behind a "mind control program".[134]
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 theUN Global Compact on Migration.[121][135] Due to these statements, One Nation has been described asanti-Islam.[136][137]
Following the end of lockdowns in Australia as a result ofCOVID-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.[138]
In 2018 Hanson called for immigration numbers to be capped at 75,000 a year.[139] In 2025, Hanson called for immigration to be cut to 130,000 a year.[140]
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", they also wish to reimplement import tariffs.[141][142] It is opposed to foreign ownership of Australian agricultural land and businesses, as well as the privatisation of water assets.[143] Wishing to prioritise jobs for Australian nationals, it would investigate "the abuse of foreign work visas."[144]
One Nation backed the Turnbull Government's controversial 2018 corporate tax cuts.[145][146][147]
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.[148]
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, theSenate approved a motion tabled byPauline Hanson which called on the federal government to reject the teaching ofcritical race theory in Australian schools.[149] It also supports a ban on wearing the burqa in public spaces.[150][151] One Nation has backed Hanson's comments regardingdownplaying scientific consensus on climate change.[152][153] During the debate on theMarriage 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.[154][155]
One Nation is broadly anti-abortion, particularly relating to late term abortions, with them favouring policies such as a gestational limit for abortions, banning sex-selective abortion, and doctors' rights to allow for them to object to performing such a procedure.[156]
One Nation members and parliamentarians have criticised the increasing use of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the Australian one.
The party wants to remove building code mandates, such as removing the requirement for new buildings to be wheelchair-compliant.[157] One Nation also wants to reduce funding for arts and abolish the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).[157]
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.[158] 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.[143]
One Nation is in favour of a substantial increase in the aged pension and disability support pension.[159] It was reported in 2016 that One Nation had voted with the Liberal government on a number of welfare cuts.[160]One Nation is also opposed to increasing the age of entitlement to 70 years, and supports a $100 a week increase under the work bonus scheme for pensioners.[161]
In 2024, One Nation cooperated with theAlbanese government and ministerBill Shorten in reforming theNational Disability Insurance Scheme to crack down on alleged misuse of the system and to reign in the growing costs of the program.[162]
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.[163][164] One Nation opposes vaccine mandates, but denies being against vaccinations. However, in 2021, One Nation MLC Mark Latham said that vaccinated people should be exempt from Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown.[165]
One Nation introduced legislation in 2021 pertaining to Covid-19 mandates, with the bill proposing banning discrimination on Covid-19 vaccination status in the fields of goods, services, facilities, employment, education, accommodation and sport. It was supported by 5 Liberal-National senators, it was not passed.[166]
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 theUnited Nations.[167][168] The party wants Australia to withdraw from theParis Climate Accords.[169]
In 2019, One Nation called for the abolition offull preferential voting in favour ofoptional preferential voting atHouse of Representatives elections. The announcement came shortly afterScott Morrison announced that the Liberal Party would preference One Nation behind Labor in several seats for the2019 federal election.[170] In Australia, optional preferential voting is currently only used forLegislative Assembly elections inNew South Wales and for council elections in mostwardedlocal government areas inQueensland.
One Nation is also against the use ofgroup voting tickets, which are currently only used forLegislative Council elections inVictoria. The party has strongly criticisedGlenn Druery, a "preference whispererer" who founded theMinor Party Alliance. In the lead-up to the2022 state election, Hanson claimed that Druery wasrigging the election in favour of the incumbent state Labor government ofDaniel Andrews, after a leaked video showed that Druery was trying to create a crossbench that Labor could work with.[171] Prior to the incident, in 2017, Druery admitted that he had been directing the preferences of micro-parties away from One Nation since 1999.[172]
