Pauline Hanson has confirmed she is considering quitting the Senate to contest a seat in the House of Representatives at the next federal election. 

Speaking on Adelaide radio station FIVEAA while in South Australia for the swearing-in of One Nation’s new state parliamentary team, Hanson said a lower house run was now firmly ‘on the cards’.

The confirmation follows comments from her chief of staff, James Ashby, who revealed on Sky News on Monday that Hanson was weighing a switch from the Senate to a lower house seat where she lives.

The move would open a pathway for Hanson to become Prime Minister, as by convention Australia’s leader must sit in the House of Representatives.

For Hanson to secure the prime ministership, One Nation would need to win a majority in the lower house, or she would need to command confidence and supply in the event of a minority government.

Hanson was first elected to parliament in 1996 as an Independent in the Queensland seat of Oxley after being disendorsed by the Liberal Party but remaining on the ballot.

Hanson said critics had long argued she was limited by her role in the upper house.

‘Yes, it is on the cards, and I have to consider that,’ she said.

Pauline Hanson (right) confirmed she was considering a move from the Senate to the House 

‘ I was surprised to hear it said last night on TV, but it has been discussed.’

Hanson would likely stand in the seat of Wright or Capricornia, where her properties are listed in her Parliamentary register of interests.

‘ A lot of people criticising me say, “Oh well, she can’t get anywhere because she’s in the upper house”,’ she said.

‘ So don’t underestimate me and what I might do or not do.’

Hanson has been buoyed by One Nation’s strong performance at the South Australian election, where the party defied early predictions and recorded a primary vote of about 23 per cent, ahead of the Liberals on 19 per cent.

‘ We have grassroots people who know what it’s like to do it tough and who genuinely want to represent others,’ she said.

‘You’re there to work for the people. You’re not there to collect your pay and not work for your constituents.’

Hanson said she was not clinging to politics indefinitely and was already thinking about succession.

Hanson (right) is in South Australia to attend the swearing in of her 7 new One Nation MPs 

‘I’m looking forward to the day that I retire,’ she said.

‘If you think they’re going to carry me out of that place in a box, it’s not going to happen. It’s about putting the right people in place to carry on the legacy I started. It’s not all about Pauline Hanson.’

Hanson said the next phase for One Nation would focus on economic stability, cost-of-living pressures, agriculture and energy policy.

‘The country’s in one hell of a mess,’ she said.

‘Government spending is out of control, agriculture is dying, and we’re not using the resources we have. That’s why we have to keep fighting.’

One Nation enters next weekend’s Farrer by-election as the clear favourite, following the resignation of former opposition leader Sussan Ley, but the party has come under renewed scrutiny over the political past of its candidate, David Farley.

Opponents have questioned Farley’s long-term commitment to One Nation, pointing to his previous involvement with other political parties.

He applied to join Labor as a branch member in 2021 and made a personal donation to Labor’s election fund as recently as 2023. Mr Farley has also previously held membership with the NSW Nationals. 

David Farley (left) is regarded as the frontrunner heading into Saturday’s Farrer by-election

Nationals leader Matt Canavan seized on that history to cast doubt on One Nation’s stability and cohesion.

‘I mean, they do call themselves One Nation,’ Senator Canavan told Sky News on Tuesday. 

‘But there’s many, many egos in that party… they just seem to struggle to stay together, to stick together,’ he said. 

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has strongly rejected suggestions that her party is plagued by internal division, insisting its past tensions were driven by sustained pressure from both major parties rather than personal ambition or poor organisation.

‘Both political parties over the period of time have done everything they can to pull me down and the party,’ she said.

Hanson said that pressure created fear among MPs, particularly over the potential loss of funding and parliamentary status.

‘That led to people panicking about their funding and their status,’ she said.

She said those experiences had shaped her leadership approach and vowed not to repeat past mistakes, warning newly elected MPs they would be held to strict expectations.