1 Minute Ago: Hanson Drops $90B ‘Save Australia’ Plan — Support Surges to Record Highs

CANBERRA — In a political earthquake that has reshaped the nation’s landscape in a single hour, Pauline Hanson has unveiled a sweeping $90 billion “Save Australia” plan — and within minutes, support for her party surged to record levels.

The proposal, released just one minute ago from One Nation’s headquarters in Brisbane, is nothing short of a blueprint for national upheaval. It calls for pulling Australia out of key global bodies, scrapping virtually all climate programs, and tightening welfare eligibility to what Ms. Hanson called “common-sense levels.”

The plan claims to generate massive yearly savings — $90 billion annually by year three — which Ms. Hanson vowed to redirect toward tax cuts, coal-fired energy expansion, and major infrastructure upgrades. “No more globalist spending,” she declared. “Australia first. Always.”

But it was the final line of her announcement that has already become the most explosive nine words in Australian politics — a sharp, unsparing message now racing across the nation. “We are saving Australia from those who would sell it out.”

Within 60 minutes of the announcement, One Nation’s internal polling showed a staggering spike in voter support. According to sources within the party, backing has jumped nearly eight percentage points nationally — enough to put Ms. Hanson within striking distance of holding the balance of power in a minority government.

The political establishment reacted with a mixture of panic and disbelief. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, already fighting for survival, called the plan “dangerous populism dressed up as patriotism.” But his words carried little weight. The numbers told a different story.

The centerpiece of the “Save Australia” plan is energy. Ms. Hanson proposes an immediate halt to all renewable subsidies, the reopening of closed coal mines, and government-backed construction of two new coal-fired power plants. “Cheap, reliable, Australian energy,” she said. “Not expensive, weather-dependent fantasies.”

On climate, the plan is equally radical. Ms. Hanson would withdraw Australia from the Paris Agreement, abolish the Climate Change Authority, and scrap the nation’s net-zero emissions target. “We are a small country,” she said. “What we do changes nothing. What we spend changes everything.”

Welfare reform is the third pillar. The plan would tighten eligibility for unemployment benefits, introduce mandatory drug testing for recipients, and cap total welfare payments at 2.5 percent of GDP. “Taxpayers are not ATMs,” Ms. Hanson said. “We help those who help themselves.”

International withdrawal is the fourth pillar. Ms. Hanson proposes leaving the United Nations Human Rights Council, reducing funding to the World Health Organization, and renegotiating all trade agreements to prioritize Australian producers. “Global bodies are global traps,” she said.

The plan’s release could not have been timed more devastatingly for the Albanese government. With Labor already hemorrhaging working-class voters to One Nation, and a civil war erupting between the Prime Minister and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan, Ms. Hanson has now handed disaffected Australians a detailed alternative.

Early reaction on social media was electric. The hashtag #SaveAustralia trended number one nationally within fifteen minutes. Supporters called it “the plan we’ve been waiting for.” Critics labeled it “economic suicide wrapped in a flag.”

Economists were swift to respond. Independent modeling suggests the plan’s $90 billion savings figure is wildly optimistic, relying on assumptions that many analysts called “fantastical.” “You cannot cut your way to prosperity by abandoning the global economy,” one economist said.

But such critiques appeared to matter little to voters. In focus groups conducted immediately after the announcement, swing voters expressed exhaustion with mainstream politics and openness to “anything different.” Ms. Hanson, many said, was at least offering a plan.

The Liberal opposition found itself in an uncomfortable position. Leader Peter Dutton praised “the ambition” of the plan while distancing himself from its most radical elements. But his hedging satisfied no one — and Ms. Hanson immediately accused him of “weak imitation.”

For Ms. Hanson, the “Save Australia” plan represents the culmination of a decades-long political journey. Once dismissed as a fringe figure, she now stands at the center of Australian politics, offering a vision that millions appear ready to embrace.

As the sun sets on a day of political chaos, one question dominates: Can the establishment stop her? The answer, judging by the surging polls, may already be no. And the nine words that closed her announcement now echo across a nation on edge: “We are saving Australia from those who would sell it out.”