Divisive, Deplorable: How Politicians Responded to One Nation’s Press Club Address

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson’s combative address at the National Press Club saw her shed light on her party’s policy offering, and take a hard line against legacy media outlets.

In terms of policy, Hanson addressed or reiterated issues like ending mass migration, multiculturalism, Islamic extremism, restricting abortion, supporting nuclear energy, and scrutinising China’s influence in the region.

The event was well attended and sent another seismic shift through the halls of Canberra with a wide range of responses.

Since late last year, Hanson’s party has surged in popularity across multiple polls culminating in a strong showing at the South Australian state election and the federal Farrer by-election.

Prime Minister Defends Broadcasters

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refuted Hanson’s policy to axe the multicultural Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and heavily shrink the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Hanson has pledged to turn the taxpayer-funded ABC into a subscription service in the major cities, and keep it freely available only in regional areas.

“From its chairman down, the ABC has proven itself to be completely in denial about its profoundly transparent political bias and the activists in its ranks,” Hanson said, saying this was partly why she refuses interviews with the ABC.

During the event, Hanson also told a Guardian journalist she would no longer be speaking to the outlet.

In response, Albanese said the SBS played an important role.

“And I think that the idea that you just exclude media and abolish SBS is what they’re talking about … I would hope that all media organisations come out and oppose that,” the prime minister said.

“Because they’re vital roles in our democracy,” Albanese said.

“I’m not someone who goes to a media conference and says, ‘I won’t answer questions from some groups’ … What I’m concerned about is what do we need to do, as government, to set Australia up for the future,” he said.

Labor Minister Says GetUp’s Message ‘Appropriate’

During the event, a projector screen was lowered behind her that featured her image and the words: “I opposed a pay rise for workers, while I took a $100,000 pay rise for myself.”

Left-wing activist group GetUp later claimed responsibility for the stunt, which is now being investigated by the Australian Federal Police.

Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt said he did not condone the incident, he likened it to people turning up at his own addresses with protest T-shirts.

“I do think the message on the sign was entirely appropriate to run—the fact that Pauline Hanson and One Nation have always voted against laws to lift wages while she’s been happy to take a $100,000 pay rise herself as a party leader, but I do think there are more appropriate ways to get that message out there than what happened yesterday,” he told ABC Radio National.

Watt claimed Hanson only wanted a fair go for “some of us” and could not bring the country together.

“It’s all very well to get out there and make a speech about all the people you hate, that’s not going to move the country forward,” he said.

In a show of defiance, Hanson changed her Facebook display image to the GetUp image of her on the banner

“I quite liked the glasses GetUp gave me in their new poster,” she said.

Taylor Says Migration Too High, But Won’t ‘Judge People’

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said if Hanson’s party wanted to “judge people” based on skin colour or race, they would need to explain it, though he did not reference which part of Hanson’s speech he was referring to.

The One Nation leader had stated near the beginning of her speech that Australia could not be a multicultural society, and that it should be a monocultural one.

In response, Taylor said, “Now, migration in this country has been too high, the standards have been too low, and that must change.”

“But what we favour is a values-based immigration policy where people who come to this country adopt our core values. And that is regardless of race or religion or where they come from—we expect them to adopt those core values.

Liberal Senator Paul Scarr said Australians should be on guard against “simplistic solutions.”

“The issues relating to immigration impact different cohorts of migrants. You have family reunion. You have our New Zealand brothers and sisters who have rights to come across the Tasman to Australia,” he says.

“You have skilled migration, our humanitarian intake. You’ve got different concerns in regional areas compared to urban areas. So it is a complicated issue and I think we need to be on guard against those who are calling for simplistic solutions, the siren call of simplistic solutions, which in my view, won’t be in our national interest.”

Human Rights Commission Calls Speech Polarising

During her address, Hanson said one of her priorities, if she wins government, is to sack president of the Human Rights Commission Hugh de Kretser.

de Kretser responded saying Hanson was entitled to her views, but doubled down on his support of Australia’s transgender community, which he said made up about 1 percent of the population.

“That was a speech that really punched down on a lot of Australians,” he said.

de Kretser also accused Hanson of taking aim at migrants, Muslims, and abortion.

“It was a worrying speech in terms of the division and polarisation that those kinds of attacks and demonisation fosters in Australia at a time when we really need to be strengthening our social fabric and promoting the equality and dignity for all people in our country,” he said.

Security Concerns Raised by Senator

United Australia Party Senator Ralph Babet doubled down on his concerns over the presence of the GetUp banner.

“The fact that someone was able to access the venue and install a banner behind the stage raises serious questions about security,” he said in a statement provided to The Epoch Times.

“While this incident involved a protest banner, it exposed a clear security failure. If unauthorised individuals can gain access to restricted areas, we need to ask what else could have been placed there.

“Political disagreement is part of democracy, but security breaches are not. I hope there is a thorough investigation and stronger measures put in place to protect conservative Australia first politicians.”

The Greens Call it ‘Deplorable’

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young was heavily critical of Hanson’s speech.

“She gave a deplorable speech that attacked half the country,” she said on social media.

“Every time she highlighted a problem, she had no answer.

“She wants to blame immigrants, Indigenous people, people living on the NDIS, young people, workers. But she’s got no ideas of how to fix the system apart from delivering for the billionaires.”