Only one party can defang One Nation, and it’s not the Libs

March 23, 2026 — 2:00am

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Last month, tax expert Bob Breunig told a Senate committee: “I don’t think we’re back to pre-French-Revolution times, but I’m worried about that.”

On Saturday, Australia got its clearest indication yet of its proximity to revolution. One Nation won around 20 per cent of the vote in the South Australian election. On primary votes, at the time of writing, it is the second-strongest party in the state. Yes, One Nation’s seat count remains limited - though perhaps higher than many thought. But any hope the pollsters were wrong, that people would not vote the way they said they would, turned out to be misplaced.

There are lots of reasons. One is the awful performance of the SA Liberals. Federal Liberals, take note.

Why One Nation, then? There are two broad points here, both important. The first is One Nation’s specific appeal: nationalist, racist, anti-Muslim, anti-immigration. For some voters, the One Nation taboo is gone: they are willing to declare their fealty to the party’s values.

For others, their desperation to vote for someone else is significant enough for them to abandon reservations. This is the second factor – where One Nation acts more as a proxy. Voters are dissatisfied. With what? With everything.

One Nation’s national rise is recent but is only the most recent symptom of a frustration growing for years, apparent in the sliding support for both major parties. How this........

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