The political establishment in Australia has been shaken by a by-election result that locals are calling a "bloodbath" — delivered by the woman many regard as thecountry's equivalent of Nigel Farage.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson —a Right-wing populistwho has spent three decades on the fringes of Australian politics — declared she would "take the country back" through an end to mass migration after her party broke into the lower house for the first time in its history.
The winning candidate, farmer David Farley, secured 39 per cent of the vote in Farrer, a rural New South Wales constituency that had not left the Liberal-National fold since 1949. The result promises a political earthquake in a country long dominated by orthodox parties.
A second One Nation figure sits in the lower house, though he crossed the floor from the National Party last year rather than being elected under the One Nation banner.
Hanson declared the result sent a clear message to her rivals. "What it shows is that the coalition can't beat One Nation. They'll have to join them. There's no future coalition government, I think, without One Nation in it."
Read more:Reform results 'exceeding anything' as deadline for Tory defection 'passed'
Read more:Reform candidate - 'death, taxes and Labour ruining our lives' only guarantees
According to the Telegraph, Australian commentators have drawn direct comparisons with Reform UK's rise in Britain, suggesting One Nation may be approaching a similar breakthrough moment. Hanson and Farage share more than political style — both have built movements on grievances about immigration and living costs that establishment parties failed to address.
Hanson's personal approval ratings have climbed above those of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Her admiration for Trump has remained undimmed even as his trade policies have strained relations with Canberra. She appeared at CPAC last year at Mar-a-Lago, promising to transplant his political programme to Australian soil.
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
