Labor ‘scared’ after One Nation ‘wake up call’, Pauline Hanson says, as new poll shows she is preferred PM
Pauline Hanson accuses Labor of being “afraid” of One Nation, who she says has given Anthony Albanese a “wake-up call” with its “Fire the Liar” campaign.
More than 60,000 people donated at least $3 million to the campaign in a matter of days, according to One Nation, which has surged in opinion polls this year.
Senator Hanson has vowed to use the money to fly helicopter banners targeting the Prime Minister during the second State of Origin clash at the MCG on Wednesday.
The One Nation leader, who arrived in Sydney on Monday, reiterated his intention to “sign candidates in every lower house seat and Senate in this country as we have done before”.
“Workers are afraid,” he said.
“The Prime Minister gave a wake-up call, especially with the Liar Fever fund we created.
“More than 60,000 Australians have donated to this fund.
“These are the people who can probably least afford it, but they want to get rid of the Albanian Workers’ Party government and they support our fight to do it.”
Senator Hanson, now elected prime minister according to a new Resolve poll on Monday, also defended the trickle-down of his party’s policy announcements.
“Unlike the major political parties, which only let you see their policies a few weeks before the election, I’m slowly revealing the policies we’re making,” he said.
“I give people a chance to absorb and understand what we do.”
Senator Hanson said One Nation had implemented “many of our policies” before the last election, including veterans’ and retirement pensions.
Not ‘anxious’
Previously, Barnaby Joyce allayed concerns that he could be removed from his leadership role at One Nation after Senator Hanson suggested his daughter Lee would be next in line to lead the populist party.
Senator Hanson told an event hosted by the Swan Chamber of Commerce in Perth last week that his daughter would run for the Senate at the next election, describing her as a “huge asset”.
“What I’m trying to do, what I’m trying to accomplish, you need the right people around you to use it… I wouldn’t want my sons to get anywhere near this, but my daughter, she’s different,” said Senator Hanson.
But on Monday Mr Joyce dismissed concerns about his future in the party, saying: “It doesn’t worry me, to be honest.
The New England MP told Seven’s Sunrise: “To be honest, I’m here for a philosophical shift for Australia… I’m really happy with the dynamic shift that’s happening in the whole political debate at the moment.”
“And I never get ahead of myself because, you know, arrogance is the biggest problem.
“You have to be really careful about that. You just have to concentrate on the present… and during the election process, it’s not going to be the same as voting today, no matter what happens, good or bad, it’s going to be different, and I’m just focusing on the here and now.”
Senator Hanson’s comments about his daughter came days before The Sydney Morning Herald’s Resolve Political Monitor found the One Nation leader had overtaken Mr Albanese as Australia’s most preferred prime minister.
The poll of 1,801 voters between June 8 and 13 showed that 33 per cent of respondents nominated Senator Hanson as their preferred prime minister, creating a four percentage point lead over Mr Albanese.
Modeling showed One Nation had 29 per cent of the primary vote, while Labor and the Coalition had 28 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.
Senator Hanson has previously expressed his ambition to lead the country as prime minister, telling Sky News earlier this month that he had the “ability” to do the job.
The populist leader, who currently serves in the Senate, confirmed he is considering a candidacy in the lower house in the next federal election.
The office of Prime Minister is filled by the leader of the party that wins the most seats in the House of Representatives.
