The mirage of the One Nation surge

The South Australian election has reshaped Australian politics – but not in the way the mainstream media suggests. In this episode, we break down Labor’s landslide victory under Premier Peter Malinauskas, the collapse of the Liberal Party, and the widely overstated rise of One Nation, which secured 22% of the primary vote but only one lower house seat. We examine how Australia’s preferential voting system works, why minor parties like One Nation and the Australian Greens struggle to convert votes into seats, and whether electoral reform or proportional representation could deliver a more representative democracy. We also analyse the media’s role in amplifying right-wing populism, the shifting dynamics within the conservative vote, and what these results mean for the future of Australian politics, including Labor’s dominance, the potential for political realignment, and the growing fragmentation of the party system. Support New Politics: Patreon: Substack: Song listing: ‘La Femme d’Argent’, AIR.

You can listen to The mirage of the One Nation surge online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The mirage of the One Nation surge is an episode from New Politics: Australian Politics by New Politics.

This episode is 41:06 long.

This episode was published on Mar 26, 2026.

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