Peter Hartcher on Australian nihilism, fear and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation
6/24/202622 min
More Australians feel unsafe in the world than ever before, according to new research from the Lowy Institute.
And it is this environment of fear – fear of a bad economy, of terrorism, of immigration – that makes for an environment ripe for a political party like One Nation to prosper.
Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on how Australia is experiencing a moment he has never witnessed before, and where the solutions lie.
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First 90 secondsSamantha Selinger-Morris· Host0:00
[gentle music] More Australians feel unsafe in the world than ever before, according to new research from the Lowy Institute. And it is this environment of fear, fear of a bad economy, of terrorism, of immigration, that makes for an environment ripe for a political party like One Nation to prosper. I'm Samantha Selinger-Morris, and you're listening to The Morning Edition. Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on how Australia is experiencing a moment he has never witnessed before, and where the solutions lie. Peter, welcome back to the podcast.
Peter Hartcher· Guest0:47
Always a pleasure, Samantha.
Samantha Selinger-Morris· Host0:49
Okay, you've just written that Australians are frightened. So what are we frightened of, and just how frightened are we?
Peter Hartcher· Guest0:56
Yes, this is a remarkable moment. The Lowy Institute released its annual poll where it asks Australians how they feel about the world. And for the first time in the 21-year series of this poll, it finds them, that a majority of 53%, a record of Australians, say that they feel unsafe in the world. Remarkably, that's three percentage points higher than it was at the beginning of the COVID pandemic when there was no, uh, antidote, there was no prospect of a vaccine. Everybody