Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has launched a sharp critique of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, arguing she has “no concept” of how to govern Australia and relies entirely on the politics of anger and division rather than practical solutions.
Speaking to ABC’s 7.30 from London, Mr Rudd now global president of the US‑based Asia Society weighed in on Senator Hanson’s rising support, Australia’s AUKUS commitments, and global leadership dynamics involving Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. His comments come as One Nation’s primary vote once again eclipses Labor’s in a new Redbridge poll, even as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remains the preferred PM.
Rudd said Hanson’s political style had not evolved in her decades in public life. He argued that genuine governance requires detailed, often difficult work on national security, economic growth, environmental sustainability and essential services including housing affordability, which he said has eroded Australians’ standard of living for years.
“The hard business of government is to come up with practical responses to each of those challenges,” Rudd said. “The easy business of politics is simply to act as a protest vector and then lace it and spice it with the politics of rage.”
His comments reflect growing concern within mainstream political circles about the surge in support for protest‑driven parties, particularly amid economic pressures and voter frustration.
As Australia heads toward the 2025 federal election, Rudd’s intervention underscores the widening divide between traditional policy‑driven governance and populist movements capitalising on discontent a tension shaping political debate nationwide.
#tags: #AUSPolitics #KevinRudd #PaulineHanson #OneNation #PoliticalDebate
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