She craves attention and we have a job running the country
In Australia's shifting political landscape, a party once dismissed as a fringe movement has risen to the top of national polls, forcing the governing Labor party to confront an uncomfortable truth: that voter frustration with the established order does not distinguish between its friends and its enemies. Prime Minister Albanese, who once worried philosophically about the health of two-party democracy, now finds his government issuing daily talking points against Pauline Hanson's One Nation — a sign that the outsider has become impossible to ignore. The deeper question is not whether Labor can neutralise One Nation, but whether any incumbent can persuade a disillusioned public that the system they are turning against still works in their favour.
- One Nation has surged to become Australia's most popular party in several national polls, claiming over $2 million in donations in a single week and declaring Labor-held seats as targets.
- Labor, which once treated Hanson as a peripheral irritant, is now distributing coordinated daily talking points to MPs — a visible admission that the threat has moved from the margins to the centre of political life.
- The chosen battleground is wages, not immigration: Labor strategists believe exposing Hanson's opposition to minimum wage increases is her 'kryptonite' with the very working-class voters she courts.
- The strategy carries its own risks — some senior Labor figures argue that engaging Hanson on her terms amplifies her, and that the party's best weapon is simply governing well before the 2028 election.
- Beneath the tactical debate lies a structural problem: as the incumbent, Labor is part of the very 'insider' system that One Nation's supporters are revolting against, making traditional political attacks difficult to land.
By January, Anthony Albanese was already worried. After a Newspoll showed One Nation ahead of the Coalition for the first time, the prime minister said his concern wasn't about his own government's survival — it was about the stability of Australia's two-party system itself. Five months later, that worry has sharpened into urgency.
One Nation now leads several national polls. Hanson has declared Labor-held seats are in her sights, and the party claims to have raised more than $2 million in donations in a single week, riding a wave of anger over broken budget promises. Labor has responded by placing One Nation at the top of its daily talking points — guidance issued each morning to MPs on how to frame the political moment. The very fact that party headquarters felt compelled to act signals an acceptance that Hanson is no longer a sideshow.
The strategy is deliberate and narrow. Labor MPs are told to describe One Nation as offering 'anger and slogans' rather than solutions, and to highlight Hanson's record on wages — what strategist Kos Samaras calls her 'kryptonite.' Crucially, the talking points make no mention of immigration, the issue that built her career. That terrain, Labor has decided, is too dangerous to contest. The ACTU has already moved on wages, with secretary Sally McManus releasing a video condemning Hanson's opposition to a recent minimum wage increase. Attempts to link Hanson to mining magnate Gina Rinehart have had limited effect; voters appear to view such ties as no different from the perks all politicians enjoy.
Behind closed doors, Labor is divided. Some senior figures argue the party should simply govern well — on wages, tax, and Medicare — and let its record speak. Don Farrell, the trade minister, was characteristically blunt: 'Populist parties in this country come and go.' Others point to the 2022 election, when Labor won 94 seats after trailing in the polls, as reason for measured confidence.
Yet the challenge is structural. One Nation's rise appears driven less by any specific policy than by a broad revolt of outsiders against insiders — a category that now includes Labor itself. As the incumbent, the government is part of the very system voters are rejecting. Peter Lewis of Essential Media argues Labor's best defence is tangible proof that power is still being used for ordinary people. Whether that proof can arrive in time — and whether it will be enough — remains the open question.
By mid-January, Anthony Albanese had begun to worry aloud about Pauline Hanson. The prime minister's concern, he explained on a radio interview after a Newspoll showed One Nation ahead of the Coalition for the first time, wasn't about the immediate threat to his own government. It was about something larger: the destabilization of Australia's two-party system itself. "I'm a believer in mainstream politics," he said. "It has served this country pretty well."
Five months later, that worry has become urgent. One Nation now ranks as the most popular party in the country across several national opinion polls. Hanson has declared Labor-held seats are targets. The party claims to have raised more than $2 million in donations in a single week, riding a wave of voter frustration over broken budget promises. Labor, which once treated One Nation as a fringe concern, has begun to treat it as the central political problem of the moment.
The shift is visible in the machinery of government. Each morning, Labor MPs receive talking points—guidance on how to frame the day's political messaging. On Wednesday, a new topic appeared on that list: One Nation. The suggested language was consistent with what Albanese had been saying all week: that Australians are frustrated with an economy that "isn't working for them." But the fact that party headquarters felt compelled to issue guidance at all signals something important—an acceptance that One Nation is no longer a sideshow but a problem requiring a coordinated response. Labor head office has even appealed for donations specifically to fight Hanson's party.
