Senator Malcolm Roberts says voters detest the current government and want “Australia back”

One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts says anger, apathy and disillusionment are dominating voter sentiment, as support grows for the minor party ahead of the federal election.

Both Labor and Liberal parties have engaged in a reckless spending spree ahead of the election. This may be helping the minor party rise.

Speaking from Pimpama on the Gold Coast, Roberts said he sees strong grassroots support, with people increasingly backing One Nation policies. He described voters as fed up with both major parties, and deeply concerned about unaffordable living costs, uncontrolled immigration, and cultural decline.

“They detest the Labor-Greens government,” Roberts said. “People are being squeezed by cost-of-living pressures. Many see no answers in either Peter Dutton or Anthony Albanese.”

One Nation Polling Improves

The latest Newspoll showed One Nation polling at 7 per cent, up from 5 per cent at the last election. The party is now reissuing how-to-vote cards, recommending preferences to the Coalition — including in the seat of Dickson, held by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. This is a One Nation strategy to prevent preference exhaustion that may have helped Labor and the Greens.

Roberts said the shift isn’t a deal but a strategy to avoid exhausting preferences, which could otherwise help Labor.

“We would rather put Liberal before Labor, but they’re the voters’ preferences — not ours,” he said. “We make suggestions on what we think is best for the country.”

He said One Nation hopes to gain Senate seats in several states where it narrowly missed out in 2022 — including Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

More Senators

“If the polls are correct, and it certainly feels that way, we’ll have senators in those states. That gives us enormous power — not to run the country, but to stop them destroying it.”

Roberts said he and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson have long championed the same concerns that fuel support for Donald Trump in the United States — not through copying him, but by listening to their own constituents.

“We’ve been talking about energy, immigration, housing and cultural damage for years,” Roberts said. “Mums and dads, workers and small businesses are saying, ‘Where is the Australia we used to have?’ People of all backgrounds came here for our culture, and now it’s being smashed [by Labor].”

Voters Oppose Major Parties

Several Australians who spoke to NewsBlaze echoed Roberts’ sentiments.

“One Nation is the only party that seems to recognise that unbridled immigration caused Australia’s housing and rental crisis,” said one voter. “Another million migrants in two years will destroy availability for our kids and grandkids.”

A middle-aged mother working in a state government department described being one of only two Australians left in an office increasingly staffed by former international students now seeking permanent residency.

“Why are they working in government departments? Why are they taking up our jobs and our houses?” she asked.

Another voter said Labor had lost its way: “The older generation still believes this is the Labor Party of three decades ago. I really don’t see what the party stands for now, in coalition with the Greens and Teals.”

One Nation’s growing influence among minor parties on the centre-right could have a significant impact on the makeup of the next Senate.

In this current environment, One Nation hopes to get more senators, Roberts said.