Inside One Nation's Extreme, AI-Fuelled Campaign Launch

An earthquake rattled Melbourne early on Saturday, as if the city was bracing for Pauline Hanson’s arrival.

She was in town this weekend to officially launch One Nation’s Victorian election campaign at Crown.

The cheapest seats were sold for around $50 and a meet-and-greet with Pauline was $500. Attendees were greeted by a merchandise stand selling “MAGA” (Make Albanese Go Away) hats and Pauline bobbleheads.

The event was shrouded in paranoid security measures. My ticket wasn’t released until the morning of the launch, accompanied by a six-page document of terms and conditions. It explicitly banned fart bombs, stink bombs, projectiles like balls, fruit, eggs, and coins, plus anything that stains, including slime and blood.

The fine print went further. Anything above “reasonable cost” counts as a political donation. The party also gets a perpetual, irrevocable licence to use my face and voice in its political advertising.

Victoria isn’t traditionally considered a One Nation stronghold, but the party is expected to poll over 20 per cent at the election in November and most analysts predict it will win a number of lower house seats off both Labor and the Coalition. With that kind of vote, the party is also likely to secure a number of upper house MPs, and potentially the balance of power. 

The atmosphere inside a One Nation event

I stood out like a sore thumb at the launch – a young, non-white woman in an overwhelmingly white room of older Australians and bald heads. There was excitement in the room. An orange One Nation ute sat parked in one corner next to a table of donuts.

Some attendees were lifelong Pauline fans; others were there advocating for regional farmers. Yet much of the room appeared to consist of candidates, campaign staff, and their families. Almost everyone I approached either worked for a candidate or declined to speak. A small number of non-white attendees said they were there to show support, but wouldn’t elaborate.