Madonna King comments in the Brisbane Times (5.10.16) on the likelihood that the One Nation Party will play an influential role in the next state election, in the wake of both major state parties declaring their intentions for dealing with One Nation’s resurgence in Queensland.
‘We could blink, and wake up next year with One Nation forming part of a Queensland government.
‘It seems preposterous now, without any representatives in the State Parliament, but it is entirely possible. And in several strategists’ minds, entirely likely.
‘This is their thinking. Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Labor government is on the nose. Despite her personal popularity (which shows up again and again in polling), her party is going nowhere.
‘And its move to introduce compulsory preferential voting, while masterful while One Nation was nowhere, now looks like a noose around its neck.
‘One Nation polled up to 20 per cent of the vote in some Queensland seats at the federal poll. It is planning to run candidates in every state seat.
‘And while it was a fringe party, with little professionalism back in 1998 when it won 11 seats in the Queensland Parliament, it is now much more mainstream. Just look at the influence it is having, already, on federal policies.’