Pauline Hanson has moved ahead of Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister among Queensland voters, according to published polling, as support for the Prime Minister continues to flatline and One Nation’s vote keeps rising.
The exclusive Newspoll quarterly analysis prepared for The Australian shows Senator Hanson leading Mr Albanese in Queensland by 52 per cent to 48 per cent. A majority of voters in her home state now say they would back the One Nation leader over the Prime Minister.
Even so, the polls indicate her overall two party-preferred position remains well short of what would be needed to form government in her own right, despite an increasing primary vote.
The same analysis found Labor’s primary vote in Queensland fell from 30 per cent to 25 per cent over the same period. For the Prime Minister, the numbers are especially troubling because One Nation has now passed both Labor and the Coalition on primary vote in Queensland and NSW. The party is also narrowing the gap on the ALP in Western Australia and South Australia.
Comparing aggregate Newspoll results from July to September with the same three-month stretch last year, One Nation’s primary vote climbed to 36 per cent in Queensland, 31 per cent in NSW and 31 per cent in South Australia. Support reached 29 per cent in Western Australia and 25 per cent in Victoria.
One Nation’s backing remains strongest among Gen X and younger voters aged 35 to 64, as well as Australians without a university degree. The party is also attracting more voters aged 18 to 34. Its support is broadly even across gender, with 31 per cent of male voters and 29 per cent of female voters backing the party.
The latest rise comes as the Albanese Government braces for another round of interest rate rises. Earlier this year, in January, Senator Hanson said she was prepared to serve as Prime Minister after One Nation overtook the Liberal Party on primary votes.
In the first Newspoll of the year, One Nation moved ahead of the Coalition. Asked whether she wanted to keep building toward becoming an alternative government, she replied, “You bet it is,” while acknowledging it would take time.
“This is the first poll in Australia’s history that another party is polling higher than one of the major parties,’’ Senator Hanson said.
“I am proud to acknowledge One Nation is polling higher than the Liberals.
“I think what Australia is lacking now with both the major political parties is leadership.
“People are fed up; they’ve had enough. They’re struggling with the cost of living.”
At that point in January, One Nation’s primary vote had jumped seven points to 22 per cent over the previous two months.
Mr Albanese responded at the time by calling Senator Hanson’s rise “a worry” and describing the party as divisive.
“Oh, it’s a worry because they can appeal to grievances, but they’re a pretty divisive lot,’’ he told KISS FM.
“And I think it’s a worry. I’m a believer in mainstream politics, and that the parties of government are important. I’ve served this country pretty well.”
Senator Hanson, first elected to parliament 30 years ago, has also tied her message to national identity and migration.
“I believe we need to fight for this country, our cultural identity, who we are as Australians,’’ she said.
“It is not racism, to call out or criticise policy which the both major political parties have tried to advocate.
“What’s happened at Bondi, and I think prior to that, with Charlie Kirk his assassination has been a big wake-up call for a lot of Australians.
“Mass migration has also been a huge, big issue for a lot of Australians.”
She went further in arguing the Bondi massacre had become a turning point in debate over migration.
“Do you think it was by chance?’’ she said.
“It is about Islam. It is about the people that we brought into the country. They’re not people compatible and suitable for this country. Why do we now have to turn around, make laws to start reining them in. Why don’t we look at these people before we allow them into our country? That’s what we’ve got to start questioning.”
