Hanson’s One Nation Names Pickering to Lead Victorian Assault, Bars Major Newsrooms
Populist firebrand Pauline Hanson has unveiled her party's strategy for Victoria's November state election, naming a 43-year-old former army officer as leade...
Populist firebrand Pauline Hanson has unveiled her party's strategy for Victoria's November state election, naming a 43-year-old former army officer as leader and pointedly excluding three major news outlets from the announcement. The move signals an increasingly combative approach to media relations ahead of One Nation's most ambitious regional push.
Warren Pickering, who serves as One Nation's state president in Victoria, will contest the lower house seat of Pakenham while leading the party statewide. At a closed press conference in Melbourne on Monday, Pickering declared the party intends not merely to compete but to govern—a striking claim for a force that has historically polled as a protest vote in Australian politics.
A Familiar Playbook
Hanson barred reporters from the ABC, The Guardian, and The Age, citing what she characterized as persistent bias. "I'm sick of it," she told the assembled media allowed to attend, accusing the outlets of unfair coverage. When pressed on the decision, she pivoted to familiar grievance language: "I want truth and honesty. You get it from me. I expect it back."
The tactic echoed former U.S. President Donald Trump's "fake news" attacks—a playbook gaining traction among right-wing populist movements globally. Hanson's chief of staff had previously ejected ABC reporters from a federal campaign event in May, signaling this is not an isolated incident but part of a calculated strategy to control messaging.
The Candidates and the Margins
Pickering will challenge Emma Vulin, a Labor backbencher, in Pakenham—a seat Labor holds by just 0.4 percent. One Nation polled only 3.4 percent there in 2022, suggesting an uphill climb despite Vulin's razor-thin margin. The party announced six upper house candidates across Victorian regions, including Colleen Harkin, a recent defector from the Liberal Party's state administrative committee who now works for a conservative think tank.
Local government figures also feature. Chris Burson, a Greater Geelong councillor with police and military service, will lead One Nation's upper house ticket in Western Victoria Region—his second attempt at the Legislative Council after finishing with less than 1 percent of the vote in 2022.
Pickering rejected suggestions the party would form a coalition government with the Liberals in a hung parliament, insisting instead that One Nation will fight to govern alone. He also warned the party would pursue "swift legal action" against what he termed "character assassination," signaling heightened defensiveness even as the campaign enters its opening phase with fewer than four months until polling day.
