# Don't call Hanson a racist, say her opponents

> Progressive campaigners are being retrained to talk economics with One Nation voters instead of attacking Pauline Hanson.
- Title: Don't call Hanson a racist, say her opponents · the Guardian
- Summary: Progressive campaigners are being retrained to talk economics with One Nation voters instead of attacking Pauline Hanson. Attacking a populist's character…
- Keywords: one nation, pauline hanson, victorian election, campaign strategy, unions, news, world, Don't, call, Hanson, racist, say
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/13/do-not-call-her-a-racist-anti-pauline-hanson-strategists-tell-campaigners-character-attacks-wont-work-in-victoria
- Published: 2026-09-12T20:00:45+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: one nation, pauline hanson, victorian election, campaign strategy, unions, news, world
## A blunt new instruction
Strategists have told progressive campaigners and unionists one thing before Victoria's November election: do not personally attack Pauline Hanson, and do not call her a racist.

> As best as you can, I know it's hard, don't make it personal
## Why the attacks backfire
A GetUp strategist told hundreds of members on a Zoom call that going after Hanson's character only proves her point for her: that she is the outsider and the establishment is out to get her.

> just confirms what people already believe: that she is an outsider and the establishment is attacking her
## Farrer was the proof
GetUp spent hundreds of thousands on ads tying Hanson and Barnaby Joyce to Donald Trump. The ads barely moved anything and One Nation won the seat comfortably.
## The research forced a reset
Polling firm Redbridge studied the Farrer byelection afterwards. Its findings pulled GetUp into line with the Victorian Trades Hall Council, which had already been training major unions.
## People shut down
Trades Hall researcher Oscar Kaspi-Crutchett says would-be One Nation voters stop listening when they hear leadership attacks that ignore their own legitimate concerns.
## Racism as a political device
Kaspi-Crutchett says ignoring the racism is not possible for many activists. The answer is to name it as a deliberate tool that manufactures division, not as a personal flaw.

> It manufactures differences between groups which have none.
## Leave Gina Rinehart alone
Hanson's ties to her billionaire backer are a problem, GetUp concedes, but leading with it reads as partisan attack. Only useful if the voter raises it first.

> Pauline Hanson is closely tied to Gina Rinehart, and it's a problem, but it's not what the research says should be in focus
## Listen to the beat
Don't fact-check the conspiracy theories. Listen past the words for the dissatisfaction underneath, then steer to wages, entitlements and maternity leave, where unions are trusted most.

> There might be a spiel about Bill Gates but, eventually, you get to them saying 'my kid can't afford a house'.
## A nurse beats a minister
The politicians who once talked people out of voting for Hanson no longer have standing with her target voters. One-on-one conversations are the only channel left.

> A nurse on the doorstep can do infinitely more than a legion of cabinet ministers and press secretaries.
## Key takeaway

Attacking a populist's character confirms the outsider story her voters already believe. Ask about their economic pain instead.