Pauline Hanson Biography Quotes 20 Report mistakes

Early Life and Background
Pauline Lee Hanson was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1954. Raised in a working-class family, she spent her formative years in Queensland and built a life around small business before entering public life. She became widely known as the fish-and-chip shop owner from Ipswich, a tag that would follow her into politics and shape her populist political style. Her experiences as a small business operator and as a parent shaped the themes she emphasized later: self-reliance, law and order, and skepticism about government programs that she believed created dependency.

Local Government and First Campaigns
Hanson entered public life through local government, serving on the Ipswich City Council in the mid-1990s. Her early activism focused on local services, rates, and accountability. In 1996 she was preselected by the Liberal Party to contest the federal seat of Oxley in Queensland. Shortly before polling day, the party disendorsed her over remarks she had published about Indigenous policy and welfare in a local newspaper. Because ballot papers had already been printed, she still appeared as a Liberal, but she sat in the House of Representatives as an independent after winning the seat.

House of Representatives and National Profile
Hanson took her seat in 1996 and delivered a maiden speech that thrust her into national prominence. She criticized multicultural policy, warned against what she saw as excessive immigration, and opposed what she viewed as special treatment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. That speech drew strong reactions from both major parties and the media. Prime Minister John Howard navigated a political and social response to the wave of debate sometimes labeled Hansonism, while Labor figures also contested her claims. Hanson used her independence to present herself as a voice for disaffected voters, frequently clashing with ministers and shadow ministers on welfare, trade, and social policy.

Founding One Nation
In 1997 she co-founded a political party, One Nation, with close associates David Oldfield and David Ettridge. Oldfield, a former Liberal strategist, became a key organizer and confidant, while Ettridge helped build the party's membership and infrastructure. One Nation developed a platform of economic nationalism, tighter immigration controls, tougher law-and-order policies, and regional development. The party surged in Queensland, reflecting disenchantment with the major parties, and in the 1998 Queensland state election it won a large share of the vote and 11 seats, altering the balance of power in the state. The new movement also sent ripples across federal politics, reshaping debates on trade, regional inequality, and border policy.

Electoral Battles and Legal Challenges
After a redistribution made Oxley less favorable, Hanson contested the new seat of Blair in the 1998 federal election. She won a large primary vote but lost on preferences, a pattern that would recur as both major parties directed preferences against her. She later ran for the Senate in Queensland in 2001 but did not secure a seat. Internal tensions within One Nation intensified, and relations with David Oldfield deteriorated amid disputes over control and direction. In 2003, Hanson and David Ettridge were convicted in Queensland over the party's registration and membership claims. They were imprisoned, but the Queensland Court of Appeal quashed the convictions and she was released after several weeks. The episode cemented her image among supporters as a political outsider battling the establishment, while critics argued it highlighted the party's organizational weaknesses.

Attempts at Rebuilding and Return to the National Stage
Through the mid-2000s Hanson continued to seek elected office. She campaigned for the Senate again and also entered state-level contests, at times outside the One Nation banner. In 2011 she ran for the New South Wales Legislative Council and came close to winning a seat, demonstrating that her profile extended beyond Queensland. Over these years she revised her political organization, reestablishing the party under the name Pauline Hanson's One Nation to underscore personal leadership and clear brand recognition. That rebranding, and renewed focus on issues like energy costs, immigration, and rural services, preceded a significant federal return.

Senate Career and Crossbench Influence
In the 2016 federal election, Hanson won a Senate seat for Queensland, returning to the federal parliament after nearly two decades. Alongside her on the One Nation ticket was Malcolm Roberts, who also entered the Senate before later being disqualified under section 44 of the Constitution for dual citizenship issues. His replacement from the same ticket, Fraser Anning, took the seat but left the party almost immediately, prompting national scrutiny and highlighting the difficulty of party discipline. Another One Nation senator elected in 2016, Brian Burston, later left the party after disputes with Hanson and joined another party, underscoring ongoing internal volatility. Rod Culleton, who was elected as a One Nation senator from Western Australia, was also disqualified by the High Court, further complicating the party's crossbench arithmetic.

