Updated ,first published
It is not unusual for Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party to revel in controversy when the national spotlight turns their way.
But in their first appearance in Canberra since One Nation won its first lower house seat with victory in the Farrer byelection, Hanson took on the role of mother duck, batting controversies away.
The One Nation leader was keen to project confidence on Wednesday as she paraded the party’s fledgling MP, David Farley, on a victory lap of Parliament House flanked by her four others.
“Although he hasn’t been sworn in, David’s decided he wants to get his feet under the table [and] understand the process,” Hanson said, before opening the floor to questions.
The 15-minute press conference was wobbly at best as the One Nation leader ended up downplaying some of the sharpest edges of grievance and conflict that the party has honed for decades.
So keen to tread carefully was Hanson that, in front of an unusually big press pack, she stepped in front of her MPs on several occasions to take control.
She denied being anti-immigration before she was forced to clarify that her senator Malcolm Roberts did not, in fact, believe the Bondi terror attack was a hoax.
She also stepped in for Farley when he was asked if he regretted sharing the stage on Saturday night with an election volunteer who had shared a post defending police killer Dezi Freeman and supported neo-Nazi figure Thomas Sewell on social media.
This is the new test for Hanson as she rides popular support from the fringes of third-party status to challenge the incumbent opposition. Her party’s expansion means it is attracting more scrutiny.
One Nation press conferences now attract a full cast of reporters, and its MPs’ public comments will be pored over for missteps or inconsistencies. Some of their fringe concerns that were previously passed over now raise questions about the party’s ability to go mainstream.
Much of Hanson’s following has been generated by her willingness to speak her mind, but now she seems more cautious.
When this masthead asked Farley at the press conference about revelations that the volunteer brought to the stage had been also condemned by a judge for bullying and using racial slurs, Hanson interjected quickly.
“That is not going to be commented on,” she said, in a vain attempt at halting questions on the topic. Still, she stayed in place to keep answering them.
“He was invited there, he was a volunteer, it was a night of celebration … I don’t condone violence of any type, or bullying.”
Then, Queensland senator Malcolm Roberts was questioned on a YouTube interview he gave, in which he was asked whether last year’s Bondi terror attack was a false flag event. (Roberts told the interviewer he doubted it was a hoax, but did not have the data to rule it out completely.)
“Why did you say you couldn’t rule that out?” he was asked on Wednesday.
“First of all, it’s an absurd proposition,” Roberts said. “Second thing, I reinforce the fact that I make decisions and statements based on data, and I don’t have data on that.”
Amid a flurry of follow-up questions, Hanson interjected. “Sorry, there was no justification, I can speak up for senator Roberts with regards to this, because it was totally taken out of context,” she said. “We have shown our support for the Jewish community.”
Then Roberts returned to answers. “The lady interviewing me was very naive and very young, very inexperienced,” he said to one follow up.
“The media is culpable for that woman’s question because the media has misled. People don’t trust the media, they don’t trust you.”
With the press conference unravelling, a staffer called out for final questions. It was Hanson who stepped in again.
“I will answer, because I’ve had this discussion with senator Roberts. There is no false flag,” she said. “And I can say that emphatically. So there’s no problem with that whatsoever.”
Even on One Nation’s position on immigration, Hanson sought to downplay controversy.
“My policy is not anti-immigration. It is a control to mass migration,” she said, when asked about the influence her party’s position was having on social cohesion. “We still have a policy of 130,000 people coming in.”
The only MP Hanson allowed to speak their mind was Nationals defector and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, who took the floor to give a response to Tuesday night’s federal budget.
Mike Foley is the climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
Natassia Chrysanthos is Federal Political Correspondent. She has previously reported on immigration, health, social issues and the NDIS from Parliament House in Canberra.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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