Watching the results for the Farrer by-election come in I was surprised at how high the final vote was for One Nation. At the same time, not that surprised.
Having worked on Family First and LNP campaigns, it seemed the old orthodoxy of campaigning was to go negative early and hammer away.
The Media Industrial Complex, Climate 200, and virtually every left-wing agitator threw everything negative they had at One Nation’s candidate David Farley, but nothing seemed to stick.
This is testament to the fortitude of One Nation. The GetUps of the world, Climate 200, and associated independents have nothing on the grassroots efforts of everyday Australians who are fed up with the uniparty system.
Despite all this, whether you agree or disagree with One Nation, I think there is a broader populist moment coming for Australian politics.
Interestingly, former Prime Minister John Howard famously weighed in on Donald Trump, going on the record to say populist Trump wasn’t ‘compatible with democracy’ and yet Trump won a democratic election twice!
As much as I have fond memories of Mr Howard’s government, it’s fascinating to watch as the right-wing populist democratic movement in Australia takes shape. One Nation represents the current political avatar of this populist move.
It’s striking that Australia is a decade or more behind the rest of the Anglosphere, as others have well noted. The question remains what does that mean for Australia’s future?
I think to borrow a science fiction metaphor, there is a War of the Worlds scenario playing out in Australian politics.
The left-wing aliens have arrived to destroy Western Civilisation. The question then becomes, what can be done about this attack?
Even certain journoids keep repeating the mantra that One Nation and Pauline Hanson is that ‘R’ word that dare not speak its name in polite company.
Is the Liberal Party fighting for survival or already dead? We won’t know until 2028. However, it’s clear this War of the Worlds-style fight is being taken up by One Nation at the current moment. Who comes next in the world of Right-Wing politics will be very interesting to watch.
Tim Humphries is a tech and bitcoin enthusiast turned screenwriter based in Brisbane, Queensland and can be found on X @mothyspace
