Progressives must not mock, scold, or “cancel” voters drawn to One Nation, Jim Chalmers has warned, as he forecast a year of economic turmoil ahead of the next federal election.
In an address to a progressive audience at The Australia Institute on Tuesday, the Treasurer said hoping the far right would simply fade away was not a viable strategy.
He warned criticism of Pauline Hanson’s voter base must not stem from a position of “smug moral superiority”, but instead from genuine respect for the concerns plaguing Australian households.
“When a significant swath of our fellow Australians find that message of returning to
an idealised version of the good old days appealing we shouldn’t turn on them,” Mr Chalmers said.
“Our role as progressives is not to scold those who see appeal in that message, it’s not to mock them or ‘cancel’ them or talk down to them.
“Hoping the far right goes away or implodes again is not actually a strategy.”
The warning comes as the federal government grapples with severe economic headwinds, including four interest rate hikes this year, persistent inflation and soaring petrol prices.
Acknowledging that more economic pain was on the way with voters likely to face another 12 months of financial pressure, Mr Chalmers predicted One Nation would likely have a strong foothold in the next parliament.
He said Labor would continue to make reforms and to counter social and economic anxiety, he argued was being “fed and fuelled, monetised, politicised and catastrophised by algorithmic rage bait”.
Mr Chalmers also targeted One Nation’s economic agenda, warning its proposed policies on superannuation, wages and migration would leave everyday Australians worse off.
“Their superannuation policy would make people much poorer in retirement, their wages policy would eat away at take home pay and living standards, their unfunded commitments would blow a hole in the budget, their migration policy would smash the economy,” Mr Chalmers said.
More to come