Protests, clashes and grievance politics: Pauline at the Press Club

Summary

Episode Summary: “Protests, clashes and grievance politics: Pauline at the Press Club”

Podcast: 7am (Solstice Media)
Date: June 17, 2026
Host: Daniel James
Guest: Karen Middleton (Press Gallery Journalist)
Topic: Pauline Hanson’s first National Press Club address – policies, performance, protests, and political implications.

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Overview

This episode analyses Senator Pauline Hanson’s highly anticipated first speech at the National Press Club after three decades in Australian politics. It covers her combative rhetoric, policy proposals, clashes with the media, and the political reverberations of her appearance, including a headline-making protest. Daniel James hosts journalist Karen Middleton to assess Hanson's performance and what it signals for the future of One Nation and her opponents.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Hanson's Grievance Politics Takes Centre Stage

• Pauline Hanson framed multiculturalism and immigration as central crises, describing Australia's multicultural policy as “utterly flawed.”
• Her speech reflected her long-established grievance politics and was designed to appeal to her core supporters, while laying out more explicit policy positions for future scrutiny.

Quote:

“At the centre of this crisis is the utterly flawed policy of multiculturalism.” — Pauline Hanson [00:01]

2. Press Club Performance & Style

• Hanson was described as authentically herself: blending banter, confrontation, and a very long speech (nearly 50 minutes, well over the usual 30).
• This approach may have aimed to reduce Q&A time, but the event organizers extended the session to accommodate full questioning.
• Karen Middleton emphasises Hanson’s non-standard politician persona:

  “It was also a reminder to everyone that she's not your average standard politician, which I think was probably deliberate.” — Karen Middleton [02:24]

3. Key Policy Announcements & Positions

• Multiculturalism & Immigration:

  • Strongly advocated monoculturalism (while acknowledging a multiracial society).
  • Called for English proficiency before granting citizenship and blamed lack of assimilation for social problems.

    “We cannot be a multicultural society. We are a multiracial society, but we must be monocultural.” — Pauline Hanson [03:19]

• Industrial Relations:

  • Pushed for overhauls to favour small business over workers.
  • Criticised young and “lazy” workers; advocated for easier firing rights.

    “Tell me you can't sack people these days... They actually are lazy and businesses are tied to it. They've had enough.” — Pauline Hanson [05:03]

• Renewable Energy & Nuclear:

  • Not against renewables but opposed offshore wind and using agricultural land for solar farms.
  • Endorsed government-funded nuclear reactors.

• Public Broadcasting:

  • Promised to abolish SBS (Special Broadcasting Service).
  • Proposed ABC become a subscription service in cities, with public funding limited to rural and remote broadcasting.

    “The ABC will still exist, but in a very different form… the ABC will only be subscription service only.” — Pauline Hanson [05:53]

• Women’s Rights & Maternity Leave:

  • Stated opposition to paid maternity leave, suggesting businesses shouldn’t pay employees when not at work—linking this to the gender pay gap.

    “If women take time off and they are not paid their wages because they're not working, fair enough. Why should a business pay them?” — Pauline Hanson [06:32]

4. Media Clashes & the “Sarah Martin Moment”

• Heated exchange with Guardian journalist Sarah Martin over questions about Hanson's daughter’s employment.

• Hanson accused Martin of biased, relentless attacks:

  “Honestly, you never give up. I've never seen a person that's such a trashy journalist, you know.” — Pauline Hanson [08:09]

• Explicitly declared she would freeze out journalists and outlets she believed to be biased (e.g., the Guardian, ABC):

  “I'm telling you now, don't come near me for an interview in future... 28 articles is constantly bashing one nation.” — Pauline Hanson [08:48]

• Karen Middleton observed that confrontational moments like this play well with her base but may deter broader media engagement.

5. Media Performance & Press Gallery’s Approach

• Gallery opted for measured questioning; too much aggression risked enhancing Hanson’s anti-establishment image.

• Middleton noted this appears to be a turning point—Hanson must now defend specific policies, not just broad grievances.

  “We're at this inflection point now where there are now things to ask her about.” — Karen Middleton [09:48]

• Hanson’s commitment to daily press conferences during election campaigns was contrasted with her willingness to freeze out journalists she dislikes.

