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One Nation: Man and boy arrested over alleged assault on party volunteer in Victoria

The incident comes amid growing calls for the temperature of political debate in Australia to be turned down.

· 357 words· updated November 2, 2026 at 10:30 PM

Two people have been arrested after a volunteer for Australia's right-wing populist party One Nation was allegedly assaulted with a baseball bat.

A man, 37, and a boy, 14, were arrested on Sunday night after an incident outside the volunteer's home in Torquay, about 100km (62 miles) south-west of Melbourne.

The man was charged with assault offences and remanded in custody while the boy was issued with a caution. The volunteer was hospitalised with non-life threatening injuries, police said. He remains in a stable condition.

One Nation's Victorian leader Warren Pickering claimed the attack happened after the pair "interfered with" election signs on the volunteer's property.

Police haven't provided any detail about a motive, but Pickering said the alleged assault was "un-Australian and unacceptable".

"Political violence or intimidation of any kind against anyone is unacceptable in this country," he said.

"If you don't like someone's politics, you vote accordingly. You don't assault them."

On Tuesday, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson visited the injured volunteer at University Hospital Geelong where he is recovering, praising his "resilience" and "belief" in her party.

"He wants to go right back out there and put the signs up," she said outside the hospital.

The party has said the man has serious injuries, and shared a photo of him with severe swelling and bruising to his face.

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll described the attack as "shocking".

"Whether you're wearing a red, a blue, an orange, or a green T-shirt, they are volunteers," he said.

"They are out there doing what they believe is right, and no one should be coming under attack."

The alleged attack comes during a state election campaign in Victoria, and amid a reckoning in the country more broadly over the tone of political debate, after the attack on Federal MP Helen Haines last month.

Police have not detailed a motive for the incident - which left Haines needing both of her legs amputated - but politicians, law enforcement, and experts have said heated public discourse is heightening the threat of political violence in the country.

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Tuesday, November 3, 2026

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