Earlier this month, One Nation’s Barnaby Joyce addressed a rally on the steps of New South Wales parliament. In emotive terms, he praised an anti-abortion bill about sex-selective abortion, legislation opposed by health experts.

Joyce’s speech is notable as a cut and paste of US culture war strategies, and for what it reveals about One Nation’s evolving, populist far-right agenda.

Read more: How common is sex-selective abortion in Australia, really?

An unlikely anti-abortion hero

Senator Pauline Hanson, One Nation’s founder and leader, is an unlikely anti-abortion hero. In the 1990s she insisted, “It is every woman’s right to determine her own body”.

In 2018, Hanson does not appear to have commented when Queensland decriminalised abortion. In 2025, she indicated she has no issue with first trimester abortion.

In 2020, One Nation debuted a “pro-life policy” that relies on a range of claims that originated in the US. These include misinformation about abortions later in pregnancy and broader health care.

However, abortion is still a conscience vote within the party.

Senator Malcolm Roberts has been relatively quiet about his opposition to abortion. But One Nation’s most high profile new recruits – Joyce, Cory Bernardi in South Australia and Bernie Finn in Victoria – have previously made controversial anti-abortion statements.

This rhetoric doesn’t appear to be in response to voter demand. One Nation voters, like most Australians, are broadly pro-choice. In 2026, 50% of One Nation voters supported abortion access, while a further 34% supported........

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