{"id":56355,"date":"2026-07-22T23:30:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T23:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/56355\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T23:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T23:30:24","slug":"how-one-nation-is-winning-over-regional-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/56355\/","title":{"rendered":"How One Nation is winning over regional Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

As you drive from the coastal town of Yeppoon to Rockhampton in Central Queensland there’s a huge billboard.<\/p>\n

Pauline Hanson looms over the road in a checked shirt.<\/p>\n

The sign reads: “$13 million Cooee Bay Pool delivered.”<\/p>\n

One Nation didn’t pay for the pool, but its leader did lobby the federal government for funds.<\/p>\n

Regional Queensland is where One Nation first found support as a fringe movement.<\/p>\n

Thirty years on, Pauline Hanson’s party is rolling out a well-funded, grassroots campaign across regional and rural communities the country over.<\/p>\n

Loading…Housing and jobs in Central Queensland<\/p>\n

Messaging around migration is resonating with homelessness advocate Cheryl Dolan.<\/p>\n

“We don’t have the houses to fit the population now at the minute,” she said.<\/p>\n

“So let’s slow down the population until we can get the housing crisis in order.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Cheryl Dolan says there’s a housing crisis in Central Queensland. (ABC Capricornia: Jacob Gamble)<\/p>\n

Ms Dolan previously voted Labor but switched to One Nation at the last election, saying she had lost faith in the major parties.<\/p>\n

“I have to agree with Pauline,” she said.<\/p>\n

“She’s for putting Australians first.”<\/p>\n

Housing, economic pressures and energy policy are the key issues drawing regional people to One Nation according to Rob Manwaring, an associate professor in business, law and government at Flinders University.<\/p>\n

“Voters who think that the economic climate is more pessimistic, and are more downbeat, are far more likely to vote for a minor party, including One Nation,” Dr Manwaring said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

James Ashby has lived in Central Queensland for roughly a decade. (ABC News: Jasmine Hines)<\/p>\n

One Nation has long had a presence in central Queensland and the new billboard is a literal sign this area is once again in its sights.<\/p>\n

Pauline Hanson’s chief of staff, James Ashby, lives on the Capricorn Coast and ran unsuccessfully for the seat of Keppel in the 2024 state election.<\/p>\n

In last year’s federal election One Nation picked up 22.6 per cent of the vote in Capricornia on the three candidate preferred count.<\/p>\n

And the party has confirmed it’s now got approval to open a new office in the electorate.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tanya Edwards would like to see less red tape for small businesses. (Supplied: Tanya Edwards)<\/p>\n

Tanya Edwards owns a real estate company nearby and says she’s worried about the economy.<\/p>\n

She says Senator Hanson’s credentials running a fish and chip shop have given her faith that the senator knows the needs of regional businesses.<\/p>\n

“Everything just keeps going up, all our subscriptions, taxes, rents, electricity,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Everything just keeps getting more expensive and we’ve just got to keep paying more tax.”How economy might look like under One Nation<\/a><\/p>\n

From interest rates to policy advice from billionaire buddy Gina Rinehart, here is how One Nation’s economic platform could look.<\/p>\n

Coal-mining country in One Nation’s sight<\/p>\n

More than 500 kilometres south of the Queensland border, energy is shaping up to be a key issue for One Nation voters in the coal mining heartland of Singleton, New South Wales.<\/p>\n

It’s the second-largest town in the seat of Hunter, long held by Labor, but where miner Stuart Bonds is one of Pauline’s most recognisable federal candidates.<\/p>\n

“No-one gave us a snowflake’s chance in hell,” Mr Bonds said.<\/p>\n

“We’ve had a really strong presence in the Hunter Valley and it’s not going anywhere.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Stuart Bonds came second after preferences in the federal seat of Hunter at the 2025 election. (ABC News: Bridget Murphy)<\/p>\n

The mostly blue-collar electorate, inland of Newcastle, was retained by Labor’s Dan Repacholi, who secured 59 per cent of the post-preference vote in last year’s federal election.<\/p>\n

But Stuart Bonds leapfrogged the Nationals and came in second after preferences at 41 per cent, with a six-point swing on first preferences.<\/p>\n

Mr Bonds is a vocal proponent of One Nation’s policy to expand coal and gas mining as well as scrapping net zero.<\/p>\n

“What is going to stop and kill this industry is the government,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Government regulation and red tape and this ideological belief that we can change the weather here in Australia by digging out a bit less coal.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Rob Manwaring’s research is in the areas of political science and public policy. (ABC News: Malcolm Sutton)<\/p>\n

Dr Manwaring says One Nation is using “issue ownership” tactics on energy and climate to try to leverage an advantage.<\/p>\n

“[It’s] where a political party tries to capture a particular issue and claim it as their own,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The base of One Nation is particularly amongst tradies and those in blue-collar sectors, and particularly in the mining sector.<\/p>\n