6. The Protest – “Banner-gate”

• Mid-speech, a protest banner appeared behind Hanson:
  • Banner accused her of opposing pay rises for workers while accepting a $100,000 pay rise herself.
  • GetUp claimed responsibility; incident is under police investigation and was termed “hugely embarrassing” for the Press Club.
  • One Nation called for GetUp to be banned from the Press Club.
• The protest echoed wider criticisms about her positions on workers’ rights.

Quote:

“A banner fell from the roof... it said, I opposed a pay rise for workers while I took a $100,000 pay rise for myself.” — Event Commentator [12:20]

7. Political Impact & Takeaways

• Hanson’s supporters likely found her performance defiant and authentic—"taking it up to the elites.”
• Swing voters heard controversial claims and a blizzard of statistics—potentially raising doubts.
• Both Hanson and her opponents have clearer ground ahead:
  • For Hanson: a platform with specifics, increased media limelight.
  • For opponents: new attack lines and material for upcoming campaigns.

Quote:

“So...a little bit of everybody wins in this. But the people who are worried about Pauline Hanson...are going to be upset at the attention she got from being at the press club.” — Karen Middleton [15:19]

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Opening salvo on multiculturalism:

  “At the centre of this crisis is the utterly flawed policy of multiculturalism.” — Pauline Hanson [00:01]

• Defining Australia’s identity:

  “We cannot be a multicultural society. We are a multiracial society, but we must be monocultural.” — Pauline Hanson [03:19]

• On English proficiency and assimilation:

  “I want them to be able to learn to speak English before they get here, to get their citizenship... where’s the assimilation?” — Pauline Hanson [03:37]

• “Lazy workers” and workers’ rights rhetoric:

  “They actually are lazy and businesses are tied to it. They've had enough.” — Pauline Hanson [05:03]

• Cutting public broadcasters:

  “There will be big changes...The SBS will be gone. There’s no need for it anymore.” — Pauline Hanson [05:38]

• Controversial maternity leave stance:

  “If women take time off and they are not paid their wages because they're not working, fair enough. Why should a business pay them if they're not at work? That's the difference.” — Pauline Hanson [06:32]

• Media clash with Sarah Martin:

  “Honestly, you never give up. I've never seen a person that's such a trashy journalist, you know.” — Pauline Hanson [08:09]
  “Don't come near me for an interview in future...28 articles is constantly bashing one nation.” — Pauline Hanson [08:48]

• The protest and banner incident:

  “A banner fell from the roof beside her... it said, I opposed a pay rise for workers while I took a $100,000 pay rise for myself.” — Event Commentator [12:20]

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Important Timestamps

• [00:01] Opening remarks – Hanson on multiculturalism
• [01:54] Karen Middleton’s analysis of Hanson’s style
• [03:19] Monoculturalism over multiculturalism
• [05:03] Critique of young workers and industrial relations
• [05:38] Proposals to abolish SBS, cut and privatise ABC
• [06:32] Opposition to paid maternity leave
• [08:09] Confrontation with Guardian’s Sarah Martin
• [09:28] Press gallery’s questioning approach
• [10:59] Protest/banner incident and fallout
• [12:20] GetUp’s protest banner explained
• [14:08] Reflection on Hanson's overall performance and impact

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Conclusion

Pauline Hanson’s Press Club debut amplified her longstanding grievance politics while putting detailed, controversial policies on public record. Her assertive style, policy stances, and high-profile protest moment guarantee intense scrutiny ahead. For One Nation, it’s a rallying point; for her rivals, a new rallying cry. The episode is required listening for anyone following the trajectory of Australia’s culture wars and political landscape.

Transcript

[Pauline Hanson]

Undeniably, immigration or immigration policy has our country in the state of crisis. At the centre of this crisis is the utterly flawed policy of multiculturalism.

[Daniel James]

For three decades, Pauline Hanson has built a career on grievance. In all that time, she has in front of the bastion of political journalism, the National Press Club. That was until yesterday, where she appeared for the first time.

[Pauline Hanson]

Well, I am aware that I am at the National Press Club, but I am delighted that I can speak to the people of Australia and they are the people to whom I am accountable.

[Daniel James]

In a long address, she laid out how she aims to turn her politics of grievance into policy targeting immigration, the abc, multiculturalism, renewable energy, transgender rights and journalists themselves.

