{"id":39533,"date":"2026-06-27T06:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T06:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/39533\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T06:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T06:55:12","slug":"one-nation-argues-sydney-morning-herald-letter-exposes-media-contempt-for-australian-voters-after-supporters-labelled-cretins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/39533\/","title":{"rendered":"One Nation argues Sydney Morning Herald letter exposes media \u2018contempt\u2019 for Australian voters after supporters labelled \u2018cretins\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sydney Morning Herald has published a reader\u2019s letter describing One Nation supporters as \u201ccretins\u201d, as the party argues the episode highlights a broader contempt for voters among sections of the media.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The letter appeared in last Saturday\u2019s edition of the paper and criticised the newspaper\u2019s coverage of Pauline Hanson before attacking those who support her party.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFlicking through the pages of Saturday\u2019s Herald, I was disturbed by images of Hanson on pages 14, 33, 34 and 36, as well as a cartoon likeness on page 3 of the business section,\u201d the letter\u00a0stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDare I ask why Hanson and her cavalcade of cacophonous cretins are given so much oxygen?\u201d<\/p>\n

The term \u201ccretins\u201d is commonly defined as extremely foolish,\u00a0stupid\u00a0or insensitive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was published despite being directed at a political movement that now commands substantial support in national polling.<\/p>\n

A One Nation spokesman said the publication of the letter revealed how some media and political figures viewed ordinary Australians who did not share their political views.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He argued dismissive attitudes towards voters carried political risks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis letter and its publication by the SMH reveal the sneering contempt many people have for the intelligence and agency of Australian voters,\u201d the spokesperson told SkyNews.com.au.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHas nothing been learned from Hillary Clinton\u2019s \u2018deplorables\u2019 moment?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who dismiss the genuine concerns of growing numbers of Australians do so at peril of their own relevance while making Senator Hanson\u2019s arguments for her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said\u00a0One Nation supporters were accustomed to criticism and abuse but argued the incident was revealing for a different reason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe support freedom of speech not only so that Australians can express themselves, but also so that they can reveal their true natures by exercising it and experience the consequences of doing so,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Sky<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how free speech is supposed to work.<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s precisely how it is working in Australia right now as the press gallery desperately grapples with the daunting challenge of navigating – with an outdated map – the new political landscape created by One Nation\u2019s surge.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

One Nation maintains its lead as the number one political party in the country after overtaking Labor in the beginning of June, according to Sky News’ YouGov Pulse survey.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The poll<\/a>, conducted from June 9 to 16, showed One Nation has captured 28 per cent of the primary vote, ahead of Labor on 26 per cent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Coalition trailed on 21 per cent, with the Greens capturing 13 per cent and independent or other parties at 12 per cent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u00a0has been a growing acceptance of\u00a0Ms\u00a0Hanson\u2019s party as a potential government-in-waiting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Polling showed 50 per cent of voters supportive of One Nation believed the party would be ready to govern today.<\/p>\n

A further 33 per cent said the party will be ready by the 2028 election.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The controversy comes against a backdrop of ongoing tension between One Nation and sections of the media over political coverage and legitimacy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In recent weeks,\u00a0Ms\u00a0Hanson\u00a0has\u00a0pushed back against commentary from outlets such as the ABC and The Sydney Morning Herald, arguing the party is being unfairly\u00a0characterised.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ms\u00a0Hanson has previously dismissed claims about her party\u2019s legitimacy and accused critics of political bias, saying they underestimate voter support.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAll they can do is throw the barbs and say I’m a racist,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

She has also argued that her party\u2019s message resonates with voters who feel ignored by major political parties and parts of the media establishment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the people around me are actually migrants and people of all different cultural backgrounds \u2026 we look past that because they’re so proud to be Australians,” she previously said.<\/p>\n

The Sydney Morning Herald has not publicly commented on the publication of the letter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Sydney Morning Herald has published a reader\u2019s letter describing One Nation supporters as \u201ccretins\u201d, as the party…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22,21,32110,150,1955,32111,1926,6024],"class_list":["post-39533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-austrlia","tag-cretins","tag-media","tag-one-nation","tag-one-nation-supporters","tag-pauline-hanson","tag-sydney-morning-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}