Pauline Hanson faces her biggest test yet today - so can she prove she's a real contender for power? PETER VAN ONSELEN

By PETER VAN ONSELEN, POLITICAL EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 23:45, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 23:45, 16 June 2026 Pauline Hanson will address the National Press Club for the first time. It's the ultimate insiders club at the centre of Canberra's political and media establishment.  For three decades, Hanson has survived on the outside of politics and, according to the latest polls, she is now thriving there too. The Queensland senator is the preferred prime minister, ahead of both Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor, recent polling reveals. One Nation's primary vote is higher than that of both major parties. So will Hanson use her speech today to put some meat on the bones of her policy ideas? Or will she simply expand her attacks on the majors, using anti-establishment politicking to continue her ascent? Hanson's appeal has never relied on costings or carefully calibrated policy design. It's built on grievance: a potent weapon when voters feel abandoned or betrayed by political insiders. Voters are angry about housing, migration, and power prices, not to mention broken policies on tax. They are angry at being told the economy is strong while their lives get harder, and furious with a political class more focused on policing language than fixing problems, including the bloated size of government. Pauline Hanson (pictured) will address the National Press Club for the first time on Wednesday Today isn't a test of whether she can suddenly become conventional. If she did, she might lose her potency. The real question is whether she intends to flesh out the One Nation platform. Doing so would signal that Hanson sees her current surge not as a fleeting protest, but as a durable realignment that needs to take the next step. It would show she understands that overtaking the Coalition and threatening Labor fundamentally changes the scrutiny her party will likely face in the 18 months leading to the next federal election. But it is far from clear such scrutiny would bring her undone, even if policy details remain scarce.  One Nation's policy cupboard isn't bare. The party is pitching to halve the fuel excise, legislate income splitting for families, provide tax relief for self-funded retirees, make beer cheaper by cutting the excise, offer higher Medicare rebates, and deliver a 20 per cent cut to electricity prices.  Doing all of that won't be cheap. So far One Nation simply says cutting bloated government is where they will find the dollars necessary to make it happen. On housing and immigration, Hanson demands drastic cuts to the intake and crackdowns on foreign ownership.  On energy, it wants to scrap the net zero target altogether, and back coal, gas and nuclear power. The Queensland senator is the preferred prime minister, ahead of both Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor, recent polling reveals (Pictured at an Ipswich election-night function in 2016) There is plenty to entice supporters to Hanson's cause, but there is also plenty to interrogate. But demands for details - including getting her policies costed by the official Parliamentary Budget Office - would carry more weight if Albanese was not refusing to treat One Nation like the parliamentary force it has become.  One Nation has reached the threshold where other minor parties like the Greens are granted the staff, resources, and party-room status necessary to function effectively.  The prime minister's refusal to extend this recognition to One Nation looks petty and, worse, it hands Hanson a ready-made excuse not to play by the rules on costings. Albanese cannot withhold the tools required for serious parliamentary work, then complain the work hasn't been done. Labor can't demand intense scrutiny of One Nation, while pretending its numbers don't warrant official party resources. This makes today's speech more than mere theatre. Hanson could easily run through her standard hits: Albanese has failed, 'fire the liar', the Coalition is weak, elites are sneering, the media only care about gotcha questions, and only One Nation is listening to real people.  It would generate social media clips and energise her base. Anthony Albanese cannot withhold the tools from One Nation that are required for serious parliamentary work, then complain the work hasn't been done But Hanson has the chance to do something far more compelling. She can prove that One Nation's rise is not just an accumulation of anger, but the foundation of a serious alternative in the making. Her target audience today isn't her rusted-on base, nor her Canberra critics baying for blood. It is the disillusioned voter who has lost faith in the establishment but still needs to know if One Nation is merely a protest vote or a genuine governing force for the future.  They know what Hanson is against. Today's speech should focus on what she is for.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. 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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