[Pauline Hanson]

Honestly, you never give up. I've never seen a person that's such a trashy journalist, you know, it was

[Daniel James]

a performance that will play to her base and one that helps explain her rise in the polls. But she also gave her opponents a clearer picture of what they're running against and what to target in the two years until the next election. I'm Daniel James and you're listening to to 7am today press gallery journalist Karen Middleton on Pauline Hanson's big moment and the fight now coming for one nation. It's Thursday, june 18th. Karen, good to see you again. Pauline Hanson has been in Australian politics for 30 years, but this was her first formal address to the National Press Club. What did you make of her performance?

[Karen Middleton]

I thought, Daniel, she did pretty well. She didn't try to be something that she isn't. She was herself. She started with a bit of banter with the audience and setting a few things straight, putting things on the record that probably put her at ease a bit.

[Pauline Hanson]

Is Channel nine here. I just want to clarify that, no, Gina's jet is not broken and I didn't come cattle class or I did come cattle class, actually. So anyway, just if you're dwelling on that, what question are you going to ask?

[Karen Middleton]

And it was also a reminder to everyone that she's not your average standard politician, which I think was probably deliberate. Interesting though, that she spoke for a really long time. Usually at the National Press Club, the speech is 30 minutes long. She spoke for nearly 50 minutes and in fact she had to be asked to wind up a little bit before that because there were. They were running out of time for questions.

[Mark Riley]

Senator, we're very question possibly go to your summary.

[Pauline Hanson]

I've only got a few PA left. You're right, very important.

[Karen Middleton]

Does make you wonder whether that was the idea. More input from her, less questioning from the audience. But in fact, they ran the broadcast longer and let all the questions go. So she did face the questions and she managed that reasonably well.

[Daniel James]

If we go into some of the substance of what she said at the press club, she called multiculturalism a filed policy saying Australia is and should always be monocultural.

[Pauline Hanson]

We cannot be a multicultural society. We are a multiracial society, but we must be monocultural.

[Daniel James]

What more did she say?

[Karen Middleton]

She did say that. And in fact, that's a good example of some of the interesting things that she said that we learnt from her.

[Pauline Hanson]

Want them to be able to learn to speak English before they get here, to get their citizenship and that will help them assimilate into our society. Because 872,000 people said the. They speak very little English or none at all. So where's the assimilation?

[Karen Middleton]

I think a lot of her political opponents will have been watching. I think they probably are happy that they now have some specifics to work with. And there were a lot more specifics. She spoke a lot about immigration, as you would expect, and she had kind of a blizzard of statistics to back up a lot of what she said about a range of things. But there are a lot of migrants in Australia and the thought that their culture might be suppressed may not thrill all of them. So there'll be some downside in terms of broadening her appeal to that sort of thing.

[Pauline Hanson]

We oppose entirely people coming into this country and bringing with them the troubles they have left behind. Coming to this country and ignoring our values, our language, our traditions, our dress, and the fact that. That we are predominantly a Judeo Christian society.

[Karen Middleton]

There were a few other things she said that probably could scare some people and you would expect perhaps the labor government to start drafting some campaigns on them. She talked about an overhaul of industrial relations to favour small business over working people. She described some young workers as lazy businesses.

[Pauline Hanson]

Also. Tell me you can't sack people these days. They're on their phones, they don't work, they don't turn up. They don't. They actually are lazy and businesses are tied to it. They've had enough.

[Karen Middleton]

When she went to energy, she said she's not against renewable energy, but she doesn't want offshore wind farms, she doesn't want any agricultural land used for solar farms. She wants at least one nuclear reactor and doesn't rule out having that government funded. Now, that was obviously something that the coalition came a cropper on at the last election. She wants to axe sbs, which will please some Australians, but upset some others of the similar backgrounds that I was

[Pauline Hanson]

just Talking about, rest assured, there will be big changes if one nation is given the chance. The SBS will be gone. There's no need for it anymore.

[Karen Middleton]

And interestingly, she wants to cut back the ABC and make it basically pay tv.

[Pauline Hanson]

The ABC will still exist, but in a very different form. Taxpayers will still fund some of the ABC's operations in regional, rural and remote areas where there is a lack of commercial media. But in their cities, and which are already saturated with media outlets across the political spectrum, the ABC will only be subscription service only.

[Daniel James]

She's suggesting that people have to pay for Bluey.

[Karen Middleton]

Well, that's what it sounded like. And one thing that kind of might get glossed over a little, that she said in answer to questions that I also thought was interesting was she said she didn't think women should be paid while they're on maternity leave. That was the implication of what she said.

