Politics

Labor and Coalition given boost as support for Hanson’s One Nation crashes

Apr 15, 2019

Bill Shorten and Scott Morrison have both taken a step forward as Pauline Hanson fell short. Source: Getty.

Scott Morrison’s Coalition has gained its best primary vote since the last election thanks to Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party taking a nosedive in the latest Newspoll results.

However, Labor has retained its lead – days after the PM called the upcoming federal election date for May 18.

According to The Australian‘s weekly poll results, Labor has retained its two-party preferred lead over the Coalition with 52 to 48 per cent, while both parties are now equal on primary votes with 39 per cent each.

The surge in support has largely been put down to a major fall in support for One Nation, with Hanson’s party getting just 4 per cent – its lowest result since 2016.

Meanwhile, Morrison has once again enjoyed an 11-point lead over the Opposition Leader as preferred prime minister.

If the two-party preferred result was reflected at an election, it could reportedly result in the loss of 10 seats for the Government.

It comes after a difficult few weeks for One Nation, with the party thrown into the spotlight last month after the Al-Jazeera documentary How to Sell A Massacre aired on the ABC.

It featured One Nation’s Chief of Staff James Ashby and Queensland leader Steve Dickson appearing to lobby for cash donations from the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) to water down Australia’s gun laws. Another clip showed Hanson herself apparently suggesting that the 1996 Port Arthur massacre was a conspiracy theory.

Hanson later said the documentary was a “political attack” by Al Jazeera in cooperation with the ABC and described the Al Jazeera investigation as a “false story”.

Meanwhile, she returned to social media recently with a new video giving fans an update on her health.

“Well I’m back on board and only just after my appendix operation last week,” Hanson said in the video.

“To everyone who sent me best wishes and support, thank you very very much. I read a lot of your posts and it was very encouraging.”

Hanson originally thought she was ill with food poisoning when she experienced stomach pains earlier this month. After visiting a GP and undergoing scans and blood tests, doctors confirmed she needed to have her appendix removed.

In her latest video, Hanson explained that many Australians weren’t sure which party to vote for at next month’s election on May 18 because they “don’t trust them” or “believe them”.

“Who’s going to run the country?” she asked. “The UN or the unions? Or possibly both?”

Hanson claimed One Nation’s role in parliament over the past three years gave the public a voice, raised issues and got a lot done, with the government taking up a lot of policies and issues directly raised by her. She also confirmed One Nation candidates would run in every state.

“I want to continue that and it’s very important that we do extremely well at this election and get more people elected to the senate around the country,” she explained.

She said One Nation was up against the “party machines” in the election and encouraged people to vote so One Nation could continue its work surrounding the Bradfield Scheme, family court matters and reducing immigration.