As party leader in the Senate, Hanson often negotiated with the Coalition government, at times under prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, and with crossbench colleagues on legislation dealing with industrial relations, tax, energy policy, and border security. Her chief of staff, James Ashby, became a prominent behind-the-scenes figure in strategy and media management. Hanson's theatrical interventions kept her in the headlines, notably when she wore a full-face Islamic covering into the Senate chamber in 2017 to argue for a ban; Attorney-General George Brandis delivered a sharp rebuke on the floor, a moment replayed widely and debated across the political spectrum.

Allies, Rivals, and Party Building
Hanson's political career has been defined by a small circle of influential allies and frequent fallings-out. David Oldfield and David Ettridge were central to One Nation's creation but later became estranged as legal, organizational, and strategic disputes accumulated. In later years James Ashby emerged as a key adviser, stewarding the party's communications and candidate management during contentious periods. On the parliamentary front, Malcolm Roberts returned to the Senate after the 2019 election following a fresh nomination and has been one of her most consistent collaborators on issues such as climate policy and national sovereignty. In New South Wales, former federal Labor leader Mark Latham joined One Nation, won a seat in the state upper house in 2019, and worked closely with Hanson on law-and-order and education debates before relations deteriorated and he left the party in 2023. These alliances and ruptures reflect the party's dependence on personal leadership and the challenges of institutionalizing a populist movement.

Positions, Advocacy, and Public Reception
Hanson has campaigned against what she describes as excessive immigration, argued for stronger border protection, and opposed policies of multiculturalism that, in her view, undermine social cohesion. She has supported measures to bolster local manufacturing and agriculture and has been skeptical of international climate agreements and rapid energy transitions that she argues threaten jobs and raise household costs. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, she aligned with concerns about mandates and restrictions, amplifying a civil liberties message that resonated with parts of her base while drawing criticism from public health advocates. On Indigenous policy, she has opposed constitutional changes such as a Voice to Parliament, maintaining that representation should come through existing democratic structures rather than new constitutional bodies.

Her rhetoric has often been polarizing. Supporters view her as plain-spoken and unafraid to challenge political orthodoxies. Critics argue that her positions stigmatize minorities and oversimplify complex policy problems. Successive Liberal-National and Labor leaders have had to calibrate responses to her influence, balancing condemnation of her most controversial claims with the practical realities of Senate negotiation when her vote has been pivotal.

Recent Years and Continuing Influence
Hanson was re-elected to the Senate in 2022, extending her leadership of Pauline Hanson's One Nation. The party has continued to campaign on energy affordability, housing, cost of living, and migration settings, while pressing for inquiries and amendments in the upper house. Hanson remains a prominent media figure and an experienced campaigner, maintaining a presence in regional Queensland and beyond. Despite cycles of growth and fragmentation, and recurring legal and organizational disputes involving figures such as Malcolm Roberts, Brian Burston, Rod Culleton, Fraser Anning, and Mark Latham, she has kept the party identifiable with her personal brand and priorities.

Personal Identity and Legacy
Hanson's political identity is inseparable from her life story: a Queensland small business owner who channeled grassroots frustration into national politics. As a mother who frequently references family and work in the language of aspiration and fairness, she has presented her agenda as speaking for those who feel sidelined by economic and cultural change. Her allies from different eras, from David Oldfield and David Ettridge to James Ashby and Malcolm Roberts, and her public confrontations with figures like John Howard, George Brandis, Malcolm Turnbull, and Scott Morrison, sketch a career that has influenced the national debate well beyond her party's seat count. Whether praised for candor or criticized for divisiveness, Pauline Hanson has been one of the most enduring and consequential figures in Australia's populist right since the 1990s.

Our collection contains 20 quotes who is written by Pauline, under the main topics: Justice - Never Give Up - Freedom - Health - Equality.