IN BRIEF
- The survey found One Nation voters strongly support former Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith.
- One Nation voters identified immigration and the cost of living as "overwhelming issues".
He's not a candidate for One Nation, but party voters are rallying behind former SAS corporal Ben Roberts-Smith.
In a recent survey of more than 1,000 One Nation voters, Roberts-Smith returned a 69 per cent popularity rate — second only to party leader Pauline Hanson at 95 per cent.
Utting Research commissioned the study, which saw Roberts-Smith rank higher than Barnaby Joyce at 62 per cent favourability, US President Donald Trump at 42 per cent and Liberal leader Angus Taylor at 32 per cent.
Of those in support of Roberts-Smith, 80 per cent were aged 65 and above, and 77 per cent were ex-Liberal voters.
Utting Research managing director John Utting said there were three reasons why Roberts-Smith ranks so highly.
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"The first is that he has heroic status — he has received a Victoria Cross and has really been lauded throughout Australian society," Utting explained.
He believes Roberts-Smith is "pretty close" to being a "secular saint" to his supporters.
"Second, here’s an individual that seems to be part of a system that now is turning on him ... and he's very much a culture war proxy," Utting said.
"Media organisations are always interested in him and essentially, from these people's point of view, are attacking him and seen to have their own agendas."
Utting said Roberts-Smith's popularity may not have much to do with the man himself.
"He's a symbol for a whole lot of issues in the country ... most people only have the vaguest, if at all, understanding of his present sort of legal predicament," he said.
"A lot of people are operating off a very low information base and don't understand what’s happening to him.
"From their point of view, it's a conspiracy."
Roberts-Smith was arrested in April, charged with war crimes for the alleged murders of unarmed civilians while serving in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. He is currently on bail, awaiting trial.
After his arrest, anti-immigration organisation the National Workers Alliance organised a rally outside Victoria's Parliament House, calling for charges to be dropped.
National Workers Alliance leader Matt Trihey, a self-described nationalist, told the crowd the veteran's arrest was "an absolute injustice".
A spokesperson for Roberts-Smith and his family told AAP they weren't involved or associated with the organisers and had not "been consulted by the group in question".
One Nation's 'adoption' of Roberts-Smith
During the Farrer by-election, One Nation used a photograph of Roberts-Smith on campaign signs.
"He fought for us. One Nation stands with him," read the signage.
Dr Jordan McSwiney, senior research fellow at the University of Canberra's Centre of Deliberative Democracy, said One Nation’s "adoption" of Roberts-Smith wasn’t surprising.
He said Hanson frames Roberts-Smith as a "victim" who has been "unfairly targeted by the military establishment".
"That’s important because it has some parallels to how Hanson tries to cast herself — as a victim of the political establishment," he explained.
He said Hanson frames herself and Roberts-Smith as "two people who love their country, who have been hard done by by the powers that be".
McSwiney also said One Nation’s adoption of Roberts-Smith could be linked to its largest financial backer, Gina Rinehart — a strong public advocate of Roberts-Smith.
"I don’t think that’s unrelated."
Despite Roberts-Smith's popularity with One Nation voters, he has never publicly commented or indicated an intention to run for office.
SBS News has contacted his lawyer for comment.
Issues pushing voters to One Nation
The survey revealed that 91 per cent of One Nation voters believe the "country is on the wrong track".
"There are large sections of Australian society, particularly in regional areas, particularly in older people, who feel themselves disenfranchised from the political process," Utting said.
"[They believe] It’s got nothing to do with helping them ... it’s designed to make life harder or more difficult for them."
Almost 40 per cent said it was because of immigration, and 35 per cent said it was due to the cost of living.
Utting described these as "overwhelming issues" for One Nation voters, which are impacting their trust in government.
"From these people’s point of view, the easiest way to make progress would be to address those issues."
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