Article by Dechlan Brennan, courtesy of National Indigenous Times
18.12.2025
The first Indigenous head of government in Australia has urged people to support One Nation, saying backing the party is necessary to “save our country”.
Former Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles, who led the Country Liberal Party (CLP) from 2013 to 2016, used social media to encourage donations to the right-wing party.
He argued the Pauline Hanson-led party was the only political force offering leadership on net zero and immigration, claiming the pursuit of net zero was sending Australia on a “downwards trajectory — economically, socially and culturally”.
Now the chief executive of Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Agriculture and S. Kidman and Co cattle and clothing businesses, Mr Giles blamed “left woke propaganda” for what he described as the erosion of Australia’s national identity.
“Australians have been suffering and will increasingly do, under the left-leaning policies of net zero,” he said.
“We have been living under the immigration Ponzi scheme, trying to hold our economy together without fixing the problems: excess government tape, regulation and taxes and big wasteful government.”
Mr Giles said the undermining of values and culture meant the country “isn’t the Australia I grew up in”.
“This isn’t the Australia I knew. This isn’t the Australia I want my kids to grow up in,” he said.
Arguing Ms Hanson — who last year was found, to a civil standard, to have breached section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act — and her party were the only ones demonstrating the “necessary leadership to help save our country”, Mr Giles added: “Something has to change and only strong leadership with good patriotic values and commonsense can drive this.”
In comments widely shared by One Nation on social media, Mr Giles called on friends and supporters to donate, saying the party was “trying to get Australia back on track”.
His statement comes as One Nation has surged in recent polling amid growing concern among some voters about immigration. The party secured four Senate seats at this year’s federal election, with recent polling placing the party within close reach of the Coalition.
Mr Giles’ remarks closely reflect those of fellow Northern Territory politician Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who has been outspoken in her opposition to “mass migration” and net-zero policies.
Despite defecting to the Liberal party room only after this year’s election, speculation continues that Senator Price — who has strong backing from conservatives, including former prime minister Tony Abbott — may move to One Nation.
Reporting in The Saturday Paper linked to a possible run for the lower house seat of New England, which is to be vacated by Barnaby Joyce next election after he recently converted to Ms Hanson’s party.
In an email to supporters in October, Senator Price said the Opposition’s path to government was to “relentlessly prosecute policies that appeal to, and benefit Australian families, communities and the nation,” identifying culture as a central concern.
Last week, she doubled down on this, telling supporters: “The basic question is: what is the number of incoming temporary and permanent residents that will benefit Australia while not crowding out current Aussies from enjoying our prosperity and way of life? And, yes, part of that question is about culture too.”
