One Nation has hit a new record polling high as voters disillusioned with the Coalition’s stance on immigration continue to abandon the Liberal and National parties.
The latest Essential Research poll published on Tuesday shows Pauline Hanson’s party – which a day earlier removed her name from the party’s official title – would win 15% of the primary vote, up from 13% a month ago.
Labor also increased its primary vote by one point to 36%, while the Coalition fell to a new record-low of 26%, and the Greens dropped two points to 9% – the far-left party’s worst result in years. Independents went from 6% to 7%, while Trumpet of Patriots fell a point to 1%.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley’s approval rating also lost a percentage point over the past month, and just 22% of Coalition voters think she is the best person t lead the Liberal Party, followed by Andrew Hastie on 20%, Jacinta Price on 13%, Angus Taylor on 9%, while 24% said they were unsure.
The poll also found that 48% of all voters think the Liberal Party should adopt more progressive positions, 28% wanted it to maintain its current position, and 24% wanted it to become more conservative. For Coalition voters the responses were 49%, 23% and 29% respectively.
Voters have abandoned the Coalition since leader Ms Ley scrapped pre-election promises to cut permanent migration, while at the same time One Nation has been talking tough on the issue, with Senator Malcolm Roberts calling for remigration and mass deportations in September.
The Essential results come after a 6News projection from a Roy Morgan poll found One Nation would make the two-candidate preferred count in 12 lower house seats, and win the LNP-held seat of Wright in Queensland.
On a state-by-state basis, Roy Morgan’s poll from September 22 to October 19 had One Nation at 15% in Queensland and South Australia, 12% in NSW, 11.5% in WA, 10% in Tasmania, and 9% in Victoria.
Redbridge pollster Kos Samaras told the ABC earlier this month that according to his data the surge in One Nation support was mainly triggered by Gen Xers without university degrees who are “renting or who have a mortgage and are feeling financial pain”, while 39% of One Nation’s supporter base were Baby Boomers, and just 7% were Gen Z.
Victorian One Nation MP Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell said her constituents were concerned about crime and the cost of living, and immigration, and claimed her supporters view the latter as a housing issue.
“We’re drowning in people at the moment and I’m not opposed to different cultures or anything. As long as they share the same values as Australians and they assimilate, I’m happy,” Ms Tyrrell said.
“We can’t house everybody here already. We can’t provide stable, thorough education … and don’t get me started on healthcare. Waiting in an ambulance that has been banked at the hospital for up to eight hours, that’s insanity.”
Western Australian One Nation leader Rod Caddies agreed that property and rental prices were a major issue, saying: “My sons and daughters have started talking to me about politics for the first time, and housing is a key reason.”
Header image: Pauline Hanson, right, at a March for Australia rally (Facebook).
