Updated ,first published
Pauline Hanson said she loved the idea of mass deportations for Australia, and suggested Tommy Robinson would be welcome Down Under if she became Prime Minister in a friendly meeting with the convicted criminal.
During an hour-long Seven Spotlight special that tracked Hanson during what she described as a “fact-finding mission” to the UK, she claimed the end of the White Australia Policy had led to serious problems in Australia. She also said she didn’t regret anything – including her use of the word monoculture, that the country was at risk of being “swamped” by Asians, or meeting Robinson.
“It’s been really good to come over here on this trip and see what’s happening because it’s really making me determined,” she remarked while walking through the London borough of Tower Hamlets. Its population is nearly 40 per cent Muslim, the highest proportion of anywhere in England.
“I was determined beforehand, but more so now because seeing what’s happened here, I’m going to fight it … I’m not going to have it happen in Australia,” Hanson said.
She had, according to presenter Liam Bartlett, been supposed to meet with UK Reform leader Nigel Farage, however the meeting was scuppered by his decision to resign his seat in the days prior amid a scandal over his acceptance of funds.
Hanson does meet with a man to his right, Restore leader Rupert Lowe who is pushing for mass deportations across the UK. Lowe has called for the removal of 1.8 to 2 million of the UK’s nearly 70 million population.
“Oh, I love it,” she says when asked for her view of mass deportations, confirming she’s “very much on the same page” as the British politician.
Hanson later meets Robinson, a renowned racist and convicted criminal whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Farage has distanced himself from Robinson and called him a “thug”, while Robinson’s appearance on Karl Stefanovic’s podcast led to Nine axing the Today show host’s lucrative contract.
The duo smiled at each other warmly, with Robinson saying “the path has been paved by people like Pauline Hanson”.
He tells her he would like to come to Australia, but dishonestly claims he’s never tried as he thinks his conviction would prevent him getting a visa. He’s had visa applications rejected on two previous occasions.
“Wait until I’m in, you won’t have … ” she says before being cut off, seemingly from adding “a problem”.
Hanson tells him Australia began to struggle with immigration following the end of White Australia Policy. This masthead has previously published those comments and she called the reporting “fake news”.
When asked why she would associate with a man considered too extreme for Reform in the UK, Hanson steadfastly defends meeting Robinson.
“Why wouldn’t I talk to the man?,” Hanson says.
“I will say and do what I want to, and I will talk to people if I feel … [I should spend time with] to learn from. He’s a man who’s [a] very proud British man.
“That’s the first time I’ve met Tommy Robinson, and I don’t regret meeting with him … I’m not going to apologise.”
Later asked if there was anything she’d said or done throughout her political career she did regret, she says there’s “nothing I can think of” before defending her warning Australia was at risk of being “swamped by Asians.” She also defended her call for a monoculture.
Barnaby Joyce was also interviewed for the program, but stayed on message. He said he believed his boss did have the intellectual capacity to be Prime Minister.
Hanson attends the Islamic College of Brisbane to speak to students at the backend of the program.
“Australia is the only home I’ve ever known, and it’s a country I’m incredibly proud to call my own,” one girl tells her.
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