Full Story Newsroom edition: One Nation and the rise of the populist right
Oct 9, 2025
Patrick Keneally, Deputy Editor at The Guardian Australia, and Mike Ticher, Head of Newsroom at the same outlet, delve into the alarming rise of the populist right, with One Nation's polling surging from 6.4% to 11-12%. They discuss the drivers behind this trend, including anti-immigration sentiment and economic nostalgia. Keneally critiques the media's responsibility in reporting on such movements, while Ticher warns against the implications for Australian politics. They also analyze the impacts of the UK’s political landscape on Australia’s situation.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Fragmentation Makes A Unified Populist Right Uncertain
- The right-of-center vote in Australia is fragmented across parties and factions, making it unclear One Nation can unite it.
- Personality-driven parties like One Nation have shown weaker internal discipline than some international populist movements.
Tougher Immigration Stance Can Legitimize Far-Right Framing
- UK Labour's attempts to appear tougher on immigration risk legitimising far-right framing and still may be outflanked by more extreme parties.
- Australian Labor avoids mirroring that strategy and instead emphasises facts and positive messaging about migration.
Counter The Right By Highlighting Facts And Benefits
- Do avoid adopting increasingly harsher immigration rhetoric to counter the right, because it legitimises their framing.
- Instead, present clear facts on migration numbers and highlight migrants' economic and social contributions.