Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stepped back from rhetoric portraying One Nation as appealing to “dark forces”, following the party's massive surge in the polls.
Mr Albanese said he respected voters and their judgements on Monday, but declined to say if One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was fit to be prime minister.
The conciliatory tone stands in contrast to comments he made just months ago, when he described Ms Hanson as someone who “appeals to our darkest forces”.
Asked if he was worried about Ms Hanson’s growing popularity, Mr Albanese said voters were responding to a system they increasingly believed was failing them.
“Those are matters for the Australian people, effectively. And I respect the Australian people and the judgements that they make,” Mr Albanese told reporters.
“Quite clearly… many people feel that the system isn't working for them, that they're working for the economy, not the economy working for them.
“They're working hard, struggling to save, can't get their own roof over their head… If governments don't respond to that, there'll be a continued rise in populism.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stepped back from rhetoric portraying One Nation as appealing to “dark forces”, insisting he respects all voters and their voting preferences.
Mr Albanese declined to comment when he was asked by a reporter if he thought Ms Hanson was fit to serve as prime minister.
“I vote Labor. So that's the position that I take, and I will continue to vote Labor for the rest of my life,” he said. “That’s the way I came out of the womb, that's how I'll continue. It's up to others to determine what way they vote in our great democracy.”
The comments stand in contrast to his previous remarks to The Guardian’s Australian Politics Podcast when he said: “Pauline Hanson appeals to our darkest forces.”
“Pauline Hanson has made a whole career of dividing Australians, whether it be Asian Australians, Muslim Australians, Indigenous Australians,” he said in February.
“This is someone who doesn't ever look for unity. She looks for people to blame who she regards as not being like her, and she seeks to amplify grievances.
“It's no way forward for our country, but that is who Pauline Hanson is. That is what she has made a career out of since her arrival … way back in 1996.”
Since he made the comments, One Nation has rapidly risen in the polls, overtaking Labor as the most popular political party in the country.
In the latest Sky News Pulse / YouGov poll, One Nation led the primary vote for the first time in history on 29 per cent - a 23-point increase from the 2025 federal election.
Labor sank to its lowest-ever result of 26 per cent, down nine per cent from the election, but still ahead of the floundering Coalition on 20 per cent.
The results fly in the face of Mr Albanese’s dismissal of One Nation, after he said Labor was the “only mainstream political party” in the country.
Satisfaction with Mr Albanese has fallen to a devastating low, with 60 per cent of voters disapproving of his leadership and 34 per cent satisfied for a -24 overall result.