The strategy being deployed is precise. Labor MPs are instructed to describe One Nation as offering "anger" and "slogans" rather than "solutions" and "answers." They are told to highlight Hanson's "appalling record" on wages and job security, undermining her carefully cultivated image as a champion of working people. The talking points make a deliberate omission: they contain no mention of immigration, the issue that has defined Hanson's political career. Labor has decided that terrain is too dangerous to contest. Instead, the party is focusing on wages—what political strategist Kos Samaras calls Hanson's "kryptonite." The theory is that a working-class voter, confronted with evidence that One Nation opposes wage increases and aligns with business interests, will recognize Hanson as just another politician, not the outsider she claims to be.
The trade union movement has already begun executing this strategy. When the Fair Work Commission awarded a 4.75 percent pay increase to minimum wage earners this month, ACTU secretary Sally McManus released a video condemning Hanson's opposition to it. "These are Aussie battlers who've been doing it tough," McManus said, "and who stood up for them? Not Pauline Hanson. She argued against these increases." Labor MPs including Jim Chalmers and Clare O'Neil have also attempted to cast Hanson as a hypocrite by drawing attention to her close ties to mining magnate Gina Rinehart. But this line appears to have limited effect. Voters, Samaras suggests, view such arrangements as no different from the travel perks and other benefits that all politicians enjoy.
Behind closed doors, Labor figures are divided on how seriously to take the threat. Some senior MPs believe the Coalition "created the One Nation beast" and should therefore be responsible for slaying it. They argue Labor should focus on what it does best—wages, tax policy, Medicare—and let its record speak for itself. Don Farrell, the trade minister and a veteran observer of insurgent political movements, was blunt when asked about One Nation: "Populist parties in this country come and go, they rise and they fall. I don't think Labor has anything to fear." Other MPs share his relative calm, partly because the next federal election is not until 2028, leaving time to develop a more comprehensive counter-strategy. The party's confidence is bolstered by the 2022 election, when Labor won 94 seats after trailing in the polls just months before.
Yet the uncertainty is real. One Nation's surge appears driven not by ideological commitment to any particular policy platform but by a broader revolt of "outsiders" against "insiders"—a category that includes both major parties and large corporations. This makes the party difficult to attack using traditional methods. Peter Lewis, executive director of Essential Media, has identified Labor's core challenge: as the incumbent government, Labor is central to the very system voters are turning against. The party's best defense, Lewis argues, is to demonstrate that government can still work for ordinary people—through changes to capital gains taxation, through the Future Made in Australia manufacturing program, through tangible evidence that power is being used on behalf of those losing faith in the system.
For now, the outcome remains uncertain. One Nation's momentum shows no signs of slowing. Hanson is scheduled to address the National Press Club next week. Some Labor figures worry the government has been flat-footed, lacking a clear strategy to combat an opponent that seems impervious to scandal and traditional forms of political accountability. Others counsel patience, viewing the current focus on Hanson as a distraction two years before an election. "Why would we engage now, on her terms?" one MP asked. "She craves attention and we have a job running the country." The question is whether that job—and the government's ability to do it—will be enough.
Notable Quotes
I'm a believer in mainstream politics and that the parties of government, it's important. It has served this country pretty well.— Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, January 2026
Populist parties in this country come and go, they rise and they fall. I don't think Labor has anything to fear from One Nation.— Trade Minister Don Farrell
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Labor suddenly care so much about Pauline Hanson? Isn't she just a fringe figure?
She's not fringe anymore. One Nation is polling as the most popular party in the country. That's not a sideshow—that's a signal that something fundamental has shifted in how voters see politics.
But Labor won the last election convincingly. What's changed?
The economy. Voters are frustrated, and they're looking for someone who seems to be outside the system. Hanson has been around for 30 years, but she's still able to position herself as the outsider fighting the establishment.
So Labor's strategy is to attack her on wages?
Yes. They're trying to show that Hanson actually opposes wage increases and is close to wealthy business interests. The theory is that working-class voters will see through her if you can prove she's not actually on their side.
Does that work?
Unclear. The problem is that voters don't seem to care about the usual forms of hypocrisy. When Labor points out Hanson's ties to mining magnate Gina Rinehart, voters shrug and say all politicians get perks. The anger is deeper than that.
What's Labor's real fear here?
That they're part of the problem. As the government, they're inside the system people are rebelling against. The best they can do is prove that government still works for ordinary people—but that takes time, and they only have until 2028.
Do they think they can win this?
Some do. Don Farrell says populist parties come and go. Others are less sure. The honest answer is nobody really knows yet.