Anthony Albanese has tried to downplay the rise of One Nation's popularity... the Labor president has given him a reality check

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 01:33, 23 July 2026 | Updated: 01:33, 23 July 2026 Outgoing Labor president Wayne Swan will use his final national conference address to warn that One Nation, not the Coalition, is now Labor's main electoral threat. Speaking at a dinner on Friday night as he accepts ALP life membership, Swan will argue the centre of gravity on the Australian right is shifting from the Liberal and National parties towards Pauline Hanson's One Nation. The speech comes as Labor gathers in Adelaide for its 50th National Conference, the party's key policymaking forum. Swan's warning about One Nation marks a notable shift in tone from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who earlier this year sought to downplay One Nation's electoral threat despite the party's strong polling. 'Pauline Hanson appeals to our darkest forces,' Albanese told The Guardian in February. 'Pauline Hanson has made a whole career of dividing Australians, whether it be Asian Australians, Muslim Australians, Indigenous Australians. 'This is someone who doesn't ever look for unity. She looks for people to blame who she regards as not being like her, and she seeks to amplify grievances.' More recently, Albanese suggested Hanson's surge in support would prove temporary, pointing to Labor's decisive election victory after polls had indicated a much tighter contest. Wayne Swan (pictured) will declare that One Nation is Labor's largest political rival  'If you go back, some of you reported some things in February 2025,' he said in June. 'I encourage you to go and have a look and see how that stood up to the test of time when people had to make a decision about who was in the best position to actually provide effective government.' While senior members of the Albanese government have kept up political attacks on opposition frontbencher Angus Taylor, Swan will single out Hanson, accusing powerful financial interests of deserting the Coalition for One Nation. Highlighting billionaire mining magnate Gina Rinehart's financial backing of Hanson, including the purchase of a $1.5 million Cirrus G7 aircraft, Swan will argue the money and influence that once backed the Coalition are now fuelling a different political vehicle. 'Because the money has not gone anywhere,' he will say. 'It has only changed horses. Look at where it went this year. The richest person in this country gave One Nation a $2million aeroplane. 'Her right-hand man walked out of the Nationals to endorse them. The wealth that used to sit behind the Liberal Party has found itself a new home, and it did not have to travel far. He will say that the so called 'culture war' is being driven by interests like Rinehart.   Swan will compare Hanson (pictured) to former Queensland Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen 'That is what the culture war is for. It is camouflage,' Swan will say. 'Strip it away and you find the oldest agenda in this country. A few people with a great deal, who would like rather more, and who have found somebody to grab it for them.' Swan will also draw a direct connection between Hanson and former Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. He will argue that Bjelke-Petersen's failed attempt to enter federal politics, which split the Coalition in 1987, was a precursor to Hanson's rise and a warning not to underestimate populist conservative movements. 'It runs through the late 80s with Joh, the original Pauline Hanson. We stopped his caravan rolling to Canberra when it looked like it had unstoppable momentum,' he will say. Casting One Nation as Labor's latest conservative challenger, Swan will invoke Labor's battles against former Liberal prime ministers Malcolm Fraser, John Howard and Tony Abbott. 'Together with our mighty trade union movement we fought Fraser. 'We fought Howard. We fought Abbott. And now we watch the conservative mantle pass to One Nation, and a new battle awaits us,' Swan will say. The comments are a shift from Anthony Albanese (pictured) who downplayed Hanson's rise Swan's speech comes as he prepares to hand over the party presidency to former federal minister and Adelaide MP Kate Ellis, who left Parliament in 2019. At the same event, former Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney will receive ALP life membership and use her address to defend the Voice referendum campaign. Burney is expected to tell delegates she remains proud of the effort despite the referendum's defeat and believes constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians should remain a long-term national objective. Her remarks will form part of Labor's 50th National Conference, which begins at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Thursday and runs through to Saturday. The conference will bring together delegates from across the country to shape party policy, map out strategy and set priorities for the Albanese government's second term.