CAMERON MILNER: After 30 years in politics, Pauline Hanson’s moment has finally arrived

In times of uncertainty, political authenticity cuts through.

It’s why Pauline Hanson is doing so well in the current climate and masters of spin — Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor — look to voters like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumber.

People can read there’s a war in the Middle East and only a handful of oil shipments are making it through the Straits of Hormuz when the world needs more than 100 a day to meet global demand.

They are voting with their jerry cans, even as Labor rolls out a paternalistic ad campaign gaslighting anyone who dares to fill up.

Voters aren’t mugs. The excise cut has already been swallowed up at the bowser and there’s no point having memorandums of understanding with Asian countries if they haven’t got any shipments of oil coming.

In this context, Australians don’t want more politics as usual. They are under extreme pressure and are turning to One Nation in droves.

Pauline Hanson has been in politics for as long as the Prime Minister, having both been elected for the first time in 1996.

Compare the pair. One has grown grey and policy flabby, mouthing meaningless platitudes, while the other still has red hair, is true to her own policy compass and calls it as she sees it.

Many rightfully disagree with Hanson’s policy prescriptions, but dismissing former Coalition voters — and increasingly, former Labor voters — as ignorant or redneck misses the three driving forces behind One Nation’s sustained rise.

The first is Pauline. She is strong willed and authentic. She offers voters clear choice.

She may have been elected at the same time as Albo, but has won and lost, been to jail, let down by nearly all around her, yet voters are backing her and her party like never before.

The second is James Ashby, her clear-headed chief of staff, who is building out a modern political machine behind Hanson. Ashby is bringing professionalism to One Nation.

Recruiting Barnaby Joyce was also a political master stroke, as was getting a parliamentary foothold larger than the Liberals in South Australia, confirming that professional transformation.

The third is the paucity of authenticity from the Federal leaders of Labor and the Coalition.

Nationals leader Matt Canavan is performing well, but his appeal is limited to his party’s constituency. It’s Liberal and Labor voters switching off Albanese and Taylor to Hanson that’s driving the vote.

Albanese isn’t liked or trusted by voters and leads Labor with a record low primary vote.

Taylor is doing no better than Sussan Ley and is basically a bench warmer for Andrew Hastie or Josh Frydenberg when he’s returned to Parliament at the next election.

Labor lacks the generation of authentic policy champions like Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating and Bill Shorten.

Just as the Liberals are crying out for a John Howard or Tony Abbott to give them authentic leadership again.

The major parties have been so poll driven and focus group-led, that they are coughing up leaders who don’t offend but also stand for nothing.

In this context, is it any wonder what looks like the real deal in Hanson is so compelling to voters?

Labor knows it’s in trouble as they brief out a major reset to be delivered in the May Budget.

The fundamental problem though is it’s still Albo’s “50 shades of beige” Labor, up against the bushfire red and orange of One Nation and Hanson — even with Chalmers’ best Budget.

It’s a powerful contrast for voters being crushed by the cost-of-living crisis and Australia’s reliance on Middle Eastern oil.

Labor does have authentic leaders at the State level.

Peter Malinauskas won a landslide in SA. But it’s telling that more than three quarters of Labor seats are now Labor vs One Nation contests.

In NSW, Chris Minns has led courageously against Islamic extremism, stood up after Bothree-quartersndi and has rightly called for Australia to be weaned off Middle Eastern oil.

Both premiers are authentic, true to their values and offer voters unvarnished leadership.

It’s the endless spin from Albo that has voters fed up.

The epitome of spin has to be Albanese’s three-minute effort on national TV — a whole lot of ”keep calm” and self-congratulations that fuel already on its way to Australia was still on its way to Australia.

Australians stopped, watched and called BS.

Hanson’s authenticity stands in such stark contrast to Albanese’s excuse for everything, answer for nothing spin.

It’s a similar authenticity that’s seeing Nigel Farage beating Keir Starmer in the UK. Despite the supposed unpopularity of Trump in the US, the Democrats are contemplating running Hilary Clinton again at the next presidential election, so empty is their left wing leadership cupboard.

Hanson is a survivor and setbacks have steeled her for her current push. She still speaks for too long in interviews and lacks an economic message, but One Nation is showing a level of professionalism not before faced by the major party machines.

The times suit authentic leaders and Hanson has grabbed the political opportunity of the moment.

Cameron Milner is a former State secretary of Queensland Labor