In March 2025, Hanson said the party wants Australia to leave the United Nations, theWorld Health Organization (WHO), and theWorld Economic Forum, cut funding for theNational Disability Insurance Scheme and abolish theNational Indigenous Australians Agency and the Department of Climate Change.[173]
Surveys of voters at the 1998 federal election and the 1998 Queensland state election found One Nation voters were more likely than other voters to be male, residents of rural electorates, blue-collar workers and firearm owners.[174] On measurements of political views, One Nation voters were distinguished by their anti-immigrant and anti-Aboriginal sentiments and by their dissatisfaction with or alienation from the political environment. On metrics of union membership, economic insecurity and identification as members of the working class, One Nation voters were nearly identical to Labor voters.[175] However, a clear majority of One Nation voters were former Liberal and National voters rather than former Labor voters.[176]
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 theCentral Queensland,Darling Downs andWide Bay–Burnett regions ofQueensland and theHunter Valley region ofNew South Wales, all of which are working-class regions that have historically relied oncoal mining as part of their local economy, and all were once strongholds for the Labor Party.[citation needed]
| 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 |
| 2025 | 991,814 | 6.40 | 0 / 150 | 0 | 899,296 | 5.67 | 3 / 40 | 4 / 76 | 2 |
| Election year | Legislative Assembly | Legislative Council | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | ||
| 1999 | 281,147 | 7.53 | 0 / 93 | 0 | 225,668 | 6.34 | 1 / 42 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 49,948 | 1.10 | 0 / 93 | 0 | 306,933 | 6.90 | 2 / 42 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 84,683 | 1.80 | 0 / 93 | 0 | 273,496 | 5.92 | 3 / 42 | 1 | |
| Election year | Legislative Assembly | Legislative Council | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | ||
| 1999 | 8,181 | 0.29 | 0 / 88 | 0 | Did not contest Legislative Council | ||||
| 2022 | 10,323 | 0.28 | 0 / 88 | 0 | 76,734 | 2.04 | 1 / 40 | 1 | |
| Election year | Legislative Assembly | Legislative Council | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | ||
| 2001 | 98,321 | 9.58 | 0 / 57 | 0 | 103,571 | 9.88 | 3 / 34 | 3 | |
| 2005 | 17,580 | 1.64 | 0 / 57 | 0 | 17,435 | 1.59 | 0 / 34 | 3 | |
| 2008 | Did not contest Legislative Assembly | 7,012 | 0.63 | 0 / 36 | 0 | ||||
| 2017 | 65,192 | 4.93 | 0 / 59 | 0 | 110,480 | 8.19 | 3 / 36 | 3 | |
| 2021 | 17,824 | 1.26 | 0 / 59 | 0 | 21,259 | 1.48 | 0 / 36 | 3 | |
| 2025 | 61,174 | 4.00 | 0 / 59 | 0 | 59,296 | 3.82 | 2 / 37 | 2 | |
| Election year | House of Assembly | Legislative Council | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | ||
| 2002 | 22,833 | 2.41 | 0 / 47 | 0 | 16,829 | 1.80 | 0 / 22 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 2,591 | 0.28 | 0 / 47 | 0 | 7,559 | 0.81 | 0 / 22 | 0 | |
| 2010 | Did not contest House of Assembly | 4,972 | 0.51 | 0 / 22 | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | 28,664 | 2.63 | 0 / 47 | 0 | 46,051 | 4.23 | 1 / 22 | 1 | |
| Election year | Legislative Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # votes | % votes | # 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 | 2,525 | 0.92 | 0 / 89 | 0 |
| 2017 | 371,193 | 13.73 | 1 / 93 | 1 |
| 2020 | 204,316 | 7.12 | 1 / 93 | 0 |
| 2024 | 248,334 | 8.00 | 0 / 93 | 1 |
| Election year | Legislative Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # votes | % votes | # seats | +/– | |
| 2001 | 1,074 | 1.32 | 0 / 25 | 0 |
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.
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.[177]
| No. | Image | Leader | Electorate | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Pauline Hanson | MP forOxley(1996–1998) | 11 April 1997 – 5 August 2002 | First leadership |
| 2 |  | John Fischer | MLC forMining & Pastoral Regions (2001–2005) | 5 August 2002 – 1 June 2004 | Also leader ofOne Nation WA |
| 3 |  | Ian Nelson | — | 6 December 2009 – 24 March 2012 | Also former party director and treasurer[178] |
| 4 | | Jim Savage | — | 13 May 2013 – 18 November 2014 | Former party executive and leader ofOne Nation Queensland[179] |
| (1) | .jpg) | Pauline Hanson | Senator for Queensland (2016–) | 18 November 2014 – present | Second leadership |
| No. | Image | Leader | Electorate | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | David Oldfield | MLC (1997–2007) City of ManlyAlderman (1991–1999) | 27 March 1999 – 8 October 2000 | Sacked as leader after party intervention Later leader of breakaway party,One Nation NSW(2000–2004) |
| 2 |  | Brian Burston | Senator forNew South Wales (2016–2019) City of Cessnock Deputy Mayor (1987–1999) | 31 March 2010 – 17 June 2018 | Resigned as leader after party intervention |
| 3 |  | Mark Latham | MP forWerriwa (1994–2005) MLC (2019–present) Labor Opposition Leader (2003–2005) | 7 November 2018 – 14 August 2023 | Sacked as leader after party intervention |
