Falsities, nastiness and the Trump ‘vibe’ tapped: Hanson at the Press Club
6/18/202626 min
The hottest ticket in Australian politics this week was Pauline Hanson's first address to the National Press Club, which happened on Wednesday.
The Press Club, set up in the early 1960s, has become a rite of passage for any aspiring political leader. But Hanson has been an outsider, and the Press Club represents the type of institution she rejects, so until now the One Nation leader has never made an appearance there.
Her speech, as Inside Politics host Jacqueline Maley and chief political commentator James Massola discuss, was extraordinary for her position on Australian culture, late-term abortions, Muslim migration and her attack on female journalists.
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First 90 secondsJacqueline Maley· Host0:00
[gentle music] I'm Jacqueline Maley, and you're listening to Inside Politics from the newsrooms of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Our usual correspondent, Paul Sekal, is on special assignment at the Soccer World Cup, by which I mean he's on holidays. But we do have a special guest in his stead, our chief political commentator, James Massola. Welcome to the podcast, James, and thank you for being here.
James Massola· Guest0:23
G'day, Jacs. It's great to be here.
Jacqueline Maley· Host0:25
Clearly, your dedication to politics and the political re- arena is greater than your dedication to soccer, unlike some people.
James Massola· Guest0:31
[laughs] Yeah. Yeah, indeed. Look, I'd give my right arm to be there, but my, my wife might have, uh, uh, some objections to that. First of all being, "Why aren't I there as well?"
Jacqueline Maley· Host0:41
[laughs] Yes. Yes, it does look fun. But actually, the hottest ticket in town in terms of Australian politics this week was in Canberra. Uh, it was Pauline Hanson's historic first address to the National Press Club, which happened on Wednesday. Can you just explain briefly to our listeners why it's a big deal that she appeared at the Press Club?
James Massola· Guest0:59
Yeah, of course, Jac. So the Press Club was set up in the early 1960s. The first person to address it was a then external affairs, it's now called a foreign minister, uh, minister, a guy called Garfield Barwick, who went on to be a sir and a high court judge. It's one of the pillars of the establishment, if you like, Jackie. You know, it's where people go, you know, business leaders, captains of industry, prime ministers and opposition leaders, other than Peter Dutton, they go, they make a case in about half an hour, they give a speech, then they face 30 minutes of questions