How One Nation bypasses traditional media; Australia’s Cop criticism; and the Roosters’ big win | The Guardian

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One Nation founders David Oldfield and Pauline Hanson in Ipswich on the day of the 1998 Queensland election.

05/10/2026

How One Nation bypasses traditional media; Australia’s Cop criticism; and the Roosters’ big win

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Paul Gallagher

Good morning. In the final episode of The Populist, Sarah Martin looks at how One Nation is bypassing traditional media to capitalise on voters’ economic pain and tries to unpick the thorny issue at the heart of the party’s rise: immigration.

Also in Queensland, residents of the rural town of Dalby have watched the boom and bust of big projects for decades. They share their scepticism after revelations that a $31bn datacentre to power AI tech is now planned for their area.

Australia is co-hosting a major UN climate conference next month – but is facing stiff criticism over its position on fossil fuels. And we have all the reaction from the Roosters’ win in last night’s NRL grand final.

Australia

Denver Kanowski outside his Queenslander in Dalby

Datacentre next door | Residents of Dalby in rural Queensland may soon live beside a $31bn datacentre. The state premier, David Crisafulli, sees it as an “opportunity” – but others fear AI’s global creep.

‘I won’t give up’ | The mother of a robodebt victim who ended his life says she is experiencing “injustice of another kind” after she was told she would be excluded from a $475m class action settlement.

Cop31 | The hosts of the next major UN climate conference, Turkey and Australia, are facing criticism for being partners in a coal supply chain while doing little to back nations wanting to get off fossil fuels.

Analysis | Would slashing net overseas migration “trash the economy” or deliver the necessary population “reset” to restore Australia’s stagnant living standards? Canada may offer some clues.

Newcastle crash | A driver whose car careered into a crowd of Newcastle Knights supporters will be kept in custody as the community rallies to support those hospitalised after the crash.

Flydubai incident | Security agencies are investigating after it emerged that the flydubai co-pilot who allegedly tried to hijack an Israel-bound flight spent about two years in Australia as a student.

World

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (left) is seeking a fourth term, with the far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro standing in his way.

Brazil votes | Brazilians are going to the polls in the first round of a high-stakes presidential election that could change the direction of Latin America’s largest country – and that of the entire region.

Russia-Ukraine war | Russia has struck another major road bridge in Kyiv as the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, arrived in the beleaguered capital city in a show of support for Ukraine.

Cornell outcry | The woman at the centre of the Cornell rape allegations case is being targeted with threats, her lawyer says; Cornell University will take a “serious look” at the role of fraternities and sororities on campus amid outcry over the school’s handling ⁠of the allegations.

Student protests | Hundreds of schools in France are set to be shuttered as authorities brace for further student protests against what they see as underfunding and neglect of the education system.

Media freedoms | An Egyptian journalist has been charged with joining a terrorist group, days after an entire newsroom was detained in what rights groups have said is a crackdown on press freedoms.

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The Populist: The social contract | Episode 4

One Nation was the first Australian political party with a website and its online game today is recognised as some of the most effective in the business. The party specialises in shareable anti-immigration messaging – and in bypassing the traditional media to reach voters directly. “She tells it like it is”, Pauline Hanson’s supporters say, but her tactics come straight from the populist right playbook: harvesting fear and grievance for political power.

In the final episode of The Populist, Sarah Martin traces Hanson’s beginnings as Australia’s first “cyber politician” to her leading role in the rightwing nativist movement that is sweeping the globe.

In-depth

David Oldfield was the brains behind One Nation’s stunning success at the 1998 Queensland election. In its first campaign, the rightwing nativist party he co-founded with Pauline Hanson and the late David Ettridge won 11 seats. But within months the whole experiment began to fall apart as disillusioned MPs fell out with the party leadership. Those who lived through One Nation’s most successful election now see history repeating itself – but this time “it’s One Nation on steroids”.

Not the news

The proscenium arch of the Theatre Royal in Hobart viewed from the dress circle.

Photographer Gavin John’s new book, Australian Theatres & Cinemas, documents the country’s finest stage performance and picture palaces – from massive Italian Renaissance-inspired entertainment palaces to 1930s art deco cinemas. So, please take your seats and revel in the ritzy glamour of Australia’s most revered cathedrals to thespian arts.

Sport

The Sydney Roosters NRL and NRLW teams celebrate their grand final wins together at Accor Stadium.