Pauline Hanson, leader of the One Nation party, said that voting for her party is not a wasted vote for Australians [1].
This messaging follows a victory in the federal electorate of Farrer in New South Wales, which Hanson described as a historic win [3]. The result serves as a strategic pivot for the party to encourage supporters that their votes can lead to direct parliamentary impact [1, 2].
Speaking in a digital interview with Sky News Australia, Hanson focused on the idea of providing a political alternative for the electorate. "To a lot of Australians out there looking for hope and change, it says to them, well, a vote for One Nation is not a wasted vote," Hanson said [1].
The party's success in the Farrer by-election, which took place in April 2024, has become a central point of the party's current outreach [3]. By securing one seat in the by-election [3], the party aims to dispel the notion that minor parties cannot win contested seats in the federal system.
"We have won a historic win in Farrer and the people have spoken," Hanson said [3].
However, the party's momentum is not viewed uniformly across all data sets. While the Farrer victory is a concrete gain, two opinion polls have suggested a plateau in overall voter support for One Nation [4]. This creates a tension between the party's specific electoral success in New South Wales and its broader national polling trends.
Hanson continues to use the Farrer result to argue that the party is a viable vehicle for political change, positioning the win as evidence that One Nation can challenge established political powers [1, 2].
“"A vote for One Nation is not a wasted vote."”
The victory in Farrer provides One Nation with a tangible proof-of-concept to counter the 'wasted vote' narrative often used against minor parties. By converting a by-election win into a national recruitment tool, Hanson is attempting to stabilize her party's support levels amid conflicting polling data that suggests a plateau in her broader appeal.
