Anthony Albanese has been mocked after attacking One Nation following the party’s historic win in Western Australia’s Secret Harbour by-election.

Addressing the Queensland Labor conference on Sunday, the Prime Minister warned that ‘hard right populists are on the march’ and singled out Pauline Hanson’s party as a growing political threat, declaring that Labor had a responsibility to defeat them.

‘Parties like One Nation have no serious answers to our problems,’ Albanese said.

‘They’ll say anything and do anything to win votes. Bend any facts. Peddle misinformation and disinformation. Turn Australian against Australian.’

The speech came a day after One Nation secured its first lower house seat in Western Australia, with candidate Luke Herdegen defeating Labor’s Georgia Tree in Secret Harbour.

The result is a major upset, with One Nation taking a seat long considered safe Labor territory, after an 18 per cent swing to the party and a two-candidate-preferred result of roughly 57 per cent to Labor’s 43 per cent.

Labor’s primary vote crashed by 22 per cent to just 24 per cent, while One Nation recorded a primary of 39 per cent – having managed only nine per cent at the 2025 WA state election in the seat.

‘Across the world hard right populists are on the march,’ he said.

Anthony Albanese (pictured) said that One Nation would ‘bend the facts’ in order to win 

‘We simply must defeat them. We owe it to history. And we will defeat them.’

‘We unequivocally support multiculturalism because we know it’s part of Australia’s strength,’ he said.

‘And because we believe every Australian is equal, whether they are Australian by birth or Australian by choice.’

The Prime Minister also took aim at some of the offhand comments made by Pauline Hanson.

‘They think Australians are lazy and overpaid,’ he said.

‘That people working from home are bludging. That domestic violence is sometimes a woman’s fault. That we should somehow become a monoculture.’

Albanese argued that any alliance between the Liberal National Party and One Nation would be unworkable.

‘The only mainstream political force in Australia that seeks to govern in the interests of the Australian people in their own right is the Australian Labor Party,’ he said.

Albanese said that he and Labor ‘[owed] it to history’ to defeat Pauline Hanson (pictured)  

‘Because they can’t govern without the LNP, and the LNP can’t govern without them.’

However, the Prime Minister’s comments triggered criticism online, with some Australians arguing he failed to understand why voters were increasingly turning to One Nation.

One social media user referenced his justification for backflipping on Labor’s May budget pledge not to change negative gearing or capital gains tax.

Albanese and other senior Labor figures such as Treasurer Jim Chalmers said they had ‘changed their position,’ when asked why they went against their election pledges.

‘Has he changed his position on seeing One Nation as a threat?’ one commenter said.

‘The rise of One Nation is because of Labor,’ another added.

A third accused Albanese of attacking voters rather than political opponents.

‘Political parties only exist because of voters. This sounds like an attack on ordinary Aussies exercising their democratic vote,’ the commenter wrote.

 Anthony Albanese (right) was said Labor was ‘the only mainstream party’ in Australian politics

Others dismissed Labor’s promises on cost-of-living relief.

‘Here comes all the promises again, my word is my bond,’ another user posted.

The Secret Harbour result has emerged as one of the most significant political setbacks for Labor since its federal election victory last year.

While Albanese spent much of his speech touting Labor’s record on Medicare, wages, housing and education, his strongest message was reserved for One Nation.