[Pauline Hanson]

The difference is that if women take time off and they are not paid their wages because they're not working, fair enough. Why should a business pay them if they're not at work? That's the difference. That's why the pay gap is there.

[Karen Middleton]

Now, I do wonder how that will go over with a lot of working Australian women. So, you know, there was a fair bit of detail in there. Some of it will be very popular. Some of it might make people think twice about what the policy implications or the consequences would be of following their opinion poll answers with a vote at the ballot box.

[Daniel James]

All of that, of course, has a lot of echoes of. Of Trump. And there was talk also during her press conference around ditching the U.N. as she said, she's detailed plans to scrap the SBS and gut the abc. She fought with a journalist at one point, got pretty personal. That will play to her base. How will that type of confrontation with journalists asking questions play in the broader community?

[Karen Middleton]

Yeah, it's interesting. That was established with Sarah Martin from the Guardian. Now, Sarah Martin's now been assigned to cover one nation as basically her round. And she's also been responsible. Yeah, she's also been responsible recently for a podcast series on Gina Rinehart. So Pauline Hanson and Gina Rinehart don't like Sarah Martin very much. And that's the backdrop to that.

[Sarah Martin]

Stoush. Senator Hanson, Sarah Martin from the Guardian. Taxpayers are paying more than $150,000 a year for your daughter Lee Hanson to seemingly campaign full time in Tasmania while employed as a political adviser for a New South Wales senator. Did you have any role in appointing her to that position?

[Pauline Hanson]

Honestly, you never give up I've never seen a person that's such a trashy journalist, you know, and what you put

[Karen Middleton]

out all the time as to whether that plays well probably does play well for her among certainly her traditional supporters and among people who I think are increasingly sick of the traditional institutions in this country. And I think that will appeal to a lot of people who feel they don't want and don't need the traditional media anymore, that they're biased, that they can get their news from social media and other sources. So I'm not sure that she'd be too worried about having a crack at Sarah Martin or indeed pushing back at journalists generally.

[Unidentified Press Club or Event Commentator]

And she did.

[Pauline Hanson]

I'll answer you this question today, but I'm telling you now, don't come near me for an interview in future because of 25 of your articles. It's always 28 articles is constantly bashing one nation.

[Karen Middleton]

She held her ground, but she certainly did that at the press club.

[Daniel James]

Coming up, how did the press gallery perform against a hostile Hanson? Karen, there's been a lot of criticism that the mainstream media have failed to hold Hanson to account, partly because they've failed to take her seriously in the first instance. Was she more vigorously tested yesterday? And what did you make of the press gallery's performance?

[Karen Middleton]

Look, I think she faced a series of perfectly reasonable questions. If anything, people might have been mindful of the fact that if they are seen to be too aggressive in questioning her, it'll just add to this sense that there's a pile on and she's being bullied. So people were very polite to her, thanked her for being there because of

[Unidentified Press Club or Event Commentator]

course, she hasn't been there for 30

[Karen Middleton]

years and were happy to have the opportunity to ask questions. I think, as we know more about her agenda and bearing in mind she's been a grievance politician, she's been a lightning rod for complaints about the system. She hasn't been an advocate for change in a way that she might actually implement until now. So we're at this inflection point now where there are now things to ask her about. So understandably the questions were broader and about her ideas and her general approach at the press club. But I think you will start now to see people zeroing in in more detail and questioning her more forensically. She did give a commitment that she'd make herself available on an election campaign and give daily news conferences like other parties of government and parties that hope to be government. We'll see how that goes because her, her response to Sarah Martin would suggest that when she doesn't like someone, she would freeze them out. She certainly said she won't give the Guardian any interviews. She won't give the ABC any interviews because she thinks they're biased. So she's being a little contradictory there. And I think there, from her reluctance to be quite as open as some of the other parliamentary leaders have been.

[Daniel James]

And at one point, there was a protest that happened in the background while she was delivering her speech, although it was pretty tame. It revealed a banner saying she opposed pay rises for workers. That was also one of the first questions she faced being pressed on wages and workers rights. And as you said, she answered by talking about lazy workers. Do you think that's going to be a sticking point for someone who wants to be the new champion for battlers?

