Like many people, I unfortunately watched Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club address last week. When I told my mum I planned to watch it, she replied in frustration: “Why are they giving her a platform?”

Hanson recited her usual talking points about Australia needing to be “monocultural”, using marginalised Australians as scapegoats for broader social problems. These issues cannot and should not be blamed on minorities; they stem from the entrenched inequalities of a capitalist, colonialist country that in particular subjugates Indigenous people, migrants and other historically disadvantaged communities.

Her rhetoric, which is increasingly accepted by many voters, is concerning. Days after Hanson’s speech, for instance, the Lowy Institute’s annual poll revealed a 17 percentage point plunge in the share of people who say cultural diversity has been good for the country, from 90% in 2024 to 73%.

With the rise of anti-immigration rhetoric, messages I once criticised as being simplistic, such as appreciating diverse cultures or being tolerant of others, feel radical in their humaneness. The kind of sentiment I was taught in primary school about how difference is what makes our community more exciting, feels so distant. I find myself longing........

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