Australia news LIVE: Thousands of students expected to walk out of class in protest of One Nation; White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to step down

In Australian politics, specific categories of disenfranchised voters often hold considerable electoral power. Throughout history, leaders like Robert Menzies, John Howard, and Scott Morrison have identified and rallied to the cause of these groups, whom they dubbed "forgotten people," "battlers," and "quiet Australians," respectively.

Menzies even referred to a "moral middle class" at risk of being squeezed between a working-class represented by organized labor and a self-sufficient upper class. As these traditional Labor voters migrated to outer suburbs, the party's leadership, including Peter Dutton, adopted the "forgotten people" narrative to appeal to disillusioned constituents in both urban and regional areas.

However, One Nation has emerged as a significant threat to Labor's traditional stronghold, particularly in recent elections such as the 2026 South Australian state election.

To understand One Nation's appeal to working-class voters, our research examined their parliamentary speeches, voting records, media coverage, and press releases. The focus was not only on their policies but also on the symbolic language and stories they used to connect with workers. Pauline Hanson, a prominent One Nation figure, has emphasized her small business background and her family's Labor history, including her grandfather's role as a unionist and member of the Labor Party in the 1930s.

Malcolm Roberts, another One Nation representative, claims the party is composed of everyday Australians who are hardworking, decent, patriotic, and morally strong. Through its narrative, One Nation seeks to capture the essence of "old Labor" values, which were prevalent during the party's founding in 1901 until the early 1970s.

During this period, Labor upheld Hanson's vision of monoculturalism through discriminatory immigration policies.

One Nation's working-class appeal is deeply intertwined with its anti-immigration stance. The party frames migrants as wage depressors, inflationary forces, and threats to social cohesion, echoing historical Labor justifications for the White Australia Policy. This narrative positions white, English-speaking workers as the true Australian working class.

The party's working-class stance encompasses social, economic, and political arguments, positioning itself as the new party of the working class. Three key areas in which One Nation attacks Labor include socialism, economic management, and class struggle, immigration and nativism, and regional neglect.