Refugee groups have called out Pauline Hanson over inflammatory comments against multiculturalism, including her claim that Australia should be ‘monocultural’. In her first address after 20 years in politics, the One Nation leader claimed transgender ideology “has penetrated almost every regulatory authority.” Hanson also claimed without evidence that schoolchildren were having dangerous ideology “imposed” on them, and likened trans awareness to militant Islam.
Equality Australia Condemns Hanson's Rhetoric
Equality Australia’s legal director, Heather Corkhill, said the language used could make trans people greater targets for hate and violence. “Hanson’s comments are simply shameful, and are a stark example of the extreme rhetoric being directed at trans Australians,” she said. “At a time when we are seeing an alarming rise in often violent, targeted attacks against LGBTIQ+ people, Hanson has taken her opportunity to accelerate this hatred for political gain. This is a bald attempt to turn a small and vulnerable minority into a political scapegoat.”
The group said polling for Equality Australia by Redbridge Group in March 2025 found 81% of Australians agreed or strongly agreed that trans people deserve the same rights and protections as other Australians.
Greens and Labor Respond
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called the speech “deplorable” and accused Hanson of attacking half the country with her comments against Australians born overseas or whose parent was born overseas. “Pauline Hanson said herself today she has not changed, and boy didn’t we see that same old hate, that same old fear and same old racism,” Hanson-Young said. “Pauline Hanson is deplorable, she’s nasty, she’s got no new ideas, and she’s just trumpeting the same old rubbish we’re seeing from the United States and the hard right in the UK.”
Labor frontbencher Matt Thistlethwaite said Hanson had today “revealed her true colours” over her call to make it easier for bosses to sack workers, and previous opposition to wage rises. During the address, Hanson said small businesses could not afford wage rises. “This is One Nation’s true colours coming through, they do not support workers and we see that that today in the comments she made,” Thistlethwaite told the ABC.
Refugee Groups and Ethnic Councils React
Deputy chief executive of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Jana Favero, said she was “shocked and disgusted” hearing the address, warning the language was contributing to an increase in racism in Australia. “She attacked multicultural Australia, she demonised people from different backgrounds,” Favero said. “We’re already seeing the consequences of the language that’s been coming from Pauline Hanson and One Nation and other political leaders – we’ve seen an increase in racism reported by our staff, our multicultural staff and our volunteers.”
The Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia chair, Peter Doukas, said the idea of a monocultural country was a “complete fabrication”. “There were Australians of many cultures sent to Gallipoli and Kokoda, there were First Nations soldiers throughout all our wars, so the basic principle of us ‘returning’ to a single culture is a complete fabrication.”
Political Reactions Across the Spectrum
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, offered a short rebuke of Hanson’s comments against multiculturalism, telling reporters at a press conference, “what she offers is division and anger, but no answers”. Coalition senator James McGrath called the speech a “a series of grumbles and complaints” and took aim at Hanson’s threat to shut down SBS and gut the ABC. “You can’t go around and just ban media organisations, regardless of your view of them,” he told Sky News. “The fourth estate has a very important role to make sure that all politicians, regardless of our political positions, are held to account.”
