Pauline Hanson blows up during interview on Today: “Stupid fool”
During an interview on Channel 9’s Today show this morning, Pauline Hanson lashed out at the government and her fellow crossbenchers.
Yesterday, the One Nation leader’s “It’s OK to be white” Senate motion was narrowly defeated 31-28, with the government supporting it.
After receiving strong backlash for the controversial motion which denounced “anti-white racism” and “attacks on Western civilisation”, Hanson defended her use of the divisive phrase.
Following the strong criticism, the Coalition said an “administrative process failure” had led it to vote the wrong way by mistake.
However, the explanation came too late with critics accusing the government of endorsing “the words used by white supremacists and neo-Nazis”.
While speaking to Karl Stefanovic, Hanson responded to the outrage her motion received.
“Nice to see your smiling face this morning. Plenty of journalists were drawing parallels between your words and white supremacist and neo-Nazi movements in the US. Just setting the record straight this morning, are you a white supremacist?” Stefanovic asked.
“Definitely not. I think it’s so funny. It’s absolutely ridiculous to connect me with that, and that’s what they want to do, all this PC brigade out there, they want to connect me with that. What a load of hogwash. Rubbish,” Hanson said.
Stefanovic asked: “What do you think of those who voted for your motion and then, shockingly, took it back?”
“They’re absolute fools. They really are. The way the Liberal Party and National Party have acted over this is ridiculous. They should have let it go. They should not have said anything about it, and there wouldn’t have been a problem with it,” she responded.
But Hanson saved her strongest criticism for the Senate’s crossbenchers.
“They were spooked by the Labor Party and the PCs and the Greens. You should have seen (Greens leader Richard) Di Natale, he was frothing at the mouth. The spittle was coming out. There was so much hatred."
“And the stupid fool Derryn Hinch, when he got up and said — he only gets up and says anything or wants to be anywhere beside me just for the headlines, just to get publicity. It’s absolutely ridiculous what has gone on in this parliament.”
"I think it's so funny." @PaulineHansonOZ on being compared to white supremacists. #9Today pic.twitter.com/6WOVi6uh64
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) October 16, 2018
Rather than targeting Hanson, Stefanovic directed his attention to the government, calling its response to the backlash “woeful”.
“Let’s not sugar coat this. The only thing worse than the vote was the excuse, it was seriously pathetic,” he said.
“It was pathetic. Absolutely pathetic,” Ms Hanson agreed.
She continued, “Let’s take it word for word. What I said is that the deplorable rise of racism towards the whites, white society, plus also protecting Western civilisation, and it’s OK to be white. If I’d got up and said, on the floor of parliament, it’s OK to be black, there wouldn’t have been one word about it.
“As I’ve said all along, I believe everyone should be treated equally, and I will go back to 22, 23 years ago I was saying that.
“People out there are pushing this feeling pity, sorry for what the whites have done to people in this nation. I think it’s disgusting. And I think that we’re all Australians together. And I’m fed up with it and so is the majority of Australians.”
Stefanovic responded, “I guess the problem is that you saying that and you debating it is more divisive than inclusive.”
Ms Hanson replied, “If we don’t say anything then they are suppressing us and our views and our thoughts. It’s like climate change. If you say anything about climate change or are anti their agenda, you are held down and criticised."
She added, “Political correctness in this country is ridiculous. People have a right to have an opinion and have a say. That’s what our society, our democracy and our Western civilisation gives us. If we don’t speak up against this they will actually suppress us. I won’t let it happen.”
Stefanovic said the government spent a lot of time focusing on social issues rather than the economy.
“They’re terrified, they’re trying to keep up with the Greens and Labor,” Ms Hanson said.
“They’re terrified of you,” he interjected.
“Well good. I hope they are, and they should be, because I’m trying to represent the conservative values, people who have been forgotten,” she said.
Members from Labor and The Greens slammed the idea that the “It’s OK to be white” slogan had been misinterpreted yesterday.
“There is nothing innocent, nothing unknown, nothing hidden about this phrase. Frankly, the claim that somehow the government didn’t understand it or didn’t know about it is not believable,” Labor Senator Penny Wong said.
“We are supposed to believe that no one in the government paid attention and some junior staffer ticked it off, and then government senators just filed in and sat behind Senator Hanson oblivious to the fact that they were endorsing a racist motion designed to promote Nazis, the Klan and other white supremacist groups.”
The slogan “It’s OK to be white” first appeared on 4chan’s “politically incorrect” image board.
The original post in the online forum called for people to put up posters with the phrase on university campuses in the hope of making the media go “completely bersek”.
Canadian alt-right activist Lauren Southern also wore a shirt bearing the catchphrase when she touched down in Brisbane earlier this year.