In both Liberal and Labor research on how to meet the growing electoral threat from One Nation, one piece of advice does not change.

"Do not go after Pauline Hanson personally.

Not because these parties don’t want to. They do. But after hours of focus groups, one finding is remarkably consistent: a significant group of voters see Hanson as the victim of a political pile-on.

For her supporters, any attack on her risks reinforcing that perception — particularly because Hanson has positioned herself as the outsider exposing Canberra’s cosy political club.

But the closer One Nation gets to power, the harder it is to survive on grievance alone."