Asked five times, there was one word Angus Taylor couldn’t say

June 24, 2026 — 5:00am

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Opposition Leader Angus Taylor was asked more than five times about whether he backed a multicultural vision of Australia on Tuesday.

It was not until the sixth attempt that he gave a semblance of a direct answer – saying Australians could come from any country or religion so long as they shared values.

But he didn’t use the M-word.

The word took on fresh taboo status after Pauline Hanson’s speech at the National Press Club last week, in which the ascendant One Nation leader said Australia “cannot be a multicultural society”.

“We are a multiracial society, but we must be monocultural,” was Hanson’s cry.

Hanson laid out a dichotomy that is now shaping the political conversation about cultural diversity in Australia. In doing so, she’s planted another minefield for Taylor to dance around.

The One Nation leader made similar remarks again on Tuesday, citing Japan as an example of a monoculture and questioning why Australia couldn’t be the same.

When Anthony Albanese was asked about her comments later in the morning, he got to the point. “Modern Australia is not a monoculture and it never has been,” the prime minister said.

Albanese ran through a quick history that started with the First Fleet and ended with the Socceroos, a group noted for their diverse make-up which includes players........

© The Age