Danica De Giorgio:
Welcome back to the programme. Joining me now is the panel, IPA Deputy Executive Director, Daniel Wild and One Nation South Australia President Carlos Quaremba. Good to see you both. Thank you so much for joining me.
I want to begin with the latest news poll that just dropped in The Australian. And as I mentioned earlier, for the first time in its history, core support for Pauline Hanson’s One Nation has surged ahead of Labour as Anthony Albanese’s popularity hits record lows. You can see there One Nation’s primary vote soaring to 31% ahead of Labour on 30%, just 18% for the coalition. And Anthony Albanese’s net approval rating has sunk to its lowest levels since 2022.
Carlos, I want to start with you. There was an interesting part in this news poll in The Australian and it said, “A majority of all voting demographics showed that they wanted a dramatic change in the political status quo.” In fact, 70% of voters agreed the people who built this mess aren’t going to fix it and that Australian politics is overdue for a big shakeup. Why do you think that is, Carlos?
Carlos Quaremba:
Well, and thank you for having me on tonight. Yeah, look, I hear that all the time. People are sick and tired of the status quo. They feel that they’re not getting heard and they know that business as usual is not working for them and so they’re switching. One Nation is that vehicle, as I said many times, that’s going to make that change and we’re going to shake it up and we’re going to bring real people to parliament like myself. I’m a builder and I can fix the housing issue here in South Australia and we’ve got to stop listening to the bureaucrats that have created this mess. So, yeah, I think that there is a seismic change coming and we’re looking forward to it.
Danica De Giorgio:
Well, look, clearly there is. And Daniel, we’ve seen this now in multiple news polls. The news poll tonight just confirms that we’ve seen Redbridge, we’ve seen the Sky News Polls poll. They all say the same thing, that now One Nation is definitely the most popular party in this country. Are we seeing the end of the two-party system as we know it, do you think?
Daniel Wild:
Yes, we are. I mean, I think that has now ended. And I’ve made this observation a couple of times, but politically, Australia is becoming a lot more like continental Europe where we have a number of parties that are going to share 20%, 30% of the vote. That doesn’t mean that one individual party can’t get 76 seats, but it’s going to become increasingly likely that a coalition will need to be formed to get into government as is the case in Europe.
And we’ve also seen this in the UK. Just look at what’s happening with Reform. We’ve seen it in the US, look at 2016, the big realignment election there. And I think what’s driving this is that a large and growing majority of Australians don’t believe that their views or their values are reflected in the political system, whether that’s to do with economics, whether that’s to do with culture.
You were just discussing a key thing, which is to do with education. Do parents really feel that they’re in charge of the education system? So, yeah, it’s understandable why people want to see some change.
Danica De Giorgio:
No, look, I completely agree with you and I just think the coalition should stop its politicking now at One Nation and remind themselves that Labour is the enemy here. One Nation is not the enemy and clearly all the politicking from both sides has not worked.
Look, it has been a bumpy week for One Nation and I want to talk about this Barnaby Joyce’s policy era. Here was One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, on the Macpherson Angle earlier tonight.
Pauline Hanson:
We haven’t got the resources like the other major political parties have, and we’re trying to do the best that we can. So if there’s a couple of stuff ups along the way, well then so be it, but we will rectify it, which I give Barnaby full credit for doing that.
Danica De Giorgio:
Carlos, look, I think that One Nation obviously needs to be held accountable for any policies as any party should. I don’t particularly think that one Barnaby blunder is going to derail everything as it’s being pushed by various sections of the media. But do you have to be more across the brief, do you think?
Carlos Quaremba:
Look, we do and we’re doing everything we can. I mean, I can speak of my experience so far in the SA Parliament where we’ve been denied the staffing allocations as required and the resources of other minor parties. And I think we’re being punished and I think those polling numbers have got people scared, but we will continue to be honest with people and that’s why, I think, the biggest thing about One Nation. We may not always get it right, but we will be honest and we’ll do our best and we do have the best interests of Australians at heart and that’s the way we’re going to be.
Danica De Giorgio:
Dan, is that fair enough that honesty will see you through? Can it go so far?
Daniel Wild:
Well, I don’t think many people really care about this stuff, to be honest, Danica. The reason One Nation is surging is not because of their policies, I believe it’s because of their values. And this is the thing where there’s a lot of insider Canberra games that go on with this kind of thing. And yes, people need to be held to account for what they do and what they say, but I don’t think this really matters to the person on the street.
You just went through the news poll results, which I think had something like two-thirds of people say that we need to have a big change to the system. So whether you get the numbers right or wrong on your own housing policy, I don’t think goes to that bigger issue. What Australians are looking for is something that is actually going to get the country back to the kind of country it needs to be.
So yes, this does have an effect on, I guess, on the margins where people look at it and say, “Well, do you guys know what you’re talking about?” But directionally, when people are looking for directional change, for categorical change, I’m not sure this really affects One Nation standing with a lot of people.
Danica De Giorgio:
No, look, I totally agree with you. And if the news poll is anything to go by tonight, it’s had absolutely zero effect on voters. In fact, I feel like every time there’s any criticism of One Nation, it’s almost like it has the exact opposite effect.
Now, look, I spoke earlier about the Minister for Spending, Anika Wells. She just doesn’t learn. It’s been revealed she repeatedly spent hundreds of taxpayer dollars on car trips around Canberra that went for between 5 and 10 minutes. Some went for three kilometres and we were billed about $333 for it.
