Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed the idea of immigration cuts or tighter border checks, even as electoral polls show a surge in support for the country’s hard-right One Nation Party.
“We have tight checks,” Labor leader Albanese said in an interview with Sky News aired on Sunday, when asked if he planned to harden restrictions or take fewer immigrants from certain nations. “We have checks on in this country and we have checks on visas.”
Support for One Nation has jumped this year to 27 percent, above the main opposition’s primary vote of 18 percent, according to a Newspoll conducted for the Australian newspaper. The figures represent a growing backlash against immigration, an issue One Nation and its leader, Senator Pauline Hanson, have campaigned against for decades.
A federal election in Australia is due before May 2028.
One Nation’s surge mirrors the rise of the populist right in the US, the UK and Europe, as voters turn away from the traditional post-World War II parties that have formed governments.