LETTER: What does Pauline stand for

DEAR News Of The Area,

I RESPOND to Peter Williams’ Letter to the Editor (NOTA, 24/7/26) where he claims Pauline Hanson wants a unified, safe and peaceful society.

How could she possibly bring that about?

With her level of disrespect for other cultures, how could she ever manage our vitally important international relations?

In the 56 years of my adult life I’ve never seen such a negative, hate-filled, disrespectful and divisive politician.

Pauline has displayed hatred and disrespect for migrants, Asians, Muslims and Indigenous Australians ever since she entered Parliament, and more recently branded our younger workforce as lazy.

She has publicly put down other prominent women and was found guilty in 2024 of breaching the Racial Discrimination Act by telling a female senator to “piss off back to Pakistan”.

So, who and what exactly does she stand for?

Hanson doesn’t even respect the very institution she wants to rule, bragging on TV about having the worst attendance record of Senate estimate hearings with an estimated 88 per cent absentee rate over the last decade

“I just don’t go, it’s not worth my time,” she said.

In that time, she also missed 76 Parliamentary sitting days; 60 without formal leave.

On those days there were 2000 votes on legislation.

Ms Hanson is elected and paid well over $200,000, plus allowances, from taxpayer money to do a job that she isn’t fully committed to, yet believes she has a right to the top job.

Last October she missed eight parliament sitting days flying on billionaire Gina Rinehart’s private jet to speak at a conservative political conference in Florida at Donald Trump’s private resort.

Mr Williams says, “Her aim is to improve the living standards of all Australians”.

Then how come she consistently voted against tax cuts, wage rises including the three given to those on the minimum wage? And what about Labor’s bills to help first home buyers into the market, the three key stages of government initiatives on major social and affordable housing bills and increases to Job Seeker/New Start payments?

What about funding for increasing bulk-billing measures that are estimated to have already seen 18 million fee-free GP visits under Labor’s record investment in public health?

She voted against the three-day-a-week subsidy for childcare that assists women in working to supplement family income.

The question is: what exactly would she do to increase standards of living?

Regards,

Sue Baker,

Dunbogan.