Drummond Street Services has been delivering community support to individuals and families across Victoria for nearly 140 years. We directly support people from a range of minority identities, including LGBTIQA+, disability, migrant, culturally and racially marginalised and multi-faith communities. We, like many others, are alarmed by the recent resurgence in the popularity of Pauline Hanson and One Nation, and by the impact their growing influence is having on the people and communities we serve.
What One Nation Has Said About Our Communities
At her National Press Club address on 17 June 2026, Senator Hanson declared what she calls ‘the transgender ideology’ as ‘infecting society’, called for the abolition of all Indigenous-specific government funding, and said Australia ‘cannot be a multicultural society’ and must become monocultural. In February 2026, she stated publicly that there are ‘no good Muslims’. One Nation’s platform includes a hard immigration cap of 130,000 visas per year and restrictions on migration from countries it considers to hold ‘extremist ideologies’. One Nation also opposes national processes of Treaty and Truth-telling with First Nations peoples, rejecting recognition of ongoing impacts of colonisation and advancing self-determination.
These are not fringe remarks. They are the publicly stated and held positions of a party currently polling at 31.5 per cent of the primary vote, directly targeting the communities we work with every day: trans and gender diverse people, LGBTIQA+ young people, migrants and refugees, Muslim Australians, and First Nations people. With One Nation also signalling its willingness to align with the Coalition, there is a real risk that these policies and narratives could become increasingly normalised within mainstream politics.
What This Means for Our Services
Drummond Street Services relies on government grants to operate, as most community sector organisations do. A government shaped by One Nation’s agenda would put that funding at serious risk. Senator Hanson has singled out LGBTIQA+ organisations, called for the abolition of Indigenous-specific funding, and expressed open hostility towards multicultural services. Programs including Queerspace, our settlement support work, and our family services would all be vulnerable.
Beyond funding, the communities most at risk are those who are already carrying the burden of marginalisation:
- Trans and gender diverse people, whose access to affirming care and legal protections would be actively wound back.
- LGBTIQA+ young people, who depend on services like Queerspace for safe, non-judgmental support.
- Migrants, refugees, and Muslim Australians, who face an increasingly hostile political environment.
- First Nations people, whose access to culturally safe, community-led services would be eliminated under One Nation’s funding proposals.
Our Position
Drummond Street Services does not tell people how to vote, but we believe it is important to be honest about what is at stake. The views expressed by Pauline Hanson and One Nation would cause immeasurable harm to vulnerable people, strip funding from vital services, and make Australia a less safe and less equitable place. We call on everyone who shares a commitment to a fair and compassionate society to take this moment seriously. The polling numbers are real. The harm that would follow is real.
Drummond Street Services will continue to stand with our clients and communities, whatever the political environment. But we cannot pretend that Australia’s political environment does not matter; it does, and the impacts are far-reaching.
If you are feeling distressed, please reach out to someone you trust and seek support.
You can call to find out about our services at 039663 6733, or if you need urgent support, you can also contact:
- Lifeline Australia 13 11 14 (24/7 phone support)
- Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 (24/7)
- Beyond Blue Support Service 1300 22 4636 (24/7)
- 13YARN Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Crisis Support 13 92 76 (24/7)
- QLife (LGBTIQA+ support) 1800 184 527 (3 pm–12 am daily, including online chat)
- ReachOut au.reachout.com (Free Anonymous online support aged 16-25, 3-8 pm Mon-Thu, 11.30-4.30 Fri)