From the Guardian · Noel Towell · · 2m
Wilson and Carroll miss chance to unite against One Nation
Victoria's major party leaders could have pledged together to keep One Nation out of government deals. They did not.
In brief
Victoria's major party leaders could have pledged together to keep One Nation out of government deals. They did not. Victorian opposition leader Jess Wilson and premier Ben Carroll have rejected a chance to jointly pledge no deals with One Nation before the November twenty-eighth election, instead pursuing traditional…
One Nation's surge reshapes Victoria
Pauline Hanson's One Nation has surged from six percent national primary vote last year to as high as twenty-eight percent in recent polls. The party faces a major test in Victoria's November twenty-eighth election.
Wilson set for majority, but One Nation looms
Recent polling shows opposition leader Jess Wilson's Coalition will win decisively over Ben Carroll's twelve-year-old Labor government. But One Nation looks likely to secure five or more of forty Legislative Council seats.
One Nation would hold balance of power
A substantial One Nation presence in the upper house would create a hung chamber with balance of power split between Greens and One Nation MPs.
One Nation's radical agenda waits
One Nation's upper house hopefuls include Mark Nicholson, who mocked Jackie Lambie's medical condition and wants former premiers Dan Andrews and Jacinta Allan jailed. Leader Warren Pickering sees nothing extreme about white replacement conspiracy theories.
“wants former Labor premiers Dan Andrews and Jacinta Allan jailed”
Health and rights policies at risk
One Nation's anti-abortionists and anti-vaxxers would target health policy.The party's climate deniers would threaten emissions progress.Safe Schools, abortion clinic buffer zones, the injecting room and voluntary assisted dying would all be in One Nation's sights.
Leaders pursue traditional strategies
Wilson has shifted from ignoring One Nation to normalising it through preference allocation.Carroll tries to tie the Coalition to Hanson's party.Both strategies follow politics-as-usual playbooks, showing they do not understand the new political reality.
The missed historic opportunity
Wilson, Carroll and Greens leader Ellen Sandell could have pledged together to make no deals with One Nation. Such cross-party agreements have endured in other democracies, most famously Germany. They chose not to.
“pledged, along with the Greens leader, Ellen Sandell, to make no deals with One Nation”
In short
Victorian opposition leader Jess Wilson and premier Ben Carroll have rejected a chance to jointly pledge no deals with One Nation before the November twenty-eighth election, instead pursuing traditional party strategies.
