Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club address gave the media a chance to test One Nation’s claims on racism, public broadcasting, nuclear power, AUKUS, defence spending and foreign policy – but too many of the hardest questions went unasked.

Having spoken for longer than her allotted time at the National Press Club on 17 June, Pauline Hanson shrewdly co opted the podium by revealing One Nation’s intention in government, to abolish SBS, and to make the ABC a different, subscriber-funded organisation. She apparently wants to to boycott The Guardian as well.

If that gave the media a story, so did the sudden appearance of a large drop-down screen behind the president, Tom Connell. It asked them why the Senator had accepted a $100,000 pay rise while opposing a much lower wage increase for 2.8 million workers, proposed by the Fair Work Commission to take effect for Australians on minimum wages from 1 July.

No sooner was the panel torn down than GetUp! – which as a non-working media member couldn’t ask its question in person – was quick to claim the credit: ‘While Pauline Hanson was addressing the National Press Club for the first time in her 30-year career, we dropped a screen behind her’.

If the members were distracted by the stunt, they wasted the opportunity to put ‘gotchas’ to Hanson. Instead they........

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