ALBURY: Australia’s far-right One Nation party won its first lower house election battle by a wide margin on Saturday, snatching a seat held by traditional conservative parties since 1949.

Led by Pauline Hanson, who advocates for big immigration cuts and campaigns against “radical Islam”, One Nation secured the seat of Farrer, a large inland agricultural and mining electorate in New South Wales state.

Represented by the conservative Liberal or rural-based National parties since its creation nearly 80 years ago, the seat slipped from their hands at a time of rising prices, unaffordable housing and concern over divisive issues such as immigration.

With nearly half of the by-election votes counted, One Nation candidate David Farley had 42 percent, far ahead of the independent Michelle Milthorpe, his nearest rival, who conceded the race.

“We’re like a mason with a chisel and a hammer and we’re carving the letters into the Australian democracy,” Farley told cheering supporters.

“One Nation is at the end of its beginning — we are going through the ceiling,” he said, promising to tackle the cost of living and fight against Australia’s efforts to curb carbon emissions. It was the party’s first win at the ballot box for a seat in the powerful lower house. It already holds one seat there, but only because of a defection from the National Party.

The Liberal Party and National Party, which have governed Australia as a coalition for much of the post-war period, lagged far behind with just 12 percent and nine percent, respectively, according to the partial count. “We all copped quite a kicking,” said Liberal Party candidate Raissa Butkowski, who also conceded.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2026