Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has challenged One Nation to reveal its policies after a new poll showed Pauline Hanson’s party overtaking Labor on primary vote for the first time. One Nation secured 31 per cent of the primary vote compared to Labor’s 28 per cent in a new poll published by the Australian Financial Review, marking a significant rise in support following the federal budget.
Plibersek Calls for Policy Transparency
Speaking on Sunrise on Monday, Plibersek said while the government pays attention to polling, its focus remains on easing cost-of-living pressures facing Australians. “What we’re concerned to do is understand that people are feeling the pressure and we are all about reducing that pressure,” she said. Plibersek pointed to Labor’s tax cuts, wage growth measures and investments in health and education, but said One Nation now needed to explain what it would do if it wanted to be seen as a genuine alternative government.
“I think if Pauline Hanson wants to be Prime Minister, as she said in that interview yesterday, it’s time for One Nation to start talking about how they would deliver some of these things because every opportunity they’ve had, they’ve actually voted against things that would make life easier for Australians,” she said. “If they want to be taken seriously as a party, maybe they should tell us how they’re going to do what we’ve done: bring down the price of medicines, make sure there’s more bulk billing clinics right across Australia, make sure that young Australians can get a TAFE education or an affordable university education and most of all, how they can afford a home of their own one day.”
Joyce Welcomes Polling Result
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce welcomed the polling result but stopped short of suggesting Hanson could be on the path to becoming Australia’s next prime minister. “It’s an incredible honour,” he said. Joyce argued the surge reflected growing public frustration with cost-of-living pressures and dissatisfaction with government policy. “It’s not One Nation that’s changed; it’s the Australian public that’s changed, and they’ve changed in waves. It’s not an aberration; it’s real, and politics has changed in Australia,” he said.
He blamed climate policies and increasing environmental regulations for placing pressure on households and businesses, while also criticising both major parties for failing to deliver major infrastructure projects and allowing government debt to grow. Plibersek dismissed the criticism, accusing One Nation of offering “a long list of complaints and no solutions.” She said the party had opposed measures including electricity bill relief and other cost-of-living initiatives, while highlighting Labor programs she said were already delivering results.
Housing and Bulk Billing Under Spotlight
In Joyce’s electorate alone, Plibersek said 2,500 people had been able to access housing through Labor’s five per cent deposit scheme and pointed to increased bulk-billing services. “What’s Barnaby’s housing policy... What would Barnaby do to make the country better?” she said. Joyce hit back, accusing Plibersek of relying on political talking points rather than addressing voters’ concerns.
The poll also found 63 per cent of Australians believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, with much of the surveying conducted after the federal budget. Plibersek declined to directly answer when asked whether the budget had failed to meet public expectations, instead falling back on the government’s cost-of-living measures and economic reforms.
