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Anthony Albanese has slammed Pauline Hanson for her latest anti-Muslim remarks, drawing a direct link between the One Nation leader’s commentary and escalating threats of violence towards minority groups.
The prime minister said Hanson’s suggestion that there were no good Muslims was “disgraceful”, while the Muslim former One Nation candidate who Hanson invoked in a qualified apology said the One Nation leader’s comments made her feel like an idiot.
Albanese has for months urged Australians to turn down the temperature of public debate, after gunmen targeted a Jewish celebration at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people, wounding dozens more, and sparking a febrile political debate over religion, race, and immigration.
One Nation’s support has swelled in recent months, eclipsing the Coalition in some polls, and Hanson recorded the highest net likeability of all political leaders in this masthead’s Resolve Political Monitor this week.
Albanese called out Hanson’s comments from earlier this week, where she singled out the majority-Muslim suburb of Lakemba in Sydney as somewhere she did not feel safe.
Lakemba Mosque on Wednesday reported receiving a threat to kill worshippers on the eve of the city’s Ramadan celebrations – its third graphic threat in less than a month.
“Those comments are disgraceful, and they’re aimed at just dividing people,” Albanese told Nova Melbourne on Thursday.
When the prime minister was asked on ABC Radio Sydney whether he thought there was a link between Hanson’s commentary and the threat of violence, he said, “of course there is”.
“It legitimises it, it mainstreams it, and Pauline Hanson is a divisive figure,” Albanese said.
“She’s made a political career out of seeking to divide Australians against each other.”
He also questioned Hanson’s record as a politician, saying she was often a no-show in the Senate and had no credible solutions to offer the Australian people. Hanson voted in just under 40 per cent of divisions in the previous term of parliament, according to Senate data.
“There’s no economic policy. There’s nothing on cost of living; [Hanson]’s voted against every cost-of-living measure. She’s opposed any of the industrial relations reforms that have led to higher wages, such as same jobs, same pay,” he said.
“I understand that people are frustrated and that fear can be a powerful emotion, but what we need in this country is hope, is optimism, and is looking forward.”
Hanson on Tuesday offered a qualified retreat from her comments, saying she did not genuinely believe there were no good Muslims because One Nation had once had a non-practising Muslim woman stand as a candidate.
The former candidate, Emma Eros, said on Thursday the One Nation leader’s recent comments were “appalling”.
“It’s disappointing, but not surprising. Pauline’s never really been articulate. It’s just a ridiculous statement to make,” Eros told 2GB.
“It just makes me feel like an idiot because she just … digs her heels in, shoots herself in the foot and then goes 10 steps back.”
Australia’s race discrimination commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, said Hanson had proven over decades that her remarks were not a novelty, and should no longer be treated as such.
“Her comments give a green light to racist violence. They embolden others to come out and engage in violence, and we’ve seen some of the most horrific racist violence ever, just in the last two months,” he said, referring to the Bondi massacre and the failed bomb attack at a Perth Invasion Day rally.
Sivaraman welcomed the prime minister’s intervention, saying it was incumbent on political leaders and media to call out prejudice, but also called on Albanese to implement the national anti-racism framework – a road map for governments to address racism, which was proposed in 2024.
He encouraged Hanson to accept invitations to participate in Ramadan in Lakemba, where thousands will descend for the night markets that have become a major tourist attraction.
“I think the fact that the Muslim community and the anti-Islamophobia envoy, Aftab Malik, have invited her shows the grace and the dignity in the community that when someone is attacking them, to respond by opening their arms and saying, come and learn about us,” he said.
Islamophobia envoy Aftab Malik said that Hanson’s comments revealed more about herself than the Muslim community, and that his invitation to meet remained on the table.
“There is nothing new in what Senator Hanson is saying — she has held these views for decades,” Malik said. “What is different this time, as the Prime Minister rightly pointed out, is the deliberate exploitation of grievance to shift the political dial. That should concern all of us.”
Albanese condemned the latest threat of violence directed at Lakemba Mosque as outrageous, and called for the perpetrators to face the full force of the law.
He also took aim at senior Liberal figures, including former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, for suggesting their party should consider doing preference deals with One Nation to boost the Coalition’s electoral chances.
“It used to be the case that One Nation was isolated and put last on how-to-vote cards of the mainstream political parties, Labor and Liberal,” Albanese said.
Brittany Busch is a federal politics reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.