Pauline Hanson has used an interview with the far-right British activist Tommy Robinson to lament the end of the White Australia policy, make evidence-free claims about Muslim communities and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and promote her daughter as the future of the One Nation party.
Interview with Far-Right Activist
The One Nation leader, who is visiting the UK for conference appearances and a holiday with billionaire benefactor Gina Rinehart, appeared on an episode of Robinson’s podcast on Friday. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has multiple criminal convictions and has been disowned by mainstream figures including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
During the hour-long interview, Hanson blamed the Whitlam government for changing Australia’s immigration mix in the 1970s by removing the final vestiges of the racist White Australia policy. However, the Holt government had begun dismantling the policy as early as the 1960s.
Unsubstantiated Claims About NDIS
Hanson repeated unsubstantiated claims that Muslim communities are rorting the NDIS. “A lot of them are ripping the system off who are a lot from the Muslim areas and they’re getting on the scheme,” she said. She added, “But there’s a lot of Aussies too, other Aussies, so I’m not just going to pick them out, but it is quite known that in the Muslim streets you’ve got quite a lot in that street who are on the NDIS scheme.”
Health Minister Mark Butler rejected Hanson’s claims on Friday morning. “I’m not sure where Ms Hanson is getting her figures from but they’ve never been provided to me as the minister for disability and the minister for the NDIS,” he told ABC radio. “I’m loath to respond to a podcast between Ms Hanson and this convicted criminal, who frankly has been disowned by so many leading figures on the right.”
Comments on Immigration
On the podcast, Robinson singled out migrant groups and asked Hanson about “the changing face of Australia due to Islamic immigration … how have you ended up with Pakistanis, Somalis, all of these African problems … how has that happened?”
Hanson replied: “They opened up and got rid of the White Australian policy then they started bringing in the different migrants. We had a lot of people come out after the second world war. Italians, Germans, Polish, and these people, but they integrated into the system. A lot of them couldn’t speak English but they learned to speak English. They had to work. These people who came in and really assimilated.”
Daughter as Future Leader
Hanson also talked up her daughter, Lee Hanson, as the future of One Nation. Guardian Australia revealed in February that One Nation employs Lee Hanson as a senior adviser to a New South Wales senator in a taxpayer-funded role worth up to $180,000 a year. She is also the party’s national executive manager and nearly won a Senate seat at the 2025 election.
Hanson told Robinson her daughter was “a cluey kid” and “the future” with a “softer approach.” When asked if she could replace her mother as leader, Hanson said the position must be earned: “She’s got the potential but I don’t believe in nepotism. And she has to prove herself. Not only to me but also to the other members and to the public.”
Reactions and Context
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young called Hanson’s interview “appalling” and “un-Australian.” “To go overseas to hang out with a criminal thug … to be laughing on his show about multiculturalism back here in Australia, which are our communities, Australian citizens, and the people who make this country great, Pauline Hanson is the most un-Australian politician in the parliament, and she should come home, face the music, and apologise.”
Hanson’s UK visit includes a weekend address to the Conservative Political Action Conference in London, alongside Farage and former British Prime Minister Liz Truss. Hanson’s chief adviser, James Ashby, claimed the meeting with Robinson was organised by Channel Seven for its Spotlight program, set to air this Sunday. A Seven spokesperson confirmed it paid for some production costs but did not confirm organising the meeting.
