Jim Chalmers says budget to address economic anxieties ‘driving’ Australians to One Nation

Farrer byelection win casts shadow over 2026 federal budget as government signals it's alive to populist rightwing threat

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One Nation has cast a shadow over the federal budget and influenced decisions to reform negative gearing and taxes, with Jim Chalmers admitting many Australians are feeling economic anxieties that are driving them to consider" rightwing populist parties.

The treasurer and Anthony Albanese have conceded that many people are locked out of the housing market and that the problem is getting worse, not better, under Labor. With Pauline Hanson's party winning a historic byelection in Farrer - its first lower house seat win in its 30-year history - the government was alive to the threat of a populist wave of grievance similar to those in the United States, Britain and Europe.