Ms Hanson told News24 she was not yet Prime Minister or Foreign Minister and is more focused on domestic cost of living issues rather than foreign leaders.
It comes after she was unable to name Indonesia’s President Subianto Prabowo or Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during an exclusive interview for the News24 documentary The Fight for the Right.
Ms Hanson has since told News24 she could remember Ms Takaichi’s name but had still not looked up the Indonesian leader.
“I do remember (Sanae) Takaichi, but you know what, I still haven’t looked up who the Prime Minister (sic) of Indonesia is, because I don’t need to know,” Ms Hanson said.
Ms Hanson argued that Australians were unlikely to know the names either and said she was more concerned with issues affecting people at home.
“The people in Australia, most of them couldn’t even tell you who the Prime Minister of Indonesia is,” she said.
“I’m not the Foreign Minister, I’m not the Prime Minister, and when it comes to time that I may need to know their names, I will learn it.
“How do I know they won’t have a change of Prime Minister between now and after the next election? So let’s see what happens there.”
She said her more immediate priorities were the cost of living, housing and ensuring Australians could provide for their families.
“I’m going to deal with the things that are important to the people of this country and that is to try and turn it around to give them a decent standard of living,” she said.
The comments follow Ms Hanson being challenged on the Fight for the Right documentary whether she would be prepared to engage with regional leaders.
Asked to name Indonesia’s president, Ms Hanson said: “No, I don’t know his name. I can’t remember his name.”
When asked about Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, she was similarly unable to provide the name.
Ms Hanson later described the exchange as a “gotcha” moment and said she was “fed up with these gotcha moments”.
The issue was also put to Agriculture Minister Julie Collins on Sunday, who named both leaders and pointed to the importance of Australia’s relationships with both countries.
“Well, President Prabowo of Indonesia and the Prime Minister Takaichi obviously have close relationships with Australia,” Ms Collins told News24.
“As Agriculture Minister I certainly appreciate those relationships. We have a close relationship with Indonesia and Japan in terms of our agricultural trade, which I’m very proud of.”
Pressed on whether Ms Hanson should be expected to know the names of the leaders, Ms Collins declined to directly criticise the One Nation leader.
“Well that’s a matter for her to have to answer… I’ll leave it to her to make her own comments about international relations,” Ms Collins said.
“I’m focused on my job of making sure that we get the best opportunities for Australian farmers. Our government has been focused on restoring those international relations.”
The exchange comes as One Nation seeks to consolidate support among voters dissatisfied with the major parties.
The latest News24 Pulse/YouGov poll found Labor holding 28 per cent of the primary vote, followed by One Nation on 24 per cent and the Coalition on 22 per cent.
Ms Hanson told News24 in May she believed she had the ability to be Prime Minister of Australia.
“Do I want to be Prime Minister? Well, I tell you what, I won’t knock the job because I believe that I have the ability to do it,” she said.
“I’m not going to underestimate myself or say, ‘no, I can’t do it,’ because you know, have a look at what we’ve got now. That’s why we’re in a mess.”
Ms Hanson added that running for a seat in the House of Representatives, rather than the Senate, was “in consideration” for the 2028 election.
“It is in consideration by all means, it is in the mix but I’m not making a decision now… It will be based on political strategy as well,” she said.
Ms Hanson went on to describe the Albanese government as the “worst” she had ever seen in her 30 years of politics.