Is One Nation Just a Party for the ‘Aussie Battler?’ Farrer Result Suggests More Complex Story

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce boldly declared on May 9, ‘Western Sydney here we come.’

One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, poses for a photo with Liberal Party volunteers outside a polling booth ahead of the Farrer by-election in Albury, Australia on May 8, 2026. Jesse Thompson/Getty Images

As the dust settles on One Nation’s victory in the seat of Farrer, wresting a seat held by the Coalition since 1949, the question now shifts to how One Nation’s popularity will continue to play out.

This November, Victorians will gear up for their state election and next year will see Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, choose its government.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce boldly declared on May 9, “Western Sydney here we come”—alluding to the popularity the conservative-leaning party enjoys among suburban, working-class, or lower socio-economic voters.

But is that the whole picture? Does One Nation’s brand only resonate with the Aussie “battler” or is there more to the picture?

A closer look at the Farrer by-election polling data gives some indication.

Albury, the Biggest City in Farrer

The seat of Farrer covers a vast area of southern New South Wales, stretching from the Victorian border through the Riverina and includes the regional centres of Albury and Griffith.