| 4 |  | Tania Mihailuk | Mayor of Bankstown (2006–2011) MLC (2023–present) MLA forBankstown (2011–2023) | 10 December 2023 – 20 December 2024 | Resigned as leader over administrative and funding issues |
| No. | Image | Leader | Electorate | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Andrew Carne | — | 1997 – 21 May 1998 | [180] |
| 2 | | Robyn Spencer | — | 21 May 1998 – 13 June 1998 | Wife of South Australia leader Rodney Spencer, also former leader ofAAFI |
| 3 | | Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell | MLC forNorthern Victoria (2022–present) | 27 November 2022 – present | First One Nation MP elected in Victoria |
| No. | Image | Leader | Electorate | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | John Fischer | MLC forMining and Pastoral Region (2001–2005) | 10 February 2001 – 1 June 2004 | Resigned, was also Federal leader of One Nation |
| 2 | | Ron McClean | — | 1 June 2004 – 9 January 2017 | [181] |
| 3 |  | Colin Tincknell | MLC forSouth West Region (2017–2021) | 9 January 2017 – 2023 | Later President of One Nation Western Australia Division |
| 4 |  | Rod Caddies | MLC (2025–present) | 2023 – present |
| No. | Image | Leader | Electorate | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Rodney Spencer | — | 21 May 1998 – 13 June 1998 | Wife is formerOne Nation Victoria leader Robyn Spencer. Also the leader ofAAFI between 1989 and 2008 |
| 2 |  | Jennifer Game | — | 16 September 2021 – 17 May 2025 | Daughter is former One Nation MLCSarah Game. Resigned from party |
| No. | Image | Leader | Electorate | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Heather Hill | Senator forQueensland (1998–1999) | 21 May 1998 – 13 June 1998 | Disqualified from Senate in 1999 |
| 2 | | Bill Feldman | MLA forCaboolture (1998–2001) | 23 June 1998 – 14 December 1999 | Inaugural Qld. parliamentary leader, resigned from party, leader of breakaway party,City Country Alliance(1999–2001) |
| 3 | | Bill Flynn | MLA forLockyer (2001–2004) | 6 March 2001 – 7 February 2004 | Defeated at election |
| 4 |  | Rosa Lee Long | MLA forTablelands (2001–2009) | 1 June 2004 – 20 March 2009 | Only One Nation MP from 2004 until defeat in 2009 |
| 5 | .jpg) | Steve Dickson | MLA forBuderim (2009–2017) | 23 January 2017 – 30 April 2019 | Resigned after scandal |
| 6 |  | James Ashby | — | 20 September 2024 – present | Chief of Staff to Pauline Hanson[182] |
| No. | Image | Leader | Electorate | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Shaun Nelson | MLA forTablelands (1998–2001) | June 1997 – December 1997 | |
| 2 | | Chris Spence | MLA forThe Entrance (2011–2015) | December 1997 – January 1998 | Later a Liberal MP |
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.[183] 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;[184] 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.[184] TheNorth Queensland-basedKatter's Australian Party received over $280,000.[184]
Pauline Hanson's One Nation, which was federally registered on 27 June 1997, and voluntarily deregistered on 8 February 2005.
He observes that far-right parties, including Pauline Hanson's One Nation and the pro-Trump "Trumpet of Patriots," collectively garnered 10–12% of the vote in some electorates—indicating persistent, if marginalized, populist undercurrents.
With the exception of Katter's Australian party, Anning's first speech was universally panned. Even Pauline Hanson, the leader of the rightwing nativist One Nation party that helped elect Anning to the Senate, decried it as "straight from Goebbels' handbook from Nazi Germany".
Amid rising support in the polls for far-right parties including the Trumpet of Patriots and Pauline Hanson's One Nation, […]
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)After much careful consideration, I have made the decision to end my membership of Pauline Hanson's One Nation.
Stephanie Banister, who is hoping to represent the ultra-nationalist One Nation party
The populist right-wing party snared four seats after preferences were allocated today...
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)The only public supporters of Andren's case, albeit with little visibility and with different emphases, were Greens Senator Bob Brown, monarchist Sir Harry Gibbs, sections of the National Party organisation, and the right wing Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party.
Respondents in national surveys did not see One Nation as a party of the Right; rather they saw it more than any other party as a party of extreme Right.
The result is a path model of voting that allows material and cultural threat to influence policy preferences about how to deal with the 'immigrant problem', and allows both threat and policy preferences to affect voting for the far-right One Nation party in Australia.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)| Federalparliamentary parties | |
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