EDITORIAL: One Nation’s rise sends a message to major parties

It is now clear that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese struggled to cope with the rise of anti-Semitism and the eventual murderous attack at Bondi that cut short 15 innocent lives.

And the Coalition parties have struggled amid seemingly haphazard attempts to frame legislation to try and deal with the response, putting more pressure on Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.

So it was not surprising that the latest Newspoll showed One Nation outpolling the Coalition for the first time in Australian political history with a primary of 22 per cent compared to 21 per cent. One Nation is just ten points short of Labor’s sagging primary of 32 per cent.

Australia’s modern political history has been marked from time to time with the emergence of parties that harboured dreams of disrupting the two-party system.

For a while in the 1980s the Australian Democrats saw themselves as a major player.

And although the Greens are now an established part of the political landscape, their modern incarnation has them destined to remain that major ongoing irritant on the Left.

Middle Australia is fed up with being brushed aside

One Nation too has been around for a long time. But again, it has never made the inroads necessary to become a significant third force.

But something feels different. For a start, voices which felt neglected and ignored have now risen elsewhere in the Western world. Witness the rise and rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform party in the UK.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was quick to point out on Monday she had been around longer than Mr Farage and said she had led the fight for Australia’s cultural identity.

And now at her shoulder is Barnaby Joyce. His defection from the National Party to One Nation could end up as a defining moment. Mr Joyce responded to the latest polling figures by declaring there was a “change in politics”.

He said the polling showed voters were turning away from the major parties, frustrated with the political status quo. Voters felt taken for granted and mainstream politicians were placating minority groups on issues like energy, immigration and gender identity, he said.

For all his flaws, Mr Joyce has the gift of being able to deliver a message in clear terms that middle Australia can understand.

Middle Australia wants leaders and parties who understand they have been shaken by the direction the nation has taken. They want a clear, sensible response and a party with the courage to deliver it. Perhaps it is not overstating it to say they want the country they remember back.

It was not so long ago that middle Australia, fed up with being dictated to and brushed aside found their voices and loudly rejected what they saw as division dished up in the shape of the Voice referendum.

Now they are worried. They are fearful. But they have been unable to find what they seek from major parties.

Of course telling a pollster you are disillusioned is not the same as casting a vote when the ballot boxes come out. But if they continue to find their voices, the mainstream parties will pay a price if their concerns are ignored.

Responsibility for the editorial comment is taken by Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore.