A journalist's job is not to cheer politicians. Equally, it is not generally to tear them down. Our primary job is to test them. To challenge them. To hold them accountable.

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For too long, Pauline Hanson and One Nation have escaped that scrutiny.

Commercial breakfast television has too often treated Hanson lightly, winding her up like a toy soldier and letting her go, spouting all kinds of things that are rarely challenged. She has been treated as harmless colourful entertainment rather than a politician asking Australians to trust her with power. Her claims have gone largely untested. Outrage has become content.

Her rise in the polls gave her some confidence, some swagger. After years of avoiding it, Hanson agreed to appear at the National Press Club.

For one of the first times in years, after her speech, journalists pressed Hanson on the contradictions, gaps and practical realities behind her thoughts. They did what journalists are supposed to do. They asked difficult questions, examined her words, and scrutinised them closely.

What happened next was striking. In the days that followed, two separate polls showed support for One Nation slipping and Hanson's personal approval taking a hit. Philosophers and scientists are fond of saying correlation is not proof of causation. Still, it is difficult to ignore the possibility that........

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