[Karen Middleton]

Well, on that point, yes. I think that's one of the things that the Labor Party will try to use in campaigns against her. I mean, it's sort of shades of work choices in terms of the industrial policies. And the question that she faced from the journalist, I think it was Mark Riley from the Seven Network, was cataloguing her history of voting in the Parliament.

[Mark Riley]

You said in your speech, one nation will look after working Australians. I just want to examine a little of your record. You criticised minimum wage increases. You opposed same job, same pay. You voted against casual workers rights, wage theft, criminalisation and workplace protections for the gig economy. And you've argued recently again for more powers for bosses to sack workers. How is any of that helping working Australia?

[Karen Middleton]

So that was the point that was being made there. So I think there'll be a lot more attempts by her political opponents to point that out. To the point about the protest, I think it's important to talk about that.

[Unidentified Press Club or Event Commentator]

That was hugely embarrassing for the National Press Club. As Senator Hansen was speaking at the podium, a banner fell from the roof beside her against the back wall was a little bit out of camera shot, but it had a picture of her wearing sunglasses, surrounded by wads of cash. And it said, I opposed a pay rise for workers who, while I took a $100,000 pay rise for myself, we're not doing stuff. Later in the day, the activist organisation Getup claimed responsibility for it.

[Karen Middleton]

And the National Press Club has issued

[Unidentified Press Club or Event Commentator]

a statement noting that GetUp's media director, David Shiraz, who's the husband of the former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, was in the audience. Now, the Press Club statement says that

[Karen Middleton]

they've referred it to the police for

[Unidentified Press Club or Event Commentator]

further investigation, that nobody who works for the club or was contracted to the club had any involvement in the matter.

[Karen Middleton]

The statement says it seems two people

[Unidentified Press Club or Event Commentator]

entered the club building the day before the address without permission and installed a separate dropdown screen in front of the the media wall that is the backdrop to the address. And the club says there was another person present during the address. And it's evident that they activated a remote device to trigger the unfurling of the banner. Now, the club has forwarded all the vision that it has to the federal police and it's issued a sincere apology to Senator Hanson. One nation is saying that they believe that getup should be banned for luck from the National Press Club.

[Karen Middleton]

So that's an investigation that's underway and

[Unidentified Press Club or Event Commentator]

hugely embarrassing, as I say, for the press club. Just shouldn't have happened.

[Daniel James]

And finally, Karen Hanson's always been dodging events like this. Like you said, she hasn't appeared at the press club before. This is her first appearance. Did she come out looking better or worse, in your opinion?

[Unidentified Press Club or Event Commentator]

Ha ha.

[Karen Middleton]

No, I think that's a fascinating question. I think those people who were already strong supporters will have thought she took it up to the elites. She didn't, you know, make a fool of herself. She didn't stumble. She was defiant. And in that regard, she was true to herself. And so she will win a lot of support from those people. The people who are wavering, who maybe voted for other parties before and are thinking about vot for her, may have been listening for more detail. Now, they may not have been able to hear a lot of that detail. Cause there was this huge blizzard of statistics and a lot of emotional talk. But they might be the ones who start to look at the details. So I think she will think that she did well, and I think to a degree she certainly did. But I also think her opponents will be pleased that they've got something to work with now and they've got a way to draft a campaign. So there's a little bit of everybody wins in this. But the people who are worried about Pauline Hanson and are fearful of what she might do if she gets power in this country are going to be upset at the attention she got from being at the press club.

[Unidentified Press Club or Event Commentator]

And there'll be huge media coverage over

[Karen Middleton]

these few days, certainly. And that won't please them. So it'll be controversial. It wasn't a disaster for her. I'm sure she's probably quite happy with it.

[Daniel James]

Karen, thank you so much for your time.

[Karen Middleton]

Thanks, Dan.

[Daniel James]

Also in the news, Kyle Sanderlands has reached a $12 million settlement with ARN Media over his wrongful termination case, it's a long way short of his $100 million contract. Under the agreement, Arn has agreed to advertise Sandilands new independent media project in a $1.5 million deal. Jackie O. Henderson is continuing with her case against the network, and childcare strikes have been called off next month after a pay deal with the federal government. The government has agreed to extend a 15% pay rise that had been due to run out in November. The pay rise, which impacts 200,000 childcare workers, will be extended by 18 months, after which the private sector will be forced to fund the increase permanently following a Fair Work Commission decision on gender based under evaluation. I'm Daniel James. Thanks once again for listening to 7am we'll be back tomorrow.