A left-wing ABC host has complained live on-air that voting for One Nation is becoming normalised, sparking a massive backlash from everyday Australians.
Veteran radio and TV presenter Patricia Karvelas made the comments on the taxpayer-funded national broadcaster on Saturday night while covering One Nation candidate David Farley’s landslide win in the Farrer by-election.
Mr Farley won about 40% of the primary vote with a swing of about 33% to One Nation, leading Independent Michelle Milthorpe by almost 15 points with counting still underway.
In an interview with deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume as results began to be reported, co-host David Speers asked whether it was a “good idea” for the Liberals, who won just 12% of the primary vote, to preference One Nation, a question which Ms Hume tried not to answer.
Karvelas then launched into a tirade about the Liberals’ decision, saying she feared it would “legitimise” Pauline Hanson’s party, and calling it a “big and dangerous mistake”.
ONE NATION FEAR: The ABC expresses fear that if One Nation wins Farrer, people might think it’s ok to vote for them in future. Watch pic.twitter.com/T5zWAc5rgJ
— Sandy Yang 🖤❤️💛💧6x💉🦕 🏳️🌈🇹🇼🇵🇸🏳️⚧️😷 (@SandyXiaotong) May 9, 2026
“Here we’ve had [Liberal leader] Angus Taylor make a deliberate decision to preference One Nation above the Independent, which, tonight, could really be one of the reasons they get across the line … that will be key,” she said.
“And that will legitimise them, and I used the term earlier in the broadcast, the ‘permission structure’, if they are able to win their first lower house seat, that begins the process of legitimising them.
“And in other electorates where they may run, voters thinking ‘well it’s happened before, it’s normal now’, you start normalising something.”
She went on to claim that the strategy could end up costing the Liberal Party more votes. Speers agreed, and said there were internal concerns that the Liberals’ decision to preference Mr Farley above Ms Milthorpe would hurt them in urban parts of Melbourne.
The comments sparked anger from many viewers, who responded by accusing Karvelas of bias and calling for the ABC to be defunded.
“ABC is an absolute disgrace. How can a taxpayer-funded corporation be so blatantly anti-Australian? ‘Legitimatise One Nation. Who does she think she is? We are legitimate and you haven’t seen nothing yet,” said one irate One Nation supporter.
“One Nation should make it their mission to defund the ABC,” said another Aussie.
“This propagandist should be sacked immediately. We pay for unbiased reporting not for an ALP mouthpiece. It’s disgraceful bias,” a third commented.
“The ABC just can’t help itself when it comes to their left-wing bias and they will never give credit where credit is due. This is One Nation’s night but am betting that no way will the ABC report it in a positive light,” said another.
Karvelas, who is a lesbian, previously sparked accusations of bias by advocating for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s rejected Voice to Parliament and comparing it to the same-sex “marriage” referendum, and by tweeting in support of Labor on the night of the 2022 federal election.
Header image: Left, Karvelas on Australia Votes (ABC). Right, Karvelas with Speers before the broadcast (Instagram).
