As the political landscape shifts ahead of the next federal election, both major Australian parties are intensifying efforts to counter the rising influence of One Nation. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor is focusing his campaign activities primarily within his home region of New South Wales, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has traveled extensively across all states and territories since the release of Labor’s May 12 budget.

Analysis shows that Taylor has concentrated a majority of his seat visits around his electorate of Hume and nearby districts that remain accessible by car. His approach includes organizing press conferences in Canberra suburbs during parliamentary sessions, aiming to engage with constituents outside the formal parliamentary environment and counter perceptions of a political “uniparty.” On Friday, Taylor held a town hall with business owners in Dickson, Queensland, a seat formerly held by Peter Dutton, underlining pressure from within the Coalition to directly challenge Pauline Hanson’s influence in stronghold areas for the Liberals and Nationals.

In total, Taylor has conducted approximately 22 seat visits across multiple states, including New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland, and South Australia. Albanese has made 28 such visits, covering all jurisdictions and focusing largely on traditional Labor and marginal seats in Victoria and New South Wales, as well as other battleground electorates like Gilmore, Dunkley, Bendigo, Corangamite, Melbourne, and Lingiari.

One Nation’s growing support, recently quantified at a record 31 percent in the June Newspoll—surpassing both Labor’s 30 percent and the Coalition’s 18 percent—has prompted calls within the Liberal Party to revisit campaign strategies in response to Senator Hanson’s strong polling. Meanwhile, the Albanese government is preparing to counter this rise by boosting engagement in multicultural communities, particularly in urban areas with diverse migrant populations such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth. Government ministers and MPs have increased participation in citizenship ceremonies, multicultural events, and community visits as part of this intensified outreach. The Prime Minister recently appeared alongside Holt MP Cassandra Fernando at a childcare centre in Hampton Park, an electorate noted for its significant Indian, Afghan, Sri Lankan, and Filipino populations.

At a Small Business Forum in Eatons Hill, Queensland, Taylor emphasized his private sector experience as a foundation for his political approach, contrasting his trajectory with those of Albanese and Hanson, who both entered politics in 1996. He stressed the importance of economic opportunity and enterprise as drivers of prosperity, asserting that such principles had been largely overlooked in Canberra.

Despite these efforts, Taylor faces challenges locally. The 59-year-old Liberal MP experienced a swing against him in the 2022 election in Hume when minor party and independent candidates captured nearly 37 percent of first-preference votes. One Nation’s share within Hume increased slightly at the May 2023 election following electoral boundary changes. Neighboring seats such as Lindsay, represented by fellow Liberal Melissa McIntosh, may also be vulnerable to a One Nation resurgence, particularly in outer suburban and regional areas of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers, speaking in the Labor-held seat of Robertson, criticized both One Nation and the Coalition for dismissing housing market concerns, accusing One Nation of exploiting public anxieties without offering substantive solutions. “I think we have lost some political paint but it’s worth it because we’re doing the right thing here,” he said, reaffirming the government’s commitment to its policy agenda despite political risks.