Former Labor advisor Darrin Barnett warned the Labor Party not to target One Nation leader Pauline Hanson during a recent surge in her party's popularity [1].
This caution comes as One Nation gains momentum and young Australian voters reportedly reject the Labor budget [3]. Barnett said that focusing on policy issues rather than political personalities is the only way for the party to regain its footing.
Barnett said that attacking Hanson is likely to increase her popularity rather than diminish it. He said that the party must shift its strategy to better sell its budget and address the specific concerns of the electorate [1, 2].
"Playing Pauline will only fuel Pauline," Barnett said [1].
He said that the current political climate requires a disciplined approach to messaging. According to Barnett, the party should avoid the temptation to engage in personal political combat and instead prioritize a policy-driven narrative [1, 2].
"I don’t think you play Pauline yet; you’ve got to play issues for quite some time," Barnett said [1].
By centering the conversation on the budget and tangible issues, Barnett said Labor can better compete with the rise of One Nation. He said that the party's failure to connect with young voters regarding financial policy has created a vacuum that populist movements are now filling [3].
“Playing Pauline will only fuel Pauline.”
The warning from a former insider suggests a strategic rift in how Labor handles populist challenges. If One Nation is successfully capturing the youth vote through budget dissatisfaction, a strategy based on attacking the leader may validate the populist narrative. Shifting to a policy-centric approach is an attempt to move the battlefield from personality politics to economic governance.
