One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has delivered a surprise address to American conservatives at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, praising the former US president while describing Australia as an "economic and social tinderbox." Hanson spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida on Wednesday night (local time).
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has delivered a surprise address to American conservatives at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, praising the former US president while describing Australia as an "economic and social tinderbox."
Hanson spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida on Wednesday night (local time), outlining One Nation's priorities and echoing a number of right-wing talking points.
Her visit comes as new polling suggests support for One Nation has risen at the expense of the Coalition, amid internal tensions between the Liberal and National parties over climate and energy targets.
Hanson has missed two weeks of Senate sittings to attend the US event, where she was photographed alongside mining magnate Gina Rinehart. The conference was hosted by US officials including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry. Hanson also reportedly attended Trump's Halloween celebration earlier in the week.
During her speech, Hanson praised Trump as a "strong, patriotic leader" who "turned this country around," while accusing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government of creating a "socialist nightmare."
She cited border security, trade tariffs and Middle East diplomacy as successes of the Trump administration, contrasting them with what she described as Australia's growing economic and social problems.
Hanson reiterated her long-held opposition to high immigration levels, claiming Labor's policies were "flooding" Australia with migrants. However, official figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show net overseas migration of 446,000 people in the year to June 2024 - well below Hanson's figure of 740,000.
She also labelled climate change "this century's greatest hoax," calling for Australia to abandon its net-zero by 2050 target and withdraw from the Paris Agreement, arguing that environmental policies were "destroying our standard of living."
On defence, Hanson reaffirmed One Nation's support for the AUKUS alliance and advocated for Australia to lift defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, up from about 2 per cent.
The senator also criticised gender-affirming healthcare and called for "equality for all Australians."
Hanson concluded her speech by noting what she described as growing domestic support for One Nation and her goal of restoring a "fair go" for Australians.
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