One Nation targets regional Australia with focus on housing, jobs, and migration

In regional Queensland, a prominent billboard featuring Pauline Hanson looms over the road, advertising a delivered $13 million pool for Cooee Bay. While One Nation did not fund the pool, its leader actively lobbied the federal government for the funds. This highlights the party's strategy of engaging with local issues to bolster its presence in areas where it first gained traction as a fringe movement.

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We don't have the houses to fit the population now at the minute. So let's slow down the population until we can get the housing crisis in order.

Thirty years after its inception, Pauline Hanson's party is implementing a well-funded, grassroots campaign targeting regional and rural communities nationwide. Key issues resonating with voters include housing shortages and job availability. Homelessness advocate Cheryl Dolan, who switched from voting Labor to One Nation, cited the housing crisis as a major concern, stating, "We don't have the houses to fit the population now at the minute. So let's slow down the population until we can get the housing crisis in order." She expressed agreement with Hanson's "Australians first" approach.

Associate Professor Rob Manwaring from Flinders University notes that housing, economic pressures, and energy policy are central to One Nation's appeal in regional areas. He observes that voters with a more pessimistic economic outlook are more inclined to support minor parties like One Nation. The party maintains a significant presence in Central Queensland, with Pauline Hanson's chief of staff, James Ashby, residing in the area and having previously run for a state seat. In the last federal election, One Nation secured 22.6% of the vote in the Capricornia electorate, and the party has now received approval to open a new office there.

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Voters who think that the economic climate is more pessimistic, and are more downbeat, are far more likely to vote for a minor party, including One Nation.

Tanya Edwards, a local real estate business owner, voiced concerns about the economy, particularly rising costs of subscriptions, taxes, rents, and electricity. She believes Senator Hanson's "fish and chip shop credentials" indicate an understanding of the needs of regional businesses. Meanwhile, in the coal-mining heartland of Singleton, New South Wales, energy policy is emerging as a critical issue for One Nation voters in the traditionally Labor-held seat of Hunter, where miner Stuart Bonds is a notable federal candidate for the party.

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Everything just keeps going up, all our subscriptions, taxes, rents, electricity. Everything just keeps getting more expensive and we've just got to keep paying more tax.