Pauline Hanson has doubled down on her call for Australia to become a “monocultural society”, as One Nation continues its dramatic rise in the polls.
Appearing on Sunrise on Tuesday morning, the One Nation Leader was forced to defend comments made during a recent appearance at the National Press Club and rejected suggestions she wanted Australians to abandon their heritage. Senator Hanson insisted her vision was about national unity under a shared culture and legal system.
“I’m not saying forget where you came from or your cultural background. By no means,” Senator Hanson said.
“We’re multi-racial, but at the end of the day, we must look at being Australians, instead of all these different little individual groups who believe in their own cultures, and their own laws, their own beliefs.”
The double down comes as a new Roy Morgan poll showed One Nation surging to 31.5 per cent in primary support, ahead of Labor on 27 per cent and well above the Coalition on 17.5 per cent.
What is a monocultural Australia?
Pressed on what a monocultural Australia would look like, Senator Hanson argued little would change in practice but said the nation should unite under one set of values and laws.
“Do we really want to see Sharia Law? Do we want to see multiple marriages? Do we want to see this gang’s getting around in our streets?” she said.
“It’s about being united to (be) strong, under the one culture, and everyone should be treated the same under one law.”
Senator Hanson pointed to countries such as Japan as an example, arguing Australia should move away from what she sees as an increasingly fragmented society.
“Japan has a monoculture. So, what’s wrong with Australia having a monoculture?” she asked.
The One Nation Leader also raised concern about English language proficiency among migrants, citing figures she claimed showed hundreds of thousands of Australians speak little or no English.
“I think English is very important, that people must learn to speak English and know the English language to actually assimilate into society,” she said.
Senator Hanson maintained she was not opposed to immigration and said many migrants supported her position.
“People have come here to be Australian,” she said.
“That’s why a lot of people come up to me, embrace me and say, ‘Pauline, you’re right. We are so proud to be here. We’re so privileged to be here in this country, and we want to be Australians’.”
Hanson, Taylor haven’t spoken in ‘years’
Despite the polling surge, Senator Hanson revealed she has not spoken to Opposition Leader Angus Taylor for years, hinting at what the future for One Nation and the Coalition could look like.
“I haven’t spoken to Angus for years,” she said.
“I haven’t seen him since about 2019, 2020.”
However, she indicated she hoped the two parties could eventually work together, saying she wanted to remove what she described as a “toxic Labor Greens, Teals government”.
“In time, I’m sure we’ll get to talk and strategise about preferences,” Senator Hanson said.
The comments are likely to intensify debate around immigration, national identity and the growing influence of One Nation as Australia’s political landscape continues to shift.
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