A veteran journalist has copped a chorus of boos and a dressing down from Pauline Hanson after suggesting her immigration stance was akin to the “White Australia policy”.
Hundreds of business leaders gathered in the Crown’s grand ballroom in Perth to hear Ms Hanson’s keynote address in which she addressed her UK trip and her sit-down with Tommy Robinson.
After her speech, she was joined on stage by The West Australian editor-in-chief Christopher Dore who asked about her stance on the White Australia policy.
After discussing her rejection of the White Australia policy, Dore then asked about her specific view on Muslim migration.
“Chris, at the moment, we’ve got 18,000 people on the ASIO watch list. We’ve got a real problem that’s growing in this country of radicalisation,” Ms Hanson said.
“I don’t want people coming to this country from radical Islamic countries. I don’t want that here. I want to protect the Australian people.
“I want them to feel safe in the streets. I don’t want to see this antisemitism that’s going on.”
Dore then asked: “I mean, is that, in a way though, that is a version of a White Australia policy, isn’t it?”
The ballroom erupted in jeers and boos, with one man shouting “idiot” before Ms Hanson rejected the premise of the question.
“No, it’s not,” she said.
“No, it’s got nothing to do with that.
“That’s not to do with the White Australia policy at all. So don’t go there with me, I’ll tell you what, because I won’t stand for it.”
Dore had pressed Ms Hanson about her steadfast rejection of the White Australia policy, at which point the One Nation leader turned the interview on its head.
“Let’s go back to the question, that was from Tommy Robinson, the last question. Do you know exactly what he said to me?” Ms Hanson asked.
After a moment of silence from Dore, the grand ballroom erupted in laughter.
Dore quickly recovered and Ms Hanson insisted she had “never advocated for the White Australia Policy” and that One Nation had candidates from “all different cultural backgrounds”.
During an interview with British anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson, published last week, Ms Hanson suggested many of Australia’s migration issues stemmed from the end of the White Australia policy.
“Well, it started in 1973 with Gough Whitlam, so they opened up and got rid of the White Australia policy. Then they started bringing in the different migrants,” she said.
“A lot of people came out after the Second World War, say Italians, Germans, Polish and these people, but they integrated into the system.
“A lot of them couldn’t speak English, but they learnt to speak English. They had to go and work. A lot of them came… with only a pound in their pocket.
“But over the decades, as the governments have changed… a lot of people come in to Australia purely for the welfare system or to get on our NDIS.
“A lot of them are ripping the system off who are a lot from the Muslim areas and they’re getting on the scheme, but there’s a lot of Aussies too.”