“These are messages that are going to resonate really well with that community.”<\/p>\n

Migration and the One Nation vote<\/p>\n

Anti-migration sentiment has long been central to Pauline Hanson’s politics, and it comes up in conversations about housing and the economy.<\/p>\n

She recently attracted controversy for being interviewed on a podcast by Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist in the UK and a convicted criminal.<\/p>\n

When asked about mass deportation on Channel Seven’s Spotlight program, she said: “Oh, I love it.”<\/p>\n

She later said that she only wanted to target “the ones who are here illegally in this country”.<\/p>\n

\"Pauline<\/p>\n

Pauline Hanson appeared on Tommy Robinson’s podcast during a trip to the UK. (YouTube)<\/p>\n

But Dr Manwaring says migration isn’t the number one issue for voters.<\/p>\n

He believes anti-migration policies may only shore up One Nation’s base and won’t shift votes to the party.<\/p>\n

“Some of the research and evidence we have suggests it’s not the only issue, or perhaps one of a number of important issues,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It only ranks about third behind these economic kinds of questions.”<\/p>\n

Darumbal woman Aunty Sally Vea Vea is an Indigenous elder on the Capricorn Coast.<\/p>\n

She says One Nation’s messaging around multiculturalism is harmful.<\/p>\n

“It’s divisive politics,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Multiculturalism is what makes Australia a beautiful country of all the different nationalities and Indigenous people and all those who come to live on our country.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Darumbal elder Aunty Sally Vea Vea believes One Nation’s politics will cause division. (ABC News: Jasmine Hines)<\/p>\n

In a statement, a One Nation spokesperson said it was “on the record in our support for working holiday maker visas and the PALM scheme, which assist in meeting agricultural labour demand”.<\/p>\n

“We enjoy strong support from Australia’s agricultural sector and do not significantly increase housing demand or constitute permanent immigration,” it said.<\/p>\n

Political outsider gets mainstream support<\/p>\n

Pauline Hanson has attracted the support of Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite this, political historian Benjamin Jones says she has retained her status as a political outsider.<\/p>\n

He says it’s helped her build support in Central Queensland in particular.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Benjamin Jones says grievance politics have been successful for populist parties. (Supplied: Benjamin Jones)<\/p>\n

“Queensland, perhaps more than any other state, is decentralised and already has a sense of us versus them,” Dr Jones said.<\/p>\n

“So there already is that sense of being an outsider. That marries nicely with the One Nation brand of being the outsiders.”<\/p>\n

Dr Manwaring says financial support like Gina Rinehart’s is crucial to the party’s growth in the regions.<\/p>\n

“What this means is the party will have some significant resources to professionalise, set up local offices, and organise volunteers,” he said.<\/p>\n

Another factor Dr Manwaring says will help fill One Nation’s coffers is election funding.<\/p>\n

After its performance in the 2025 federal election, One Nation received more than $6 million in taxpayer funds out of a total of $90 million paid to political parties.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Gina Rinehart has gifted Pauline Hanson serious political donations and a toy bulldozer. (ABC News: Chloe Chomicki\u00a0)<\/p>\n

The battle for the bush<\/p>\n

One Nation has taken full advantage of the collapse in support of Coalition parties.<\/p>\n

Major opinion polls reveal one in four Australians support the party, peaking at 31 per cent last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This week’s Newspoll has One Nation back at 30 per cent.<\/p>\n

Given support for the party is higher in the bush, Dr Manwaring believes it could pick up more than a third of Australia’s bush seats in 2028.<\/p>\n

“On the basis of some of the modelling I’ve seen, where there’s a seat which would be down to a One Nation versus Labour two-party or two candidate preferred vote, then there are estimations that One Nation could pick up around about 30\u201335 of those regional seats,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Pauline Hanson gave her first National Press Club address this year, pledging to “end multiculturalism”. (ABC News: Adam Kennedy)<\/p>\n

But politics expert Jim Jose, an emeritus professor from the University of Newcastle, says between now and the next election, voters will want to see solutions to their grievances.<\/p>\n

“Eventually people have to start thinking about and will start thinking about, ‘Well, how do we solve this? Does One Nation have the answers that we’re seeking?'” he said.<\/p>\n

“Even in the regions, people recognise some of the things that One Nation stands for are going to be counterproductive.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As you drive from the coastal town of Yeppoon to Rockhampton in Central Queensland there’s a huge billboard.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21,32731,27665,1955,1926,19479,54948,56440,56439,1491],"class_list":["post-56355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-bush","tag-james-ashby","tag-one-nation","tag-pauline-hanson","tag-politicians","tag-regional-australia","tag-robert-manwaring","tag-tanya-edwards","tag-voters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}