One Nation is poised to secure at least one seat in the South Australian lower house and is in a strong position in several other electorates, following a significant election loss for the Liberal Party to Labor. The rise of One Nation comes as federal MP Barnaby Joyce has sought to distance the party from accusations of racism and bigotry, drawing a controversial analogy to cattle when discussing potential immigration restrictions.
As of Sunday evening, the right-wing populist party was leading in four lower house seats and remained competitive in two others. The ABC has reported that David Paton, deputy mayor of Adelaide Plains council, is expected to win the Ngadjuri seat. One Nation also holds a favourable position in Hammond, a rural electorate to the east of Adelaide, where they are ahead of the Labor candidate on a two-candidate preferred count.
Pauline Hanson’s party is also leading in Narungga, which covers the Yorke Peninsula, and Mackillop, situated on South Australia’s southern border with Victoria. Candidates from One Nation are still in contention in the Stuart and Light electorates. Should One Nation manage to win all six of these seats, a scenario considered unlikely by electoral analyst Ben Raue, they could potentially overtake the Liberals to become the de facto opposition in the state parliament.
Election Results: A Shifting Landscape
The preliminary results from across South Australia reveal a dramatic shift in voter preference. Labor has garnered 38% of the primary vote, experiencing a slight swing against them of 2%. In stark contrast, One Nation’s vote share has surged to an impressive 22%, marking a substantial 19.4% swing in their favour. The Liberal Party, meanwhile, has seen its primary vote plummet to just 19%, a significant decrease of 16%. These figures were based on approximately 60% of ballots being counted.
The Liberal Party’s poor performance has resulted in them securing only four seats by Sunday evening, with contests still underway in four additional electorates.
Liberal Party Reflects on “Sobering Lessons”
Federal shadow health minister Anne Ruston acknowledged the need for introspection within the Liberal Party, stating that her colleagues must learn “sobering lessons” from the election outcome. “The Liberal party has got a lot of work to do to rebuild the trust of Australians,” Ruston commented on Sky News on Sunday. “We just haven’t been telling our story very well.” She suggested that the party should aim to govern from the centre, a stance that contrasts with some conservative elements within the party who advocate for a more pronounced shift to the right in policy.
One Nation’s Appeal and Joyce’s Remarks
Barnaby Joyce attributed One Nation’s success in South Australia to the party’s ability to offer voters “clarity of views.” He articulated the party’s positions on key issues, stating, “We believe in building coal-fired power stations. If that upsets you, be upset. We believe [in] stronger control in immigration. If that upsets you, be upset.” He further elaborated on the party’s stance on multiculturalism, asserting, “We don’t believe in multiculturalism. We believe in Australian culture and guardrails that give us the egalitarianism and freedom we’ve always had to express ourselves and enjoy ourselves, and if that upsets you, then be upset.”
Joyce insisted that One Nation, known for its stringent immigration policies, is not inherently bigoted or racist. He suggested that new immigrants should be expected to assimilate or conform to “Australian culture.”
In a particularly contentious analogy, when questioned about the possibility of One Nation advocating for a ban on immigration from Muslim countries, the former Nationals leader compared it to purchasing livestock. “I don’t want to be trite about it, but it’s a bit like buying cattle,” he explained. “If you’re getting cattle in from a certain … seller, and there’s an unreasonable number of ones that just don’t work when they get off the truck, well, you don’t buy them any more.” He clarified that this was not about avoiding people of Islamic faith but about being “very mindful of what parts of the world they’re coming from, and the predominant worldview, or an excessive worldview that’s held there that probably doesn’t mix with what you need in Australia.”
Community Reactions to Joyce’s Comments
The Australian National Imams Council swiftly condemned Joyce’s remarks, describing them as “deeply offensive” and indicative of “profound ignorance of Australia’s history, values, and social fabric.” Bilal Rauf, a spokesperson for the council, stated, “Such language dehumanises entire communities and echoes the worst instincts of dog-whistle politics long associated with One Nation.” He added, “More troubling still is the normalisation of this rhetoric in mainstream political discourse. When such views are aired and enabled, they risk eroding public trust in our institutions and weakening the social cohesion that underpins a diverse and democratic society.”
Prime Minister’s Stance on Immigration and Diversity
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did not directly comment on the South Australian election results on Sunday. However, in a speech delivered to Melbourne’s Vietnamese community, he issued a warning against any attempts to demonise migrants. “There are some, including some in political life, who want to turn back the clock to an Australia that is no longer who we are,” Albanese stated. “We need to call out those people. We need to continue to cherish our diversity as a strength for our nation, which it is.”
Earlier on Friday, Albanese faced heckling during a visit to a Lakemba mosque. He subsequently claimed that his critics were unhappy with his government’s outlawing of “extremist organisations” such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, although he did not provide evidence to support this assertion.
Labor’s Landslide Victory in South Australia
The incumbent South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas, is on track to lead the Labor Party to a commanding victory, with projections indicating they will secure at least 32 out of the 47 seats in the next state parliament. Federal frontbencher Chris Bowen lauded Malinauskas’s win on Sunday, remarking that it had “cemented his place as a Labor great in history.”
