Since 2016, Pauline Hanson's One Nation has positioned itself as the party of 'Aussie Battlers' and workers. While One Nation's exclusionary populist messaging is well-documented, this paper examines how its key politicians, primarily Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts, performatively construct a 'working-class' identity to appeal to voters. Drawing on the performative approach to populism we analyse parliamentary discourse, media appearances, and staged performances to reveal the symbolic and performative elements used by One Nation to evoke connections with working-class voters. This study contributes to global debates on traditional working-class voters' shift from centre-left parties to the populist radical right. We find that these performances are thin and contradictory, being used as an electoral tool rather than advancing a substantive pro-worker agenda. With Labor maintaining only a ‘thin labourist’ agenda, we argue that One Nation's appeals have the potential to influence the competitive dynamics of an increasingly fractured Australian party system.
