If there’s one theme that cuts across Western politics in 2025, it is the rise of right-wing populist parties and politicians, tapping into a well of resentment towards establishment politics. Trump, Farage, Le Pen, and Wilders, to name a few. Some would argue they were all late to the game, trailing an unlikely figure; a female fish and chip show owner from the Queensland town of Ipswich.

After first entering the Federal Australian parliament in 1996, Pauline Hanson has been one of the most consequential and enduring political figures in modern Australian political history. And to pinch a quote from her one-time nemesis John Howard, in 2025, the times may just suit her.

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