EDITORIAL: Amid all the problems, Hanson is a distraction
One Nation has lobbed into the political debate a plan to ‘reset’ Australia’s immigration system and the political classes have worked themselves into a lather in response.
If there is one word that can sum up Pauline Hanson’s impact on the political scene, perhaps it is this: Distraction.
Surely there has never been a time in politics in Australia like this.
The Federal Government, which swept into a second term just over 16 months ago with a massive majority cushioned by its 94 seat haul in the House of Representatives has been thrown into chaos by One Nation.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Let’s not forget that until Barnaby Joyce defected from the Nationals to One Nation in November, the party of Pauline Hanson — who sits in the Senate — did not even have a seat in the House of Representatives.
It took its Lower House tally to two when it won the by-election in Farrer, in regional NSW, in May.
Two seats. And yet the tail is well and truly wagging the dog.
Not a day goes by without either the Government or the almost inconsequential Opposition responding in some way to One Nation.
It is worth recalling that Senator Hanson first arrived on the Federal scene in 1996. There was then some time in the wilderness before she re-emerged in 2016.
But Pauline Hanson has remained the same Pauline Hanson all that time.
In essence nothing has changed about Senator Hanson. Her views and policies have been clear from the beginning.
And yet she is now central.
What has changed is the Albanese Government is in a deep hole.
Much centres on the Federal Budget delivered by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in May.
It was tagged the broken-promises Budget for the way it overturned many pledges not to change negative gearing and the capital gains tax.
And aside from the ongoing ramifications around trust, many of the details unravelled and have continued to unravel in a seemingly never-ending list of unintended consequences.
Housing being one such problem.
Even as house prices fall, causing home owners to feel poorer — with some blame going the way of Dr Chalmers due to the Budget changes — those struggling to pay their home loans are bracing for another interest rate rise hammer blow.
July’s annual headline inflation pace of 3.5 per cent marked the 12th straight month of the consumer price index being above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 2-3 per cent target.
One more interest rate rise would take the cash rate to a 15-year high of 4.6 per cent.
The tax-and-spend Government is, again, seen as part of the problem.
High government spending in the capacity-constrained economy is inflationary — the very thing the RBA says it needs to tackle with higher rates.
The nation’s productivity performance is dire, with tax, workplace relations and regulatory policies holding baslasck businesses and stifling the economy.
Now One Nation has lobbed into the debate a plan to “reset” Australia’s immigration system by slashing the number of temporary visa holders and unlawful non-citizens by more than 750,000 over three years.
The political classes have worked themselves into a lather in response.
That is unlikely to deter the hard-core Hansonites looking for respite from their problems.
They have stopped listening to politics-as-usual.
