Monday 5th of October 2026
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the will of the [rich] people.....

Despite its policy confusion, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is leading the polls. But is the idea of monoculture what their supporters want, asks ethicist Max Jeganathan?

One Nation is now the most popular political party in the country. Its Secret Harbour state by-election victory in WA and another round of national opinion polls confirm that it can turn disaffection into votes. But – like all good cons – there’s plenty they’re not telling you. As an Australian Tamil with an Anglo-Australian wife and mixed-race kids, I see more red flags than I’ve had cold beers or hot curries.

Recent backflips, front-flips and botched dismounts – by both One Nation and the Government – suggest that the only thing we’re at risk of being swamped by is immigration policy incoherence. And yet, national concern about immigration isn’t going anywhere. A recent survey found that 17% fewer Australians now say cultural diversity has been a good thing – the biggest drop on record.

Calls for a monocultural society are resonating.

The Simpsons

This all reminds me of an old episode of The Simpsons in which the people of the fictional town of Springfield are tricked into buying a mono-rail by mercurial conman Lyle Lanley. Springfield’s population is stressed and anxious. Inflation is persistent. Unemployment is creeping up. Politicians are unpopular. The conditions are ripe for a con. Feel familiar?

Pollster Jim Reed recently said that One Nation is “taking votes from those who feel ill-served, ignored or rejected by the major parties, and they’re voting for change, any change.” It echoes comments from the streets of Secret Harbour, and the final line of Lyle Lanley’s monorail pitch: “I swear it’s Springfield’s only choice. Throw up your hands and raise your voice … monorail!”

In recent weeks, well-meaning monoculturalists have assured me that it’s about values, not race or ethnicity. But in a recent speech, former PM Tony Abbott conflated ‘Anglo-Celtic core culture’ with a ‘Judaeo-Christian foundational ethos.’ Then, in an interview with far-right activist Tommy Robinson, Pauline Hanson declared that Australia’s immigration problems began when the White Australia policy was ended.

The monocultural fallacy

Here’s where the monoculture ideal gets derailed. It is, of course, a fact of history that Anglo-Celtic culture – largely courtesy of the British Empire anchored by a Christian values system – has had a significant influence in shaping our modern world. However, there is no exclusive link between Anglo-Celtic culture and Judaeo-Christian ethics.

Many of the so-called ‘Australian values’ talked about as needing protection – equality, dignity and fundamental freedoms – can be traced to the Christian moral framework. Even atheist philosopher Jürgen Habermas acknowledged that Western civilisation owes its moral foundations to the Christian ethic of love. Some monoculturalists are right about the religious roots of these ideals,

but wrong to colour-code or culture-code them.

One Nation’s newest state MP Luke Herdegen says he wants a return to the Australia he grew up in. Its newest federal MP, David Farley, declared that those coming here must ‘act Australian.’

Having been here for 42 years and having grown up swimming at the beaches around Secret Harbour, I suspect I might pass their tests. But that’s not the problem. The problem is that in a monocultural Australia, someone who looks like me is more likely than someone who looks like Luke Herdegen or David Farley to be given the test in the first place.

A different kind of patriotism

Yes, we must carefully examine – and smoke out – belief systems that threaten our core values. But this goes beyond blind monoculturalism and deaf multiculturalism. It requires a more dynamic brand of patriotism.

Cosmopolitan patriotism strives not for a monoculture, but for a shared culture. It recognises that the ethical foundations of our country can both transcend and reflect our cultural diversity. Cosmopolitan patriotism sees our cultural fabric less like a mosaic (separated by differences) and more like an alloy (strengthened by the different things we contribute).

Cosmopolitan patriotism is much harder work, and much more beautiful, than its shady cousin – monocultural nationalism. It is anchored in a shared love of country, not a belief in cultural superiority. Nationalism quickly deteriorates into defensiveness. But patriotism is propelled by service and sacrifice. That’s why we speak of our veterans, servicemen and servicewomen as patriots, not as nationalists.

Springfield’s monorail exploded on its first voyage, leaving a trail of destruction. By the time the people realised they’d been fooled, it was too late. In the science of con-artistry this moment is referred to as ‘the touch’ – the point of no return after which it is too late for the victim to retreat.

We are not there yet. But as we consider the sales pitch for a monocultural Australia, we would do well to take note of the warning signs.

https://michaelwest.com.au/one-nation-and-the-myth-of-a-monoculture-that-doesnt-exist/

 

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         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….

yankee democracy....

 

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YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….

disastering...

 

John Menadue

One Nation and the trust crisis, part two: Give people a reason to believe politics can work

 

In the second of a two-part series, rebuilding trust requires more than competent economic management – Australians also need institutions that listen, include and respond.

The causes of alienation are reasonably clear. Clear and firm political leadership is necessary so that the vacuum is not filled by One Nation and our legacy media that habitually promote division and hostility.

That good policy on key issues makes for good politics is still true. Good governments get the big decisions right.

On P&I, we have been highlighting many key issues that need attention and are of ongoing concern across the political spectrum. On almost every issue the government is failing. And the Coalition is much worse. No wonder we don’t trust the major parties.

