Oliver Peterson: Australian correspondent on One Nation leading in new poll

Pauline Hanson's One Nation party is continuing to see a surge in popularity, according to new reports.

The latest Newspoll recorded a four-point rise in One Nation’s primary vote to 31 percent, while Labor dipped one point to 30 percent and the Coalition fell two points to 18 percent.

Australian correspondent Oliver Peterson says this isn't quite enough for One Nation to lead the next Government, but it's raised concerns from the Prime Minister.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now. Oli Peterson from Aybez Perth, the drive presenter on
that great radio station, joinsy, hello are we Andrew Gada,
Pauline Hanson and One Nation are Australia's biggest party and
Australia is still gobsmacked.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (00:14):
Well, indeed, newspot today indicates that One Nation is our
surge to a historic thirty one percent of that primary
vote compared to thirty percent for Labor and by the
way that lives in the that's just eighteen percent. So
One Nation now the most popular political party in Australia.
But on that two party question, it would still not

(00:35):
be enough for One Nation to form government. So the
Prime Minister asked about this today and he's pretty cranky
about it, simply saying, what's.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
The economy stupid?

Speaker 3 (00:43):
You know, people are just frustrated with what's happening in
the economy at the moment.

Speaker 4 (00:47):
It's driving voters away from the major parties. Interesting that
he has started to really ramp up his attack. He
used a big speech on Friday in fact Andrew to
indicate it's about popularism and that Australians in our undertaking
this wave of populism that we've seen with Donald Trump
obviously in the United States, with Nigel Farage in the UK.
But a very interesting set of circumstances, obviously with change

(01:09):
its negative geary and capital gains passing the Lower House
last week is not law yet in Australia. But I'll
tell you what, he's still occupying plenty of pages of
the daily broadsheets and the tabloids, and plenty of airtime
here on talkback radio around the country. I think the
PM's really feeling as though it is a massive rejection
of not just obviously the coalition but now obviously the

(01:31):
government the Labor Party, and he's really sensing that the
government might be in a bit of strife here.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
Why doesn't Albaneze just point out to the public that
Pauline Hanson can identify problems, but has he ever offered solutions?

Speaker 2 (01:44):
And that's a good question, Andrew.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
And it's interesting because a lot of people on the
talkback lines would say similar like what are the policies
of one nation? Even some of those members of one
nation don't even know their own policies and have been
caught in the media in recent days not having any
substance to behind Really the ret trick if you're like
behind the headline. But that's at the moment not disswaying
any Australians. They're just fed up, they're frustrated, they're looking

(02:07):
for it for an outlet here. And it's very, very
fascinating times here in Australian politics.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
How quickly things are changing.

Speaker 3 (02:15):
Right.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
Well, Australia's heart has broken. I was very sad to
hear this news. Former Australian of the Year Richard Scalia,
has died at the age of fifty nine of a
brain cancer that he fought using his own radical treatment,
volunteering himself as some sort of guinea pig. And he
left behind an open letter to all Australians.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
Yeah, and look, I think all Australian's hearts are broken today.
I had the great fortune of interviewing Richard Scalia when
he was the Australian of the Year and visited over
here to Perth, and I genuinely met it. He would
have been one of the most outstanding people, if not
the most outstanding person I've ever had the good fortune
who have ever shared a studio with for fifteen minutes,
and it's that work that he used for himself as

(02:54):
a human guinea pig, as you say, there for brain
cancer research. And he leaves this very emotional letter about
how he has just tried to have a crack was
his summarizing words. And he's done a hell of a
lot more than that, over a thousand, one thousand different
published reviews for what he has done with a trying
to reduce the risk of melanoma and the good fight

(03:14):
that he was doing about the dangers of the sun.
He's obviously a very loving husband, a very loving father
of his children as well, and never gave up despite
the fact that he knew he was going to die.
I mean, most people get given eighteen months with his
brain cancer, he had three years. He never gave up
the optimism of being able to provide that opportunity for research.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
And that's what he asks in that letter.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
Just moving forward, make sure there's the funding, the research
available and more people who are going through cancer treatments.
Put your hands up to be guinea pigs like him
to see whether or not there is other treatments that
may be made available to people in the years to come.
Just inspiring. Australian. It is a terribly sad day in
this country to lose somebody.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
Of his he's going to have a state funeral.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
I see absolutely, he's been offered that, not only by
the Prime Minister, but they're in New Wiles or Tasmania
where he is from.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
He's just an outstanding person.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Andrew great stuff. Yes, is clio bastoma, as you quite
rightly said, normally you die within a year eighteen months.
He managed to go three years. And that shows that
his radical techniques of altering the sales to make them
attack the cancer actually worked and all they needed was
someone to have a crack at it, and he put
himself up for an amazing man. Oh I thank you
for your time today, all the very best. It is

(04:24):
seventeen minutes to five.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
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