Former deputy prime minister Kim Beazley has warned that a One Nation role in government after the next election would be a “total disaster” for Australia, arguing the party’s immigration rhetoric risks damaging the country’s standing in its region.

Speaking to the 7NEWS podcast The Issue, Beazley said One Nation’s recent lift in polling had drawn him back into the national debate. He said that if current support held through to the next federal election, Pauline Hanson’s party could be positioned for at least a share of power.

“(It) would be a total disaster for us. We would be risking becoming a pariah,” Beazley said.

Regional standing

Beazley, 77, a former Labor leader and Australian ambassador to the United States, linked his concern to how he said One Nation framed immigration debates and how that message would land with neighbouring populations.

“You see two billion people who, in the course of the immigration debate, have been routinely insulted by One Nation,” he said.

He also cautioned against Australia moving toward what he described as political extremes, saying: “We’ve had it. Any country that gets that, has had it.”

Context

One Nation has recorded stronger support in recent national polling, prompting renewed discussion about preference arrangements, Senate numbers and whether minor parties could influence government formation. Beazley’s comments do not change the arithmetic of the next election, which will still turn on seat-by-seat results and preference flows.

Beazley left federal politics after losing Labor’s leadership two decades ago. In the same interview he also discussed defence policy, including his support for the AUKUS submarine partnership with the United States and the United Kingdom.

This report is based on Beazley’s on-the-record remarks published by 7NEWS. A response from One Nation was not included in that interview.