  • In the pending climate catastrophe, farmers will be more vulnerable than others. But the National Party has become an adjunct of the fossil fuel industry. Pauline Hanson relies on Gina Rinehart for advice on fossil fuels.
  • Breaking loose from our dangerous and erratic ‘ally’ that puts at risk our sovereignty. The US has taken a wrecking ball to its allies. But Australia remains mute.
  • Afraid of the Zionist lobby, the government is complicit in the Palestinian genocide. Richard Flanagan described our government as having “the spine of a liquorice stick”.
  • Medicare must be reformed on a wide front and include dental care. Instead, we get band-aids.
  • We must reassert the importance of public education with appropriate funding. Gonski is forgotten.
  • We need major tax reform, particularly tax on our foreign-owned mining sector, to fund essential services such as health and education and at the same time reduce our growing budget deficit. The government squibbed a gas tax.
  • We must support improved wages and conditions for carers, casuals, gig workers and cleaners. Many of these valuable people work in inner cities but live in outer metropolitan areas where housing may be cheaper but there are long commute times. Who is listening to them?
  • We need rigorous lobbying regulations, and greater transparency across government to expose privileged access to ministers by mates.
  • Some progress has been made in housing to reduce demand by those who see housing as a way to build wealth rather than a home to live in. But we must increase the supply of housing through state housing commissions and zoning changes to allow greater density. The skills of large numbers of migrants are not recognised.
  • Many in their late fifties or sixties, having raised families and hopefully paid off the mortgage, find it hard to find retirement places for aged parents. Aged care is in crisis.

We also need to address the concerns of those who feel particularly alienated.

The value and dignity of trades and non-university education

We undervalue the tradesperson until we urgently need a carpenter, an electrician or a plumber. Non-university study is regarded by many as inferior to university study. Funding for vocational training must be increased. Just as importantly, we must address the social stigma that the trades are for people who can’t make it to university. Education must be a seamless system in which all education and skills are valued.

Strengthening local government and community institutions

Civic life and connection have been eroded with a loss of unions, churches, sporting associations and community organisations. The federal government should provide very targeted funding to local governments to invest in community infrastructure – libraries, community centres, trade training centres, community health clinics and sporting facilities.

The Albanese government established a $560 million Major and Local Community Infrastructure Program. Unfortunately, it looks to be another instance of pork barrelling, as we saw with the Morrison government’s ‘sports rort’ affair. Community grants programs should be independently assessed and fully disclosed. See

Citizens juries

Issues such as marriage equality, abortion and voluntary assisted dying are sensitive and polarising. In Australia, widespread online citizens assemblies could be used to address such issues and others. They should not be seen as substitutes for our parliaments but as mechanisms to seek views in the community in a structured and informed way.

At Pearls and Irritations, we supported the first online citizens assembly in Australia. It was authored by Professor Joseph Camilleri, emeritus professor at La Trobe University. He is also a director of Pearls and Irritations.

Properly organised citizen juries could provide a breakthrough for the whole community and particularly for those who feel that no one is listening.

Independent and rural media

The government’s News Bargaining Code needs review. The code has primarily benefited the publishers that have the most political leverage. News Corp receives substantially more from the code than small and regional publishers. An independent body should be established to distribute funds in the public interest and not to satisfy the concentrated legacy media. That independent body should recommend funds for community, independent and rural media. More importantly, additional special funds should be identified for the ABC, whose regional presence is long established and is the most cost-effective mechanism for improving diversity and local accountability. It already has the infrastructure, the credibility, trained journalists and, importantly, community trust. Its regional and rural presence has been progressively hollowed out by budget cuts. The ABC’s regional presence must be re-established, even if Pauline Hanson bans the ABC.

Community independents

By the 2025 federal election there were community groups in more than 50 electorates. The movement is non-partisan and does not endorse candidates based on party or policy platform. Each group is locally run and locally funded. The community independents project functions as a national network body providing resources, training and community connection.

The current election funding model rewards parties and candidates based on votes received after the election, not before. Community independents, who typically have no party donor base and must fundraise from scratch against candidates with access to party war chests, face a structural financial disadvantage. Reforms specifically to assist community independents would be difficult, but spending caps that reduce the financial advantage of well-funded party candidates should be introduced.

A new electoral system

Proportional representation (PR) for the House of Representatives, or a New Zealand mix of PR and local constituencies, or even the Tasmanian system, must be considered. But all are now a bridge too far. Still, third parties and independents might keep these possible changes in their back pocket for when an opportunity arises.

Summary

Major surveys have consistently found majority support for multiculturalism, although support for the scale and composition of migration over the years is much more contested.

Governments need to manage the economy well. But that is not enough. We need to combine economic repair with genuine democratic respect to give people both material improvement and the experience of being taken seriously by a system that has for too long treated them as an audience to be managed rather than citizens to be served. Improved economic policy and recognition politics must go hand in hand.

https://johnmenadue.com/post/2026/09/478142-2/

 

 

READ FROM TOP.

PLEASE VISIT:

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

         RABID ATHEIST.

         WELCOME TO THIS INSANE WORLD….