One Nation doesn’t offer young or trans people a future

The public’s distrust of the two parties, and the system in general, has become more pronounced over the last five years. Neither Labor or the Coalition have done anything to allay people’s fears, instead adopting some of One Nation’s (ON) policies.

Working class people’s lives have gotten harder, because wages have stagnated and the prices of basic goods and housing have continue to rise. People’s shopping baskets are lighter, but costing more.

Most young people have only experienced low wages and the loss of services.

People are scared, but also pissed off. This mood was palpable during COVID-19, but it never really went away after the pandemic restrictions lifted.

We are scared for our futures in a chaotic world, where governments wage continuous wars, and the climate emergency is getting worse.

The institutions people once believed in have betrayed them.

When people are in a state of constant anxiety, they look for the easiest answer.

That’s a factor in why ON won the by-election of the historically safe Labor seat of Secret Harbour in Western Australia.

But while ON likes to portray itself as a “protest” party — against the two major parties — its policies are just as pro-capitalist. Billionaire Gina Rinehart’s donation of a $2 million plane to Pauline Hanson and the Murdoch media’s adoration of ON makes that pretty clear.

Voting ON would be like shooting ourselves in the foot. This is because Hanson is opposed to wage rises above the rate of inflation; ON opposed the Fair Work Commission’s June decision to raise the minimum wage by 5.97%. The party will never support workers and less so unemployed workers or anyone on welfare.

Hanson subscribes to former Coalition Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s view that Australians deserve “a fair go for those who have a go”. It suggests that fairness only applies to the “deserving”.

ON has welcomed the NDIS cuts, even though they will destroy the lives of thousands. It believes that “people taking advantage of the [NDIS] system” and said “bogus therapies” must be discontinued.

ON wants Australia to withdraw from the United Nations Paris Agreement on cutting carbon pollution. It not only denies the climate science, it accuses the media of reinforcing the “illusion” of climate change by reporting on forest fires, droughts and floods.

I am a proud transgender woman and running for Socialist Alliance in the Victorian elections. Hanson’s supporters probably see me as an easy target for harassment and violence. I have already had to delete around 70 vitriolic comments from my candidate Facebook page, mostly ablest and some transphobic.

It is terrifying to know that ON, which has the backing of powerful establishment forces, is deeply against one’s fundamental right to exist.

One Nation Senator Tyron Whitten claimed that parents who support their trans kids are participating in “child abuse”. Parminder Singh, a ON candidate in Western Australia’s election last year, said that gay people are mentally ill. He apologised and Barnaby Joyce has ridiculously tried to claim that ON is one of the “gayist” political parties. But clearly, ON does not support fundamental human rights.

When you’re talking with people about who to vote for, make sure to mention that a ON is is the establishment’s “protest” party. With more power, it will make everyone’s life harder.

People are rightly fed up and there are political alternatives to the mainstream parties.

Socialist Alliance in Victoria has been at the forefront of grassroots campaigns to end Australia’s support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, opposing the destruction of public housing, and standing up against racism.

We are helping organise the protest against Hanson on October 4 in Djilang.

Our election platform says the state must prioritise working people’s needs and direct the country’s shared wealth, created by workers, back to us first.

To quote American musician Jeff Rosenstock from my all-time favourite album Worry: “They want you to be a ghost, when they rob you of your hope, but we’ve got power when they’re not expecting anything.”

People power is the reason Coles decided not to renew its contract with AI corporation Palantir and people power is how we’ll create a more inclusive and just system for us and the planet. Join us!

[Freya Hedley is standing for Socialist Alliance in South Barwon in the Victorian elections. Get in touch to help the campaign out on geelong@socialist-alliance.org or Instagram.]