Pauline Hanson Says Her Politics Came Before Trump, Farage as One Nation Edges Coalition

‘I’ve been around long before Nigel Farage and long before Trump, so therefore I’ve set the record,’ Pauline Hanson said.

Leader of One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson speaks to the media at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Jan. 19, 2026. Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says her stance on key issues predate those of U.S. and UK conservative figures Donald Trump and Nigel Farage and remain unchanged over her 30 years in Parliament.

Hanson’s comments were made outside Parliament on Jan. 19, while she remains barred from the Senate, and as her party enjoys a surge in public support.

Hanson shook off comparisons with overseas conservative movements like Make America Great Again (MAGA) and Reform UK, is currently leading the legacy two major parties with 24 percent of the vote in Britain.

“I’ve been around long before Nigel Farage and long before Trump, so therefore I’ve set the record,” Hanson told reporters. “Go and look at my speeches what I’ve said in the past, I don’t back away from anything I stand up for what I believe in.”

One Nation has, for the first time, overtaken the Coalition in popularity, edging the traditional centre-right Liberal Party by 1 percent to reach 22 percent of the anticipated vote, according to new polling data.

“People are seeing that I have been someone who’s stood my ground over the years, and a lot of things I’ve said and done over the years have happened in our country,” Hanson said.

“I want to thank the Australian people for their support and their confidence, they are now advocating for One Nation,” she said.

“This is the first poll in Australia’s history that another party is polling higher than one of the major parties.”

One Nation’s positions generally align with overseas movements like MAGA and Reform with their firm rejection of strong progressive or socialist policies like high migration, political correctness, globalisation, net zero, broad welfare states, and the threat of the Chinese Communist Party.

Lack of Action on Major Issues Contributing to Support: Hanson

Hanson said believed Australians were exhausted with the current two major parties.

“Mass migration has also been a huge, big issue for a lot of Australians they’ve been mouthing for years, calling out to this government to pull back on it—lack of housing, jobs, security, cost of living,” she said.

“It’s a combination of a lot of things and what they [voters] are looking for is someone who really care about their country, about them, and about the future of the nation.

Hanson also pushed back against political correctness.

“It is not racist to call out or criticise policy which both the major political parties have tried to advocate that I am,” Hanson said.

As for speculation around Liberal MP Andrew Hastie potentially taking on the Coalition leadership, Hanson told reporters it was not for her to decide. Also revealing she was not actively approaching MPs to jump ship to her party.

Former National MP Barnaby Joyce said it was not unusual for politicians to change parties from time to time.

“Welcome to a free Western democracy where these sorts of things happen—and get used to it, it’s not unusual,” he said.

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson (C) and other members of the One Nation Party address the media at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Jan. 19, 2026. Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images

Prime Minister Sceptical of Long Term Prospects

In an earlier ABC Radio interview, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned One Nation was “divisive” and “right-wing.”

Albanese also said he would “wait and see” when it came to the party’s sustainability and whether Hanson and Joyce could work together.

“That’s a matter for our democracy and for how it functions, whether they can evolve into a mature political force remains to be seen,” he said.

“But I’m from New South Wales, of course, where Mark Latham was heralded as a new leader of One Nation in New South Wales, they’ve now lost all of their members in the New South Wales Parliament.

“And that is something that has has occurred pretty consistently as people have been elected under the One Nation banner and have walked away from that political party. I wait and see what the relationship is between Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson in a year’s time.”

Joyce seemed unbothered by the prime minister’s remarks.

“He’s straight away gone and identified us as some radical right-wing group,” he said. “It is an alternate political view and it has, obviously, the backing of the Australian people in how they vote.”