Pauline Hanson’s past comments on domestic violence have resurfaced after the One Nation leader sparked backlash this week by declaring abuse was “a two-way street”.
The remarks were made during an appearance on the Broken Fathers podcast late last year, but have attracted renewed attention after Hanson this week sparked widespread condemnation by describing domestic violence as “a two-way street”.
During the interview, Hanson argued Australia’s family violence laws had gone too far, claiming some protections were being abused and that men were routinely disadvantaged by the family law system.
“I believe that you’ve got to wind back a lot of issues to do with the family law court … Go after the child support. A lot of people see it as a cash cow,” she said.
She also criticised paid family and domestic violence leave, describing the entitlement as a “holiday” and claiming it encouraged false allegations, while arguing police were spending too much time investigating domestic violence.
“Domestic violence takes up about 75 per cent of police officers’ time now. That’s why we’re not dealing with real crime out there. The whole thing needs to be wound back,” she said.
The comments add to mounting criticism of Hanson, whose party has enjoyed a surge in support in recent months but whose comments on domestic violence have drawn sharp rebukes from experts and advocates.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody this week said any suggestion victim-survivors shared responsibility for abuse was “harmful, wrong and dangerous”, while National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds said families escaping violence should be “supported rather than judged”.
Hanson today defended earlier comments about domestic violence, saying she doesn’t want the nation to “get it twisted” as critics piled on.
The One Nation leader took to Elon Musk’s platform X to share “exactly” what she said in the 4BC interview.
“Here’s exactly what I said on 4BC about domestic violence so you don’t get it twisted by the media or the Labor Party,” she wrote.
Senator Hanson was swiftly slammed for victim-blaming after she said domestic violence was a “two-way street”.
When asked to condemn male perpetrators of domestic violence, she said “women can also lose their cool”.
Advocates warned the most likely time for a domestic violence victim to be killed was when they left an abusive partner.
Labor Minister for Education Jason Clare joined the growing group of voices criticising Senator Hanson’s comments.
“One in four Australian women are victims of domestic violence … that’s one in four women who are violently attacked by people who tell them that they love them. You know, that’s not a two-way street. That’s a crime,” he told the ABC.
“I think when people hear these comments, if they’re thinking about voting for Pauline Hanson, they think, hang on. I didn’t sign up for that.”
Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonathon Duniam said Senator Hanson’s comments were a “garbled response”.
“If we’re serious about resolving matters of domestic violence, elder abuse, child sexual abuse, and exploitation, then let’s not just have throwaway lines in interviews,” he told the ABC.
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