Advocacy group GetUp has raised more than $400k for an anti-Pauline Hanson campaign in the battleground electorate of Farrer.
The campaign centres on the populist leader’s affinity for Donald Trump and links her to the rising costs that rural voters are most vulnerable to, including fuel and fertiliser.
The May 9 Farrer by-election was triggered by the resignation of former opposition leader Sussan Ley. It has set up a four-way contest between candidates from One Nation, the Liberals and Nationals, and Climate 200-backed independent Michelle Milthorpe for the NSW seat.
An Australia Institute poll found in early March that Ms Milthorpe and One Nation were leading the race. Voters were surveyed before the announcement of One Nation candidate David Farley.
The populist party has now staked its ambitions on Mr Farley’s campaign in Farrer to win its first federal lower house contest – and establish the party’s second MP – after a rapid surge in popularity over the summer.
But GetUp’s ads – plastered across billboards, television, radio and digital media – aim to dash these hopes by highlighting Senator Hanson’s links to Mr Trump and billionaire Gina Rinehart.
The campaign also purportedly seeks to debunk the One Nation leader’s claim of “standing with everyday Australians” by pointing to her voting record on health care, age pensions, child care and corporate tax cuts.
“ … her political support comes from some of the wealthiest and most powerful interests in the country. And her record in power tells a different story,” the campaign website WhoisHanson.com reads.
GetUp aims to spend at least $600,000 on the anti-Hanson campaign by the time the polls close on May 9. The funds so far raised were donated by the organisation’s active membership base, which grew by over 100,000 people last month alone.
Speaking on ABC, GetUp interim chief executive Paul Ferris said the contest in Farrer and the rise of One Nation was “something that should be of concern for all Australians”.
He claimed Senator Hanson had “gone out of her way to support Donald Trump”.
“We need to get this information in front of the voters in Farrer, people need to know facts,” he said.
He said more than 4000 people had contributed more than $150,000 to the campaign in less than 24 hours.
“So we’re actually in the process of expanding our budget,” he said.
“Farrer is an important fight, but this isn’t a fight we expect to end in Farrer.”
Mr Ferris acknowledged GetUp had had “its ups and downs” having been quieter since the 2019 election.
“But the great news is that from our perspective we are in a stronger position than we have been in for years,” he said.
In an earlier statement, Mr Ferris: “One Nation has been cheering on Trump’s economic recklessness from the sidelines since the war began and it’s the people of Farrer suffering from it.
“It’s the same ‘battlers’ One Nation claims to care about, farmers and families struggling to get by, that are impacted most by the fuel and fertiliser crisis. That’s a contradiction GetUp believes people deserve to know about before they vote.”
Mr Ferris said the organisation’s research showed soft One Nation voters were likely to lose support for the party after being shown the “actual record of the party and its MPs”.
“Similarly, voters strongly dislike her links to Trump, her billionaire backers and her lavish lifestyle at the public expense,” he said.
“One Nation’s rise in popularity isn’t driven by loyalty or ideology. It’s driven by frustration – and that frustration can shift when people are presented with the full picture.”
Senator Hanson has publicly endorsed Mr Trump and described him as a “re-energised, strong, and patriotic leader who has the best interests of his people at heart”.
She also lavished praises on his hard-line approach to immigration, economic, and climate policy while attending a conservative conference at the US leader’s Mar-A-Lago resort in November.
Senator Hanson has also called on Australia to have deeper involvement in the US-Israel war on Iran and to support American efforts in the region.
