Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party has surged in the polls after she wore a burqa in Parliament, as Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberal party slips further behind Labor.
A Newspoll released by The Australian on Sunday revealed the One Nation party soared in popularity, increasing its primary vote from eight to nine per cent in the past two weeks.
The results come after Ms Hanson wore a burqa onto the floor of the Senate on Thursday ahead of a debate on full-face covering in Australia.
‘I’m quite happy to remove this, because this is not what should belong in this Parliament,’ Ms Hanson said as she stood to speak
The stunt appeared to have no impact on her popularity, despite it being condemned by fellow senators and critics across the nation.
In the Newspoll survey of 1675 respondents, conducted from Thursday to Sunday, Labor also appeared to have gained more ground on the Coalition.
Labor was ahead of the Coalition 54 to 46 per cent on a two party preferred system.
The results follow a tumultuous two weeks for the Coalition, with the postal plebiscite on same-sex marriage causing tension and in-fighting for the party.
The Queensland Senator donned the Islamic garb when she appeared at Parliamentary Question Time on Thursday afternoon
Senator Hanson will move a motion in parliament on Thursday, to be debated in the afternoon, calling on the federal government to ban the burqa
The party was also at the centre of dual-citizenship chaos – with Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce revealing he was a British citizen.
The revelation threatened his political career and put the Turnbull Government in jeopardy.
If Mr Joyce was found to be ineligible, The Turnbull Government – which holds a one-seat majority in the lower house – would be forced into a by-election.
The revelation threatened his political career and put the Turnbull Government in jeopardy
Labor was ahead of the Coalition 54 to 46 per cent on a two party preferred system
With 35 per cent of the primary vote, the Coalition fell to a low not seen since early July and early February.
With the Labor party’s primary vote soaring to 38, Mr Turnbull remained a more popular leader than Mr Shorten.
Mr Turnbull was the favourite with 43 per cent of voters, while Mr Shorten sat at 33 per cent.