Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce hit Victorian battlegrounds as One Nation unveils new candidates

The pair arrived in Victoria on Saturday and headed straight into the regions, where the party is seeking support from farmers affected by major renewable energy projects. 

Victorian One Nation leader Warren Pickering is using the tour to put energy and farming at the centre of the party’s campaign. 

The party is also preparing to announce four new candidates across western Victoria as it expands its challenge to Labor, the Nationals and the Liberals. 

Senator Hanson was due to appear at the Farmers Fight Back rally at Marnoo on Saturday evening. 

Before the event, she and Mr Joyce met with landowners whose properties are set to be acquired for transmission projects. 

The party has pledged to scrap the Western Renewables Link and VNI West projects if it wins government. 

Mr Pickering is also expected to target renewable energy zones established under former Victorian premier Jacinta Allan. 

One Nation wants to abandon subsidies for renewable infrastructure, including solar, wind and battery projects. 

The policy would put the party directly against Labor’s energy transition and the renewable projects planned across regional Victoria. 

Mr Pickering said the party was focused on representing farmers and the broader food and fibre sector. 

“She’s thoroughly excited to engage with landowners on these issues, which she has brought up frequently in the Senate chamber,” Mr Pickering told the Herald Sun on Saturday afternoon. 

“We are not necessarily out here targeting individuals who would usually vote for the Nationals; we are advocating for the needs of our food and fibre industry, and if people choose to join One Nation through those efforts, that’s their democratic right.” 

The party will face questions over how it would maintain Victoria’s electricity supply if it abandoned major renewable projects. 

Yallourn Power Station is due to close in mid-2028, leaving a significant gap in the state’s generation capacity. 

Mr Pickering said the party would reveal more about its energy plans when Senator Hanson and the Victorian team visit Yallourn on Monday. 

“We heavily intend to lean back into the energy resources that made us such an abundant country,” he said. 

“There will be more on that at Yallourn on Monday.” 

The tour will also be used to introduce One Nation’s latest candidates. 

They include primary school teacher turned speech pathologist Donna Buxton, who will contest Ripon. 

Ms Buxton was born and raised in Traralgon and said cost of living, healthcare and access to essential services would be central to her campaign. 

Stuart Robinson, a retired property and business manager, will contest Wendouree. 

His father, a Second World War veteran, helped lead the campaign against Victoria’s Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund tax. 

Mr Robinson said his involvement in that campaign had shaped his view of the state government. 

“This campaign has given me a real insight into how deceptive and allusive the current Victorian Labor government is,” he said. 

“They have little regard for the taxes they raise from hardworking Victorians and this disrespect has to stop.” 

Paul Ballinger will contest Eureka, south-east of Ballarat. 

The Ballarat local has worked in finance, as a carpenter, construction supervisor and small-business owner. 

He said he wanted to address cost-of-living pressures, road conditions and community safety. 

Former Bendigo councillor Vaughan Williams will also run for One Nation in the Western Victoria upper house region. 

Mr Williams unsuccessfully contested the federal seat of Mallee last year. 

Senator Hanson is due to spend Sunday meeting supporters in Melbourne, including at Pakenham. 

The party expects its Melbourne events to attract protesters and has put security arrangements in place. 

The three-day tour is designed to build support by taking Senator Hanson and Mr Joyce into regional communities, while putting the party’s candidates and policies directly in front of voters. 

The campaign will continue in Melbourne before the party unveils further details of its energy policy at Yallourn.