Major blow for Albanese as Hanson takes lead in new poll

One Australian state would back Pauline Hanson in as prime minister if a vote were held today, a new poll has shown.

The latest Newspoll, conducted for The Australian, showed the One Nation leader in front of Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister in Queensland by 52 per cent to 48 per cent.

Labor’s primary vote in the state also dropped from 30 per cent to 25 per cent, while One Nation’s primary vote rose to 36 per cent.

The party has also surged ahead of Labor on primary votes in NSW, and is closing the gap in South Australia and Western Australia.

It’s at 31 per cent in NSW and SA, 29 per cent in WA, and 25 per cent in Victoria.

However, on a two-party preferred basis nationally, Hanson’s party remains well short of what’s needed to form government.

One Nation has been polling well ahead of the Coalition since the start of the year and has made increasing inroads on Labor’s vote as well, despite recent controversies and policy confusion.

Read more

Senators demand OpenAI chief appear before inquiry after Medicare breach

Shadow defence minister James Paterson told Today he was unsurprised by the new polling numbers, pointing to the ongoing cost of living crisis as a major factor.

“Right now, One Nation looks like it’s the most significant change on offer,” he said.

“But if you want to actually change the direction of our country and solve the problems, you have to have a credible plan and a credible team.”

Independent MP Allegra Spender said the polling echoed the urban disaffection that saw her and her fellow teals elected in recent years.

“This trend away from the major parties ... is part of the trend that got me elected because people have had enough of the major parties, they have had enough of people promising every election, you know, ‘everything will be better under us’, and then it doesn’t actually eventuate,” she said.

The new numbers come as the government braces itself for another unpleasant shock this week, with the Reserve Bank widely tipped to increase interest rates, bringing more pain to Australian households already feeling the economic squeeze.

One Nation’s surge in the polls has made itself known in recent months, with the federal seat of Farrer and the WA state seat of Secret Harbour both falling to the party in their latest by-elections.

But its rise has not been without hiccups, including MPs’ confusion over the party’s immigration policy, while Hanson was recently roundly criticised for referring to Indigenous Australians as “the most primitive race on Earth”.

A cartoon produced by the party labelling Liberal MP and SAS veteran Andrew Hastie as a “traitor” also drew furious backlash, including from fellow armed forces veteran Senator Jacqui Lambie, who branded Hanson a “bloody coward”.