Australia’s populist One Nation scores first-ever lower house victory

Australia’s far-right One Nation party has captured a seat in the country’s House of Representatives for the first time, according to preliminary election results.

David Farley, a former agribusiness consultant, is on course for a decisive victory in the special election for Australia’s southwestern division of Farrer, located in New South Wales state, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Saturday.

Farley had a projected 59.1 percent of the vote, compared with 40.8 percent for his independent opponent Michelle Milthorpe, according to the ABC. The centre-left Labor Party, which has a majority in the lower house, did not run a candidate for the seat.

“It’s very clear, the next member for Farrer is David Farley,” ABC election analyst Casey Briggs said ⁠in a broadcast. “It’s not a close result.”

One Nation at ‘the end of its beginning’

Farley, who has advocated for reduced migration and farming reforms, will hold the vacant seat left by the resignation in February of Sussan Ley, leader of the centre-right Liberal Party.

The result marks the first time One Nation, founded by politician Pauline Hanson, has won a ⁠lower house seat in its 30-year history. Farley, speaking after his projected victory, said the party “has reached the end of its beginning” and is “going through the ceiling”.

Addressing his policy priorities, Farley said he would pursue an immigration policy based on the needs of Australia’s labour market, particularly in agriculture. “We’re not going to implode any of our industries that are reliant on good quality, assimilating migrants into the country,” he said. “But we’re not going to entertain people to come here and live off our balance sheet, our purse and give us nothing.

He also said he would work to bring down the cost of living. “We’re going to have policy that fits Australia, not the world,” he said.

‘Reflect the anger we feel’

Milthorpe congratulated Farley on his election win and said the next two years would be a test for One Nation, which now faces the tough challenge of translating the popular anger it has tapped into concrete results. “They will successfully reflect the anger we feel out here. But that is the easy part,” she said. “The hard part is doing something about it.”

Farley’s victory does little to affect the balance in the lower house of parliament, where the Labor Party holds 94 of 150 seats.

However, the victory is in line with growing electoral support for far-right populist parties globally. Earlier this week, Britain’s populist right-wing Reform UK party made sweeping gains in local council elections at the expense of Labour.