Explainer: Does One Nation actually have policies?
We did the research so you don't have to.
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is frequently met with the criticism that it operates on vibes, not policy. That is because the party primarily defines itself by what it opposes: immigration, Islam, the trans community, childcare workers, family courts, Covid-19 vaccine mandates... the list goes on. As analysts from Macquarie University put it, One Nation is “driven by grievance”.
While Hanson has promised to change the status quo on many of these fronts, her proposed solutions are vague at best, and the party is yet to publish comprehensive costing or implementation plans. Those could come closer to the next federal election, but in the meantime, we’ve pulled together some of the sparse details we have so far.
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Immigration
Immigration is the centrepiece of One Nation’s platform, with Hanson’s vision for a ‘monoculture’ bearing an eerie resemblance to the openly racist ‘White Australia policy’ abolished in the 1950s. She has given little detail of how that might be achieved, aside from the following ideas seemingly taken straight from the Trump playbook:
Capping visas at 130,000 per year across both permanent and temporary categories - an extreme approach that policy experts warn would ultimately do long-lasting damage to the economy.
Introducing an 8-year waiting period for citizenship and welfare benefits - there’s already a 4-year wait, meaning most migrants are already paying taxes long before they are eligible for supports.
Deporting 75,000 people who it says are ‘illegal migrants’ - this figure consists primarily of people who have overstayed existing temporary visas.
Banning immigration from Muslim-majority countries that Hanson claims “foster extremist ideologies”.
Withdrawing from the UN Refugee Convention.
