One Nation celebrated stunning success in Queensland in 1998 – then it all fell apart. What happened?
News Source
•Sun, 04 Oct 2026 14:00:31 GMT
📰 What Happened
One Nation shocked Australia at the 1998 Queensland election. In its first campaign, the party won 11 seats and nearly 23% of the vote.
Co-founder David Oldfield had hoped to form minority government. Instead, an independent backed Labor's Peter Beattie into office. Oldfield says he felt disappointment, even distress, as the results came in.
🔍 The Backstory
The party was founded by Pauline Hanson, David Oldfield and David Ettridge. It beat the National and Liberal parties, which gave it preferences to try to hold power.
Some people who lived through that election say history could repeat itself now, but this time 'on steroids'. Hanson and One Nation are rising again in the polls.
🎯 Why It Matters
It shows how quickly a new populist party can rise and change politics, a pattern that some say is repeating today.
One Nation shocked Australia at the 1998 Queensland election. In its first campaign, the party won 11 seats and nearly 23% of the vote.
Co-founder David Oldfield had hoped to form minority government. Instead, an independent backed Labor's Peter Beattie into office. Oldfield says he felt disappointment, even distress, as the results came in.
The party was founded by Pauline Hanson, David Oldfield and David Ettridge. It beat the National and Liberal parties, which gave it preferences to try to hold power.
Some people who lived through that election say history could repeat itself now, but this time 'on steroids'. Hanson and One Nation are rising again in the polls.
It shows how quickly a new populist party can rise and change politics, a pattern that some say is repeating today.