Messaging Guide to Counter Far Right Narratives

Introduction

Please note, this messaging guide is specific to the Australian political context in 2026.

In line with global trends, Australia is seeing a rapid rise of far-right, populist actors, most notably, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (PHON) party. Earlier this year, PHON won their first lower house seat in federal Parliament and their divisive playbook has dominated mainstream narratives in the months since.

Australians are doing it tough right now, thanks to the hoarding of wealth and resources by the few. Solutions to improve the lives of communities around the country are our solutions – real wage rises, securing treaties for First Nations justice and self determination, stemming corporate greed, providing childcare and housing for all – yet this is the opposite of the current conversation.

Put simply: we can and must do more to ensure our messages cut through. This guide is designed to help us do just that.

This messaging guide is produced in collaboration with Anat Shenker-Osorio of ASO Communications, and informed by the content presented in Anat’s Responding to the Rise of One Nation: Snap Messaging Briefing delivered in early July 2026.

This is messaging advice to meet the political moment we’re in, giving you a framework to pick our own fight, build a sense of belonging grounded in shared values, and show what’s at stake when it comes to opposition policies.

Contents

• Introduction
  • The moment we’re in
• Race Class Gender Narrative
  • Shared Value
  • Villain
  • Victory
  • Vision
• What we’re up against
• What we must do
  • Say what we’re for
  • Pick our own fight
  • Build a sense of belonging (by throwing a better ‘party’)
  • Say fewer things and say them more often
  • Find common ground (the overlap of brand identity)
  • Create social proof (FOMO) and organise
  • When in combat the opposition mode: make the stakes clear
  • Make a big tent, and make sure it has a pole (aka: your shared values)
  • Supplant the dominant narrative
• Messaging principles
• Further reading
• Further training opportunities
• About us

Access Resource

Google Doc: Messaging Guide to Counter Far Right Narratives

Explore Further

• Anat Shenker-Osorio at Progress 2026: A Race Class Gender Narrative for Fighting Fascists
• Race Class Narrative Messaging Guides and Checklist
• Every Worker in Australia – a Race Class Narrative
• Australian Progress Messaging Guides
• Framing Issues for Social Justice Impact: Directory of Messaging Guides
• Narrative Change: Start Here