Pauline Hanson suffers crushing blow as new poll reveals One Nation frenzy may be over

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 00:52, 20 April 2026 | Updated: 01:01, 20 April 2026 One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has suffered a blow, with support for her party dropping from its record high, according to a new poll.  The Newspoll, released on Sunday night, found One Nation's primary vote slipped three points since February, dropping from 27 per cent to 24 per cent. The decline comes as the party faces scrutiny after it was forced to dump Sean Black as campaign manager, following renewed outrage over his rape conviction in 2018.  He was jailed for five years, suspended after 27 months, after a jury found him guilty of raping and violently assaulting a woman he was in a relationship with.  The latest Newspoll is the first to be conducted since the impacts of the fuel crisis hit Australia, amid concern the Middle East conflict will cause a global economic slowdown. Despite ongoing instability, Labor has managed to hold its ground. According to the poll, Labor would secure 31 per cent of the primary vote if an election were held today, unchanged from last month. The Coalition remains stuck on 21 per cent, showing no sign of recovery despite new leadership and sharper attacks on the government's economic management. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has suffered a blow, with support for her party dropping from its record high, according to a new poll While Angus Taylor has not driven major gains in the Coalition's primary vote, he is still outperforming former Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who was dumped as leader and quit parliament in February after the Coalition's primary vote hit a record low of 18 per cent and she languished in the preferred prime minister rankings.  Anthony Albanese remains the preferred prime minister over Taylor, ahead 46 per cent to 37, with 17 per cent remaining uncommitted. While 40 per cent of voters were satisfied with the Prime Minister's performance, Albanese had a dissatisfaction level of 57 per cent.  Taylor's net approval rating has dropped, with 33 per cent satisfied and 46 per cent dissatisfied with him as Opposition Leader.  The Greens' support crept up, with their primary vote rising from 12 to 13 per cent, while independents and other minor parties gained ground as well, moving up from ten to 11 per cent. The poll also tested support for revenue raising measures floated ahead of the May budget, though none received majority backing. An increase to the petroleum resource rent tax attracted the most support at 42 per cent. Reducing property investor tax concessions was backed by 35 per cent, while cutting family trust concessions drew 29 per cent support.  Angus Taylor (pictured) has improved the Coalition's support from Sussan Ley's leadership Labor continues to lead in primary vote support, recording a 31 per cent vote in the Newspoll Just over a quarter (27 per cent) said they would favour taxing inheritances above $1million. A Resolve poll, published on Sunday, also showed One Nation falling in support from 24 per cent to 22 per cent. The drop means the Coalition has overtaken One Nation as the party with the second-highest primary vote, rising from 22 to 23 per cent in the latest survey. Labor rose by three points from 29 to 32 per cent. Albanese now holds a narrow lead over Taylor as preferred prime minister, leading by 33 per cent to 32. Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said the drop in support for One Nation was no surprise. 'In times of global crisis, as we're currently in, Australians rightfully look to parties of government when they're looking at economic shocks such as we're going through, or indeed, how to respond to foreign conflicts,' she told ABC Radio on Monday. 'It's really the parties of government - the National Party, the Liberal Party and the Labor Party - that have expertise in those policy areas and... that is what may be driving that drop as Australians consider who is best to manage these types of scenarios.' Industry Minister Tim Ayres declined to say what was responsible for the decline in One Nation support when asked, but said a coordinated response to the fuel crisis was essential. 'The job of the Albanese government is to keep focused on the interests of Australia and Australians, in my case, focused on the interests of blue collar and industrial regions,' he said. 'That means investment and action in big regional economies. That's what we have to do, and I think that's what Australians expect us to do.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.