Leadership Quote by Pauline Hanson

The line weaponizes nostalgia as a political blunt instrument: not just “industries,” but “icons,” the kind of word that turns balance sheets into belonging. Hanson’s intent is clear and confrontational - to frame economic change as national diminishment, and to position herself as the voice willing to name the culprits. The detail about Qantas selling “25% of its shares and a controlling interest” sounds forensic, almost accountant-like, but it’s doing emotional work: it supplies a veneer of precision that makes the grievance feel documented, not merely felt.

The subtext is sovereignty anxiety. Qantas isn’t invoked because it’s a particularly good case study in corporate governance; it’s invoked because an airline is a flying flag. By tying the sale to British Airways, the quote sharpens the insult: this isn’t just “foreign investment,” it’s the old imperial center buying into a symbol of Australian independence. The number “25%” functions rhetorically as a threshold of betrayal - small enough to feel plausibly preventable, large enough to suggest the country “gave away” control.

Context matters: Hanson’s politics thrives on translating complex structural shifts (privatization, deregulation, globalization) into a story with villains and victims. “We have lost” is collectivizing language, drafted to make the listener feel dispossessed, even if they never owned a share. It’s also a warning shot against elites: if they can sell off Qantas, they can sell off anything. The power of the quote lies in its fusion of economics with identity, turning a corporate transaction into a cultural wound.