Inside the cartoon that’s fuelling One Nation’s subterranean rise
by Myriam Robin · Australian Financial ReviewMyriam RobinSenior writer
Sep 24, 2026 – 5.00am
The rise of One Nation, according to Pauline Hanson, is in the backways and forgotten places, in the outer-suburban sprawl. The rise of One Nation, its enemies mutter, is in the palatial homes of its wealthiest supporters – and possibly extends all the way to Mar-a-Lago. The rise of One Nation, Mark Nicholson says with a suppressed laugh, is actually here in Fitzroy, amid the blue-haired hipsters and graffiti of inner-city Melbourne. Or, at least, he’s happy to take some credit.
Nicholson is a One Nation candidate in the upcoming Victorian election. He’s also half of Stepmates Studios, which produces a satirical cartoon called Please Explain. Born in the heart of trendy Fitzroy – where Japanese grocery stores vie for custom with French creperies – it forms a crucial part of One Nation’s sprawling online ecosystem. There’s the fortnightly cartoon, a feature-length movie, there are memes and even merch. In the hands of Nicholson and Please Explain director Sebastian Peart, Hanson is a sage, guiding the cartoon’s various heroes on their journey. If you doubt they’ve thought about it that much, don’t. When The Australian Financial Review Magazine visited the studio, books by Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud were displayed on the shelf.
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Myriam RobinSenior writerMyriam Robin is a senior writer based in the Melbourne newsroom. She has previously been a Rear Window columnist and editor, and before that reported on financial markets and media. Email Myriam at myriam.robin@afr.com
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