Pauline Hanson's One Nation

The One Nation Party is a conservative nationalist and protectionist political group in Australia. The party was formed in 1997 by Pauline Hanson, who called for the abolishment of multiculturalism and warned that Australia was "in danger of being swamped by Asians". The racism and antagonism towards multiculturalism displayed by One Nation supporters did strike a chord with many Australians; in just over a year polls showed Hanson's support grew rapidly nationwide but a dramatic decline thereafter, which aroused deep concern of many Asian countries. Through a detailed case study of the One Nation Party, this paper reviews the party's formation background and the reasons for its wax and wane, explores Asia's responses to it, and argues that multiculturalism is an irresistible trend in Australia as well as in the whole world.