AFL star John Barnes joins Pauline Hanson’s One Nation as a candidate

Former AFL premiership player John Barnes will run as a One Nation candidate for the Victorian seat of Essendon at the 2026 state election, party leader Pauline Hanson has confirmed. The move sees One Nation field a high-profile sportsman in a marginal seat as the party ramps up its Victorian campaign, contesting a race that will be closely watched following the retirement of incumbent Danny Pearson. Barnes, 52, played 202 AFL games with Geelong and Essendon, winning a premiership with the Bombers in 2000 and appearing in the 2001 grand final, before later serving on Moonee Valley Council.

Barnes joins an already competitive Essendon field alongside Labor's Katerine Theodosis and Liberal candidate Tommy Le Deux. He has spoken publicly about health problems, including epilepsy and memory loss, which he attributes to concussions sustained during his playing career, and has campaigned on tougher law-and-order policies. His candidacy comes as One Nation unveils further upper house candidates in Victoria, with a DemosAU/PremierNational poll from 6–11 August putting the party on 22 per cent of the primary vote, ahead of the Greens and closing on Labor (23 per cent), behind the Liberal-National Coalition on 32 per cent.