Channelling Trump and deriding journalists: five key moments from Pauline Hanson’s Press Club speech

Pauline Hanson’s nationally televised National Press Club address perhaps signals her arrival in the Australian political mainstream. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP View image in fullscreen Pauline Hanson’s nationally televised National Press Club address perhaps signals her arrival in the Australian political mainstream. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Channelling Trump and deriding journalists: five key moments from Pauline Hanson’s Press Club speech One Nation leader uses platform to rail against multiculturalism, the media and the climate change ‘hoax’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A nationally televised address to the National Press Club was perhaps the clearest proof yet of Pauline Hanson’s arrival in the mainstream of Australian politics . The One Nation leader used the platform to rail against multiculturalism, the climate change “hoax” and the media in a speech that was interrupted by a protest highlighting her opposition to wage rises for the lowest-paid workers. Pauline Hanson says Australia ‘must be monocultural’ in National Press Club speech Read more Here are the main takeaways. 1. Same old message, new target Three decades ago, Hanson used her first speech to federal parliament to argue that multiculturalism should be “abolished” and Australia was at risk of being “swamped by Asians”. She made similar claims on Wednesday, only this time pointing the finger at “radical Islam” and non-English speakers for allegedly eroding the national identity. “We cannot be a multicultural society. We are a multiracial society, but we must be monocultural. Australians must live under the one cultural umbrella,” she said in a prepared speech that ran for more than 50 minutes – far longer than most press club addresses. 1:30 Pauline Hanson says Australia must be ‘monocultural’ in Press Club address – video Asked if Australia was in danger of being “swamped by Muslims”, Hanson said: “Not if I get any say in it.” Hanson pointed to a series of “facts” to justify her argument, including 2021 census figures that found 23% of people spoke a language other than English at home. “How can you generate social cohesion if people can’t speak the language?” she said, ignoring the fact that fluent English speakers might use another language at home. 2. The climate change ‘hoax’ In loud echoes of Donald Trump, Hanson directly blamed the “hoax” of climate change for driving up energy prices and, in turn, cost-of-living pressure. Hanson’s solution? Ban wind and solar farms, cancel Snowy Hydro 2.0, end subsidies for renewables, double down on fossil fuels and build a nuclear reactor. The One Nation leader didn’t rule out taxpayers underwriting a nuclear power plant, reviving a concept that voters comprehensively rejected at the last federal election when Peter Dutton proposed it (albeit on a much larger scale). The cost of nuclear power has consistently been found to be more expensive than a