Carlos, we’ve got a situation where Labor’s out there trying to sell its budget saying, “We’ve had to make tough changes. We’re doing this to better our country.” How on earth can it sell its message when its minister hasn’t stopped spending taxpayer money?
Carlos Quaremba:
Well, this is do, as I say, not as I do. And you want to know why people are going to One Nation. It’s things like this. And look, as a parliamentarian, there are a lot of things that we can draw on as part of our salary. But look, just get an Uber. Do yourself a favour. You keep messing up. Don’t do it. Just stop. It’s not that hard. You earn enough money, put your hand in your pocket. People are doing a tough lead by example.
Danica De Giorgio:
Exactly. And it was a three kilometre. I mean, some of the money went for about 2k to 3ks down. I just don’t understand her argument when she said, “Oh, unexpected delays.” That just doesn’t bode well in this climate.
Daniel Wild:
No, she’s taken the piss, isn’t she with that? And it’s time and time again, she’s done it. I mean, if it was once or twice, you go, “Fair enough.” And look, I don’t begrudge politicians using the entitlements they have. Sure, you’ve got meetings you’ve got to get from A to B, fair enough. But when it’s time and time again, not just this, but we’ve gone through the previous, you mentioned coming down to Adelaide for basically a birthday saying it was a work trip. I mean, people have had enough of this.
And I think what it also shows is that the point of certain people getting into politics is to do this kind of stuff, right? That’s why they’re actually in it. They’re not in it because they believe in certain things. They’re in it to get on the gravy train to take advantage of everything they have.
I’m sure what she’s doing is technically lawful. I’m sure it is, but this is the problem. It shouldn’t be. I mean, what kind of laws are they if she is actually doing it by the book? So look, I think that the idea that she sent it off to the regulator and that somehow means that it’s all fine, but just doesn’t cut it anymore, pay back the money and do the right thing.
Danica De Giorgio:
Absolutely. And Labour says, “Oh no, look, we’ve changed the rules. We’ve changed it. Everything’s above board.” I think if you ask any Aussie on the street right now if that passes the pub test, I’m pretty sure they would say it doesn’t. So I’m not sure how Labour can palm this off.
Australia’s part-time energy minister, Chris Bowen, gee, he’s off again. Okay? He’s heading to Germany this week for climate talks in Europe to “set the scene” ahead of the COP 31 summit later in the year. He said, “We are living through the biggest energy shock in history and the world agrees that clean energy and electrification is the future for a more sovereign and secure energy system.”
Dan, what an amazing gig this guy’s got. He can swan about overseas in his role with the UN, charge us about $150 million to do so, come back here, bust up the energy system, spend more and more money, and then gets to keep his job. All in a day’s work apparently.
Daniel Wild:
Not bad if you can get it. I mean, that media statement was straight out of ChatGPT, by the way. I mean, what does that even mean? What do those words even mean? He’s just put a bunch of words together and reckons it’s a statement.
Look, if he’s going to Germany, then maybe the Germans can show him what they did, which is that they mothballed their coal-fired power stations. They didn’t blow them up like we’ve done here. We’ve blown up two coal-fired power stations in recent history, which is absolutely stupid. They mothballed their coal-fired power stations and then they rebooted them when Russia invaded the Ukraine.
Do you reckon that he’s going to learn that lesson not to blow up coal-fired power stations? Because that’s one of the dumbest things. Destroying an economic asset for ideological reasons is one of the dumbest, most shortsighted things that you could possibly do. So look, the trip will be worthwhile if he at least learns that, I’ve got to say.
Danica De Giorgio:
Yeah. Well, let’s see if he learns his … Let’s be honest. He’s not going to learn his lesson, okay? He’s just going to continue to swan about on the taxpayer dime. I found this story fascinating, Carlos, and we’re facing more than a trillion dollars debt under labour, but I’ve got to spare a thought for you guys over in South Australia. Net debt is set to reach almost $54 billion by 2029. That’s four times higher than when the state treasurer, Tom Koutsantonis, presented his last budget back in 2017. He’s blaming COVID, he’s blaming large infrastructure projects. Does that stack up?
Carlos Quaremba:
No, it doesn’t. Look, we know that the state has to move ahead and it does have to do these infrastructure projects, but the issue is that there is no checks and balances. And this is why in this sitting week of parliament coming up, we’ll be introducing a debt ceiling bill and we’re basically saying, “We’re not going to stop you from borrowing money, but you need to come back to parliament and get two-thirds majority in the upper and lower house to continue on.”
And we need to send a message not only to the government, but to also the businesses that interact with the government that seem to think it’s an open chequebook. I mean, you only have to look at what happened in Victoria with the CFMEU, $15 billion disappeared. And I’ve already seen the CFMEU flying on a building just behind Parliament so that you know they’ve moved in.
We need to send a clear message that the taxpayer can’t just keep fronting up money. It’s not an open-ended chequebook. We need to get things done, but we need to be reasonable and we need to respect the taxpayer’s dollars.
Danica De Giorgio:
Yeah, look, absolutely. And yeah, debt ceiling would be good across the country, or maybe even Victoria right now. I think Victoria could certainly do with it. Carlos, Daniel, great to have you both on. Thank you very much for joining me on the show tonight.
This transcript with Daniel Wild talking on The Paul Murray Show News Australia from 7 June 2026 has been edited for clarity.
