Pauline Hanson, leader of One Nation, unveiled a policy on Tuesday to cut the tobacco excise by 75% in response to a surge in illegal cigarette sales, a move that closely mirrored ideas the Liberals and Nationals had been quietly weighing for months. The announcement landed the same week Hanson escalated a separate fight with Labor over access to superannuation, after Treasurer Jim Chalmers accused One Nation of wanting to dismantle the compulsory retirement savings scheme.
Hanson rejected the claim outright, describing Chalmers' characterisation in blunt terms.
“full of shit”
She argued Australians should be permitted to draw on their own savings during periods of financial hardship, warning of the alternative.
“Labor would rather you end up homeless.”
What sparked the superannuation dispute?
The row traces back to a speech last week from Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg, a long-standing opponent of compulsory saving requirements, who described the system in stark terms.
“one of the biggest public policy failures since federation”
Asked for her position on Sunday, Hanson told News24 that people struggling with living costs should be able to access their super early. She claimed a significant number of Australians were already withdrawing funds and spending them, only to fall back on the aged pension in retirement — the very outcome the compulsory system is designed to avoid.
What changes is Hanson proposing?
Hanson labelled the current system deficient and called for expanded hardship provisions, while also proposing that first-home buyers be permitted to use their super balances toward a deposit.
“It is their money,”
she said, a line calibrated to resonate with voters frustrated by cost-of-living pressures. Separately, according to a live political coverage, One Nation's early-access push has since expanded to include using super for mortgage repayments, medical bills and other debts, in addition to home deposits. Polling ahead of the last election, conducted by Essential, found 57% support for allowing first-home buyers to tap super for housing.
How has the Coalition positioned itself?
Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume said a Coalition government would revisit whether Australians should gain earlier access to their retirement savings, though she stressed the current system was highly valued and that savings remained essential for retirement. According to further reporting, Hume acknowledged the early-access question had not yet been put to shadow cabinet, and that a prior Coalition proposal had floated letting first-home buyers use up to $50,000 or 40% of their super balance toward a purchase. Opposition leader Angus Taylor has continued to defend the existing rules while pushing for greater investment flexibility within the system. Nationals figure Barnaby Joyce, meanwhile, argued the existing hardship provisions do not go far enough, according to a separate report, showing the debate has widened beyond Hanson alone. This is not the first time Hume has spoken to a public appetite for change; in March 2026 she acknowledged voters' desire for change following the South Australian election.
How is Labor framing the fight?
Labor has spent days arguing that Hanson and the Coalition would, in a minority government arrangement, work together to unwind the $4.5tn superannuation system. Chalmers told colleagues in a fundraising pitch that retirement savings
“are not safe”under a conservative government, while maintaining that the existing hardship-access provisions were already adequate. Commentator Paul Kelly wrote in The Australian that Labor regards Paul Keating's superannuation architecture as part of a reform legacy — alongside Medicare — to be defended at all costs. According to earlier coverage, Chalmers directly accused One Nation of seeking to “destroy the compulsory superannuation system, just like the Liberals and the Nationals,” prompting Labor to vow it would defend the system.
What compliance issue has emerged for One Nation?
Separately from the policy fight, One Nation filed three years of overdue financial returns just ahead of a compliance deadline set by the Office of Fair Trading, according to live political coverage. The party had been warned the previous month that it faced possible action if it failed to comply. The episode comes as One Nation continues to build its organisational profile ahead of state contests, having recently unveiled eight candidates in Victoria for the November poll, including a former Liberal candidate and a councillor who has said he previously worked on Daniel Andrews' security detail.
What happens next?
The Office of Fair Trading's compliance deadline for One Nation's overdue returns fell on 18 August 2026, and the party submitted its paperwork just before that date. Separately, a scheduled increase to the tobacco excise is due to take effect in September 2026, according to a international news report, which will sharpen the political stakes around Hanson's proposed 75% cut. The government has also reiterated it has no plans to lift the compulsory super guarantee rate from 12% to 15%, according to live coverage of the ongoing parliamentary debate.
Why does this matter politically?
Despite consistently polling ahead of the Coalition on some measures, Hanson has largely been able to offer broad positions rather than fully costed policy, in a manner some commentators compare to Donald Trump's approach — voters do not necessarily expect modelling or expert-backed detail, only forceful lines that speak to grievance. For Labor, elevating the super fight into a fundraising message suggests the party sees real political value in positioning itself as the system's defender. For the Coalition, the risk is that Hanson's interventions on both tobacco and super continue to crowd out Angus Taylor's own attempts to define an opposition agenda.
Key Facts
- Hanson announced a 75% cut to the tobacco excise on Tuesday, aimed at curbing illegal cigarette sales; the current excise is just over $38 per pack of 25, or roughly $1.53 per cigarette.
- Andrew Bragg's speech last week reignited debate over compulsory superannuation, which he called one of the biggest public policy failures since federation.
- One Nation filed three years of overdue financial returns just before an 18 August 2026 Office of Fair Trading deadline.
- Labor says superannuation savings are not safe under a Coalition-One Nation arrangement; the government has ruled out raising the super guarantee from 12% to 15%.
- A further increase to the tobacco excise is scheduled for September 2026.
