The Rise of One Nation

If you’d asked me twenty years ago whether I’d ever vote for Pauline Hanson and One Nation, I would’ve laughed so hard I’d have needed a Ventolin.

Back then, Pauline was viewed by many Australians as loud, rough around the edges, politically chaotic and about as subtle as a Bunnings sausage slapped onto white bread with no onions because the council banned fun. The idea of her leading the country felt about as likely as Centrelink answering the phone in under four hours.

But here we are in 2026.

Age does funny things to people. It gives you perspective. It also gives you lower back pain, a growing hatred of self-checkouts and the ability to spot political nonsense from three suburbs away.

After decades of watching both major parties make grand promises, hold inquiries into inquiries, spend billions fixing the problems they created themselves, then blame each other while Australia slowly turns into an overpriced group assignment nobody’s actually leading, I’ve somehow arrived at a sentence I never imagined saying:

I’m voting One Nation.

Not because I suddenly agree with every single thing Pauline Hanson has ever said. Good lord, no.

But because the other two parties increasingly feel like different departments of the same corporate HR team. One wears a red tie, the other a blue tie, but somehow both still manage to achieve the exact same result: higher costs, more bureaucracy, less accountability and a press conference explaining why your electricity bill doubling is actually “a positive transition outcome”.

Labor Party

Labor’s current approach is essentially this: “If we announce enough funding packages with shiny logos and the words support, initiative and future attached to them, surely everything will eventually work itself out.”

Their platform focuses heavily on government involvement through renewable energy spending, subsidies, housing programs, healthcare funding, manufacturing support, education incentives and cost-of-living relief. Which all sounds lovely in theory.

Who doesn’t want cheaper medicines, more affordable housing, better healthcare and lower power bills? The problem is Australia now runs almost entirely on announcements.

Every second week there’s another billion-dollar package, another “historic investment”, another “nation-shaping reform”, followed six months later by Australians standing in Coles asking whether they should refinance the mortgage to buy a block of tasty cheese.

Labor talks constantly about housing affordability while simultaneously overseeing a country where a modest suburban unit now requires two incomes, inherited wealth and the kidney of a close relative. We’re told migration is essential because we have skill shortages, yet somehow nobody can explain why importing hundreds of thousands of people annually into a housing crisis might slightly affect rental prices.

Apparently that’s considered an extremist observation now. Labor also loves renewable energy announcements. Every press conference feels like somebody discovered a new wind turbine and immediately declared electricity prices would fall “over time”.

Australians have now heard the phrase “over time” so often it should probably be added to the national anthem. To be fair, Labor has implemented some tangible measures including tax cuts, Medicare funding, aged care spending, cheaper medicines, HECS relief and energy rebates.

But the broader feeling across the country is still this: Everything costs more. Groceries cost more. Insurance costs more. Power costs more. Trades cost more. Rent costs more. Going outside costs more. At some point governments have to stop measuring success purely by the number of media releases they issue.

Coalition – Liberal & National Parties

The Coalition’s strategy can generally be summarised as: “We’d like Australia to function like a business.”

Which sounds fantastic until you remember most Australians have worked for businesses and know exactly how that story ends.

The Coalition focuses on lower taxes, smaller government, cutting regulation, supporting business, infrastructure investment, stronger defence and tighter immigration. Conceptually, it’s cleaner messaging than Labor. Less government. Lower taxes. More private sector growth. Fewer rules. Simple.

Unfortunately, simple slogans don’t automatically produce simple outcomes.

The Coalition spent nearly a decade in government and, depending on who you ask, either saved the economy or spent nine years holding a hose while the house quietly burnt down around them. Supporters point to JobKeeper during COVID, business stability and employment growth. Critics point to housing affordability collapsing, energy policy confusion, stagnant wages and government debt somehow increasing despite all the speeches about fiscal responsibility.

And honestly, both sides are probably a bit right.

The Coalition often talks tough about reducing spending, but governments rarely shrink once they discover taxpayers own functioning credit cards. Also, every election somehow turns into a competition over who can promise the most infrastructure projects with the fewest details.

By election season, politicians are basically Oprah. “You get a rail project.” “You get a highway bypass.” “You get a feasibility study.” Then five years later there’s still a bloke in hi-vis leaning on a shovel beside an unfinished roundabout.

The Coalition also criticises Labor’s renewable energy spending while simultaneously trying not to upset anyone who owns rooftop solar, drives an EV or enjoys electricity. Modern politics increasingly feels like everyone’s trying to offend absolutely nobody while fixing absolutely nothing.

One Nation

Then there’s One Nation. The political equivalent of somebody walking into a corporate boardroom and saying: “Right. Everyone shut up. The country’s cooked.” And honestly, a growing number of Australians seem to be nodding along.

One Nation’s platform focuses heavily on immigration, housing affordability, energy prices, government waste, cost of living and national identity. Unlike the major parties, they don’t bury everything beneath thirty layers of consultant-approved language.

You might not always like the message, but at least you know what the message actually is. Cut immigration. Lower power prices. Reduce government waste. Prioritise Australians. Support coal, gas and nuclear. Reduce fuel excise. Reform bloated systems.

Whether you agree or disagree, there’s a clarity there many Australians feel has completely disappeared from mainstream politics. The major parties often speak in carefully tested phrases that sound like they were written by ChatGPT after attending a leadership retreat in Canberra.

One Nation sounds more like somebody yelling at the television during the 6pm news. And in 2026, that oddly feels more authentic. Of course, the party still has weaknesses.

Some policies lack detail. Some proposals oversimplify genuinely complicated problems. Some economic modelling appears to have been developed on the back of a Hungry Jack’s receipt.

Reducing migration dramatically would absolutely create workforce challenges. Expanding fossil fuels while balancing trade relationships and emissions targets is not exactly straightforward. And major spending cuts always sound easier until someone realises their own program might disappear.

But here’s the thing. At least they’re talking directly about the issues Australians are actually discussing in real life. Housing. Immigration. Infrastructure strain. Power prices. Government waste. Crime. Cost of living. Not abstract political buzzwords. Not twelve-point plans for “future resilience outcomes”. Actual day-to-day problems.

Conclusion

What surprises me most isn’t that One Nation has grown. It’s that the major parties still seem genuinely confused about why. Australians are tired. Tired of paying more and getting less. Tired of political spin. Tired of endless committees. Tired of governments treating obvious problems like dangerous topics nobody’s allowed to mention aloud.

Labor and the Coalition increasingly feel like two slightly different streaming services offering the exact same disappointing content library. Different logos. Different marketing. Same monthly subscription to frustration.

Meanwhile One Nation has positioned itself as the protest vote for people who feel ignored, overtaxed, priced out and exhausted by political theatre. And honestly, I understand why. Never in my life did I think I’d say that. Yet after years of watching Australia become more expensive, more divided, more bureaucratic and somehow less functional despite record spending and endless policy announcements, here we are.

The biggest political shock of 2026 isn’t that Pauline Hanson still exists in politics. It’s that millions of ordinary Australians are now quietly looking around and thinking: “Well… she might actually have a point.”