Towns along the highway turn angry

The drive north from Sydney along the Pacific Highway is lined with towns that are potentially prey for One Nation. Roadside signs once disputed climate change and the voice referendum.

A banner near Port Macquarie speaks volumes

Near Port Macquarie, a homemade installation supports One Nation and declares Fire the Liars. A banner strung between trees says: CENTRELINK IS EVIL.

“CENTRELINK IS EVIL”

Cowper is Australia's sixth least resilient

The electorate of Cowper, bookended by Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour, is one of the least resilient communities in Australia, according to a Redbridge survey.

The banner is not what it seems

The banner speaks to frustration in an area with above average unemployment, more poverty, lower education, and difficulty securing benefits people are due.

The system wears people down

Calling Centrelink evil speaks to exasperation with endless complicated forms, hours on hold, and fear that computers may say no, as happened with robodebt.

Nearly four million Australians live in poverty

Nearly four million Australians including seven hundred fifty seven thousand children live in poverty, with insecure food and housing and manifestly inadequate public support.

Bureaucracy erodes trust in government

US journalist Annie Lowrey documents in The Time Tax how frustration with overly bureaucratic systems eroded trust in government and helped create conditions for Donald Trump's election.

One Nation voters reject the prime minister

One Nation voters put Prime Minister Anthony Albanese between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, with a net negative confidence score of eighty two, according to the Lowy Institute.

Real people are hurting and being exploited

Real people are hurting and being egged on by dishonourable agents who sense their pain but have no capacity to address it. Addressing inequity is the job of a progressive government.