Angus Taylor wants to fight Labor. But his nemesis is Pauline Hanson, and she’s winning

June 19, 2026 — 3:00am

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In ordinary times, Pauline Hanson’s first address to the National Press Club would have been viewed as a 90-minute political suicide note. Her calls for an end to multiculturalism and for Australia to be a monoculture were nothing short of extraordinary, and they were among several impossible-to-deliver ambitions, alongside a number of flat-out lies.

She claimed global warming was a hoax; decades of scientific research prove otherwise. She claimed ASIO had 18,000 people on a watch list; ASIO has no such watch list. She claimed she was not a racist, but the comments she has made over 30 years in public life demonstrate otherwise.

She described Britain, Canada, Germany and France as “absolute s-holes”; whether you like those countries or not, they are four of the richest nations in the world and among Australia’s closest allies.

And it continued, with Hanson questioning why childcare workers had just received a pay rise and promising to shut down SBS and radically cut the ABC’s funding and reach. The woman who presents herself as the battler’s friend spoke of lazy workers and said it should be easier for businesses to sack people.

While Hanson styles herself as a conservative, these are deeply radical comments. And such is the frustration in the Australian community with the status quo, rather than being a suicide note, her speech probably won her new fans.

It wasn’t all upside for Hanson. Though she might seem unstoppable now, over the next two years, both sides of politics will be using some of her spicier comments against her in an attempt to bring her down to earth. The union movement is not going to let her forget her crack at “lazy” workers.

Opposition Leader........

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