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Hello and welcome to our national news live coverage for Wednesday, June 17. Here’s what’s making news today.
Pauline Hanson: One Nation leader Pauline Hanson takes centre stage at the National Press Club in Canberra today for her first formal speech. With recent polls showing a surge in support for her party, Senator Hanson faces growing pressure to clearly explain One Nation’s long-term vision for Australia’s future.
US-Iran peace agreement: US President Donald Trump has criticised Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah, suggesting Syria take responsibility for combating the group instead. Despite a US-Iran peace agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep troops in Lebanon. Relations are strained, with reports claiming the US denied Israel access to the agreement.
Politics: One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts called the US “the world’s greatest terrorist organisation” in a 2024 podcast interview, creating pressure on Pauline Hanson as the party gains support. Critics say the remarks raise concerns about One Nation’s suitability for government and potential influence over foreign and defence policy.
Petrol: Oil prices have fallen below US$80 a barrel for the first time since March as hopes of a US-Iran deal eased supply concerns. A decision from the Federal Government is expected next week on whether to continue halving the fuel excise and some road user charges.
Workplace: Seven’s latest redundancy round has disproportionately affected female on-air staff, with nine women and one man publicly identified among newsroom departures in Sydney and Melbourne. The cuts follow Southern Cross Media’s announcement of up to 300 job losses.
GetUp has claimed responsibility for the protest banner that was seemingly snuck into the National Press Club and attacked Pauline Hanson over her record on worker pay.
The left-leaning activist group posted a statement to social media simply saying: “It was us”.
The banner stated, “I opposed a pay rise for workers” and included a footnote saying Hanson had taken a $100,000 pay rise for herself. The banner was quickly pulled down by the club’s staff.
GetUp got a shoutout during Hanson’s address for its $600,000 campaign against One Nation in the Farrer byelection. She called the group a “far-left mob”, and said its lobbying just drove more voters her way.
Pauline Hanson has declared “childcare is completely out of control” as the cost of the childcare subsidy nears $16 billion a year.
“When I see that sort of money being put into childcare, I think we need to have a complete investigation into it. Where the money’s going?” she said.
Asked whether it was necessary to give early educators pay rises, Hanson said: “Didn’t they get a pay rise just not so long ago?
“Like I said, pay rise. Who pays for it? The taxpayer, again.”
When Nine’s chief political editor, Charles Croucher, asked Hanson about her support for nuclear power, Hanson said the Coalition had made a mistake committing to building seven reactors upfront, giving its opponents an attack line on the estimated $600 billion cost.
Under One Nation policy, she said, “no more wind turbines to be put in, that will be scrapped. No more solar panels on agricultural land – gone. Put it up on your roofs. I don’t care. Coal-fired power stations. Yes. We need to have that one in South Australia, one in Queensland to deliver the power that we need.
And then from there we move forward and put in a reactor. Start with one. It all comes down to if you can afford it.”
Hanson has pledged to shut down SBS and switch the ABC to a subscription model.
When SBS chief political reporter Anna Henderson asked if talking to migrants in their own languages to help them integrate was part of the One Nation platform, Hanson said she understood the question: “You’re going to be without a job, certainly.”
She went on to say “No, I want them to be able to learn to speak English before they get here to get their citizenship.”
When SBS chief political correspondent Anna Henderson asked Hanson about her views on abortion, Hanson said it was a discussion that needed to be had with the Australian people.
“I’m not against, you know, people and circumstances, women that need to have an abortion for medical reasons, for some circumstance. I’d rather educate women to use contraceptives than to go through an abortion; too many abortions in this country, anyway.
“In the US, many states do ban it from four weeks. Are you in? I’m not advocating your time at this stage, but I can tell you, even from 20 weeks, I think it’s too, too late to have an abortion, but definitely, you know, 39 weeks to have an abortion that is clearly not humane.”
One Nation’s policy is to reduce the gestational limit for abortions. Hanson recruit Barnaby Joyce appeared at a pro-life rally in Sydney on June 3 demanding tighter controls on abortion.
Pauline Hanson has called for a return of manufacturing to Australia, saying the country had relied too heavily on its neighbours for fuel and fertiliser during the fuel crisis sparked by the Iran war.
Asked about Australia’s relationship with and reliance on Muslim majority neighbours in recent months, including Indonesia pledging the supply of urea for fertiliser, Hanson said: “Isn’t it a shame?”
“We’ve had what, seven, eight oil refineries in this country with less population than what we have now, and yet we’ve let it dissipate, and governments have got rid of it,” Hanson told the press club.
“Why haven’t we got our own fertiliser? … If anyone wants to set up industry or manufacturing in this country, it takes them years to get approval for it. That has to stop,” she said.
“We’ve got problems now with Japan and South Korea, who are actually saying … is there predictability in Australia to do business here. We rely on a lot of that investment in Australia to give us the dollars to run this country.
“Poor management has got us in this situation when it comes to the refineries, when it comes to actually oil, and I’m saying, dig baby, dig. We need to utilise our resources here in this nation to build the wealth again that we can deliver the services to this generation or future.”
Pauline Hanson has vowed to close a slew of government departments, including the “Aboriginal department”.
SBS senior journalist John Paul Janke corrected her, saying it was called the National Indigenous Australians Agency, and asked what she would do with the money saved and what would happen to the people who relied on it.
“My vision for Australia is that we’re all Australians, regardless of race, colour, creed, where you are, we’re all treated as Australians equally on an individual needs basis, not based on race, and with that, yes, that money will go into consolidated revenue, where any Australian can get that help if they need help,” Hanson said.
Hanson says she is determined to screen out troublemakers from One Nation branches this time around, after flagging to this masthead two weeks ago on a podcast that she was shutting down branches because she was worried about extremists.
“We’ve had a lot of enthusiastic people that have come on board to join One Nation; we’ve restricted these people until we know who they are.
“Are they the right people in these positions? Because I know the majority of you are going to go out there and try and hound me or criticise me for anyone who’s associated with this party or is a member.
“You’ve already done it. I know what you’re up to, and that’s why I have to be in total control of it, and I’m not going to allow you to drag me down through some member of a branch.”
Hanson has attacked Guardian journalist Sarah Martin for asking about the position Hanson’s daughter, Lee Hanson, holds in the party.
Martin has written a string of stories about Hanson’s connections to mining billionaire Gina Rinehart and about use of taxpayer funds, and the One Nation leader has been caught on camera calling Martin a “nasty bitch”.
Here’s the press club exchange:
“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 NSW senator. Did you have any role in appointing her to that position?” Martin asked.
Pauline Hanson has agreed she wants to guard Australia against Muslim migration.
Asked whether she thought Australia was in danger of being swamped by Muslim migration, Hanson said: “Not if I got any say in it.
“It’s radical Islam that is my grave concern.”
Asked whether she thought it was happening now, and was something she was trying to guard against, she said: “Yes. And I don’t want Australia to become like [other countries such as Britain and Germany].
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