Why is Pauline Hanson so divisive in Australian politics?

In the wacky world of Australian politics, there are few figures more divisive than Pauline Hanson, the leader of the One Nation party. Many have described Hanson and her followers as representatives of unadulterated racial hatred, while she would describe her party has ‘bringing down political correctness’.

One Nation is a political force that, love it or hate it, has stubbornly survived in Australian politics for a long time. If you don’t know about the history of the party and its leader, then you might wonder why Pauline Hanson is considered so divisive.

Pauline Hanson was dumped as a Liberal candidate due to comments she made about indigenous entitlements. She went on to win her local seat as an independent, and in her first speech in Parliament notoriously said that Australia was “in danger of being swamped by Asians”.

She also said that “a truly multicultural country can never be strong or united”. She has never apologised for these comments, which is perhaps why her supporters like her.

At the party’s peak, it had around 9% of Australia’s population supporting it. Opponents of the One Nation party have cited that the political movement is unashamedly based on racism and fearmongering about immigration.

When she returned to Parliament in 2016, her maiden speech was similar to the first except stated that the country was in danger of ‘being swamped by Muslims’. She notoriously came into Parliament one day wearing a burqa in order to push her view that the religious garment should be banned.

For many, Pauline Hanson has staying power because she is a representative of a significant portion of Australians who share her divisive views. Pauline Hanson is really just a symptom of the racism of many people in Australia.