POLITICS - AUSTRALIA: One Nation spurred a decade of change

TEN years ago, in the wake of the Queensland election that turned One Nation from a cult of personality based around Pauline Hanson to a party in its own right, The Weekend Australian said the result confirmed domestic politics had detached itself from the base. One Nation secured 11 seats in the single-chamber Queensland parliament, robbing both Labor and the Coalition, dooming the conservative Borbidge government, and handing power to Peter Beattie in a hung parliament in which a non-One Nation independent held the balance of power. Many who turned to One Nation did so out of frustration at unemployment, economic uncertainty and change. The backlash was also a consequence of the poll-driven, research-based politics of the major parties, which had become so sophisticated and manipulative in their attention to interest groups as to overlook the concerns of many Australians.

A decade later, with One Nation having imploded under the weight of expectations that it perform, a lot has changed on Australia's political landscape. The active listening defence used by Peter Beattie to disarm the feelings of exclusion that fuelled the maverick party has become de rigueur for politicians everywhere. Kevin Rudd has followed Mr Beattie's lead with community cabinets and a 2020 summit designed to give the impression that government believes in a bottom-up rather than top-down connection with voters. Despite this, with less certain economic times and urban elites eager to reclaim government in their image, there are many lessons from the One Nation experience that need to be remembered, says The Australian. Aust 14 Jun 2008