Albo thought his attacks on Pauline Hanson would make him look strong. They make him look RATTLED. He should be: PETER VAN ONSELEN

By PETER VAN ONSELEN, POLITICAL EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 04:01, 11 June 2026 | Updated: 04:01, 11 June 2026 Albo built the grievance machine he now pretends to condemn. But he wants to lecture Pauline Hanson about slogans and populism?  This is a PM who promised cheaper power yet delivered higher bills, and he decided solemn election commitments were entirely meaningless the moment he won.  He has no credibility to criticise others, including Hanson. Albo wants to sound shocked that One Nation has discovered that there is money to be made in calling him a liar?  Of course there is, because that's precisely what he decided to become once the last election was in the bag. The 'Fire the Liar' campaign didn't fall from the sky either. It was a direct response to Labor's own fundraising push, built on nothing less than demonising One Nation.  Hanson took Labor's attack, fed it through a populist furnace, and turned it back on the PM with interest. The result is a campaign that's reportedly raised over $1.9 million in a few days. When Albo whinges that the One Nation campaign is all 'slogans' and 'not substance', what he really means is he's annoyed that the tactic worked better for Hanson than it did for him.  Pauline Hanson took Labor's attack, fed it through a populist furnace, and turned it back on the PM - with interest, writes Peter van Onselen Labor tried to monetise fear of One Nation. Instead, One Nation monetised disgust with Labor. Hanson's rise isn't some mysterious eruption. It's a direct response to Albo and his broken promises, arrogance, and the growing sense among voters that the major party system ignores them, made worse by a cost of living crisis. Albo can't spend years feeding dissatisfaction and then act morally superior when someone else harvests it too. That was his entire schtick when attacking Scott Morrison during Albo's time in opposition. His attack on Hanson's links to Gina Rinehart are equally revealing. Yes, voters are entitled to know who funds political parties. Hanson should absolutely face scrutiny over wealthy backers and private aircraft. Those are the rules.  But Albo's outrage would be far more convincing if Labor were not itself a professional fundraising machine backed by unions, institutional donors, and tainted Canberra lobbyists.  It's not as if Labor MPs avoid cozying up to business and billionaires on a scale that would make most of us blush. The PM wants to have it both ways. When it suits him, he admits voter frustration is driving people toward populist parties, even citing One Nation's rise to justify his own backflips on property taxes.  But in attack mode, he treats these same voters as fools duped by grievance merchants. Which is it, Prime Minister?  Anthony Albanese has no credibility to criticise others, including Hanson Are Australians expressing legitimate frustration with a broken system, or are they just fools being conned by Pauline Hanson? The truth is, this PM only respects voter anger when it justifies his agenda. When it benefits One Nation, it suddenly becomes dangerous.  That is not leadership, it's elitism, and panicked elitism at that. Despite crossing the threshold for official minority party status with six federal parliamentarians, one more than is needed, Hanson is still fighting for basic staffing resources.  Under the MOPS (Members of Parliament Staff) framework, the PM has discretion over additional staff for minority parties.  Hanson put it on the Senate record that Albo refused extra staff for One Nation's new senators, forcing them to spread existing resources across twice as many politicians. Meanwhile, the Greens are treated as respectable parliamentary furniture, complete with designated party rooms alongside Labor, the Liberals, and the Nationals. They benefit from official minor party status in a way that Hanson's party is denied.  The message is obvious: left-wing minor parties are legitimate, right-wing minor parties are a problem to be managed. The Greens can obstruct, moralise, and drag Labor left while remaining part of the establishment.  One Nation does the populist equivalent from the right, and the Prime Minister climbs on his high horse. That isn't defending democracy, it's (mis)using executive power to kneecap an ideological opponent. Albo likes to think that he's the only adult in the room. But adults don't flagrantly break promises and then lecture everyone else about trust.  Hypocrites do that. They also sneer at voter anger unless it serves their agenda. And they (mis)use the machinery of government to tilt the playing field against their ideological rivals. The PM thought his attacks on Hanson would make him look strong, but they in fact made him look rattled. No wonder his dissatisfaction rating is up to 60 per cent. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. 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