When Pauline Hanson marched into the Senate last week wearing a burqa, it felt, for a moment, like we were back in the 1990s. 

Those were the sorts of stunts – and anti-immigration rhetoric – that the former fish and chip shop owner from Ipswich used to pull when she first swept into power. 

But, with a high-profile member of parliament on the verge of defecting to her party, and polling placing support for One Nation at its highest level since 1998, it appears that we are witnessing the second coming of One Nation.

Today, columnist and former associate editor of The Age, Shaun Carney, on what a rise in support for One Nation says about Australia.