One Nation has now won two lower house seats in the South Australian election – and is in the running for three more.
Pauline Hanson’s party received a surge in support in this year’s SA state election on Saturday despite Labor and Premier Peter Malinauskas securing a decisive victory.
The party made history by claiming its first lower house seat in the state, with One Nation candidate Robert Roylance winning Hammond in the south-east.
Adelaide Plains Council Deputy Mayor David Paton is set to take over in Ngadjuri.
Former Liberal senator Cory Bernardi secured a seat in the upper house for One Nation, reinforcing the party’s presence in parliament.
Hanson celebrated the result as a milestone for her party, describing it as “just the start” of a broader national movement.
Sky News projects One Nation could clinch a further three seats.
“One where they would fancy their chances very much is the seat of Narungga,” Sky News Chief Election Analyst Tom Connell said on Monday.
“Looking at the primary vote, One Nation will be first, Liberal Party will be second. Fraser Ellis was predicted by the commission to finish second, and he won’t.
“What happens from here, add the Labor and the Green vote, about 17 per cent or so, that will close the gap between Liberal and One Nation, which is currently 15, to maybe about three or four per cent, depending on how it goes.
“Then you have Fraser Ellis as the decider of this seat.
“Postal vote is to come, if that’s positive for the Liberal Party, that gap will close by a couple of per cent.”
MacKillop and Light are another two seats One Nation could take, Connell said.
“Again, how are these preferences going to flow? The gap here (in Mackillop) is a bit smaller, it’s 12 between One Nation and the Liberal Party,” he said.
“As a result, this Labor and Greens vote, which is a bit higher, 18, nearly 19 per cent, that will put the Liberals slightly ahead of One Nation.
“Let’s see how that postal vote comes in. You can’t discount One Nation’s chances there. They could also win a seat off Labor (in Light), which hasn’t happened at this election.
“Once the pre-poll came in on the night, Light became a much tighter contest. Again, it’s a question of preferences.
“Liberal Party is going to help One Nation, and Greens help the Labor Party.”
One Nation’s success has fuelled attacks from both major parties as they seek to stifle its momentum and preserve their own voter bases.
Speaking at an event in Melbourne recognising Vietnamese Australians the day after SA went to the polls, the Prime Minister called on Australians to challenge those attempting to “turn back the clock” on the nation in a veiled dig at One Nation’s stance on immigration.
“We need to be vigilant,” he told an audience at the Immigration Museum on Sunday.
“There are some, including some in political life, who want to turn back the clock to an Australia that is no longer who we are and we need to call out those people.
“We need to continue to cherish our diversity as a strength for our nation, which it is.”