One Nation SURGES: Pauline Hanson Reacts

Well, it's been a big week for One Nation.Pauline Hanson is now the most popular political leader in the country and, I dare say, the most scrutinised.She joins me now.Senator Hanson, thanks so much for coming on the programme.I want to start with Barnaby Joyce.Tell me about that phone call from Barnaby Joyce on Thursday night, right after he finished his first take of that interview with Andrew Bolt.

I didn't personally talk to him, he spoke to one of the advisors and I was contacted as well to clarify the matter and I said no, it's not permanent residence, it's only foreign investors in the country.So once Barnaby got that information, he went back on, he said, look, I need to clarify this.And good on him.I think it's right.He did the right thing.And he clarified it and said, no, it's not to do with permanent residence.

And it's quite interesting now to see that Tim Wilson is saying, oh, yes, isn't it terrible of One Nation?They want to take the homes of permanent residents and kick them out of the country.Got nothing to do with it.So they're just going on with these lies once it's been clarified.So it's foreign investors.James, foreign investors, nothing to do with permanent residents.

Permanent residents are those people who have been accepted in the country, they're moving through the system and hopefully one day they'll want to become Australian citizens.So visa holders, foreign students, those ones on temporary visas in the country, they can't buy housing in Australia at all.And foreign investors cannot.That means citizens from another country.who don't have any connection with Australia, cannot buy property in Australia.So that's our policy.

One Nation obviously has copped a lot of criticism.People saying, well, One Nation isn't ready to govern.And Thursday night was an example of that.My counter to that would be Barnaby Joyce immediately corrected the policy.There's a little bit of confusion, but at least he wasn't telling bald -faced lies to the Australian public like, I don't know, some other politicians.

You are so right and people are fed up with it and we see those lies constantly coming out of our Prime Minister's mouth and he says, you know, your power bill's going to go down by $275 a year.No, I didn't fall off the stage.No, well, this wasn't our policy, but we've just changed our position.Now it goes on and on and on.At least Barnaby clarified the whole situation, but they want to keep driving the wedge.They still want to try and discredit One Nation and we're up front and honest with the people.

And this is where people are fed up with politicians.They're sick and tired of the major political parties.They can't lie straight in bed.They tell them what they want to, you know, what they think the public want to hear and they do differently.You know, I've always been upfront and honest with the public and I'll continue to do that.

Yeah, I think Australians will forgive a mistake that's quickly corrected.What they won't forgive is being continually lied to, told that up is down, black is white and that they're imagining what they saw or heard.

That's right, James, and I hear that all the time.And people are now really becoming rusted on to One Nation, and I heard it today.Quite a bit, you know, people that are staunch Labor, they said no more, we've had enough, we're actually going to support you and they're joining the party, which I appreciate.But those people, they want change.They desperately are crying out for change.They're sick and tired of the way the country's going, where it's headed.

They don't feel safe.They don't feel there's a future for them.They feel their children may not have a future.And they don't trust them anymore.The major political parties have lost the trust from the Australian people, and they're turning to myself and One Nation, the great team that I have around me, and it is a team, and it's grown all the time, James.The great people that I have coming on board, it's been a big learning experience.

And I'll tell people out there, right?Albanese cut back my staff.I've got two advisors in my office.Albanese has got 59.And apart from that, they've got over, the Labor Party, over 500 staff to help them.You know, we're on the bones of our backside trying to deal with everything that we have to.

And, you know, the criticism that's thrown at us Yes, we are a major party, because only what the polls tell us.But we haven't got the resources like the other major political parties have.And we're trying to do the best that we can.So if there's a couple of stuff -ups along the way, well then, so be it.But we will rectify it, which I give Barnaby full credit for doing that.

The other thing I wanted to clear up is in regard to policy costings.You said last week One Nation hadn't been able to get policies costed until now because One Nation hadn't had numbers to be formally recognised as a party.But here's yesterday's paper.I'm quoting for you.The Australian has established that the Parliamentary Budget Office rules allow any MP or Senator to cost policies rendering Senator Hanson's excuse invalid.Can you clear that up for me?

What do you say to that?

Yeah, James, that's right.I've I believe that a few weeks ago, I got a letter from the office saying that, you know, I can utilise that office now.And that's what I was going on.There has been a couple of things in the past that we have got budget costings on.So I'm going to be honest with the people there that we have.But isn't it funny?

Now they're saying that we haven't got policies yet.They're saying we haven't got the policies budgeted.So what are they talking about?Have I got policies or haven't I got policies?So, you know, they're having a bit each way here as far as I'm concerned.Our policies will be costed.

when they need to be costed closer to the election and what I'll say to people, I don't trust them either.They told us that Snowy 2 would cost $2 billion.What it's been costed now?$42 billion.What about the NBN?That blew completely out to over $60 billion.

Oh, and don't forget about the Inlay Rail.So really what we're getting told by the Budget Office, really, is that what it's going to cost?I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them.What, they're going to tell me how much something's going to cost?

Sorry Senator, just to clear that up, when you said last week that you weren't able to get policies costed until now, was that correct or were you confused at what was actually going on there?

No, I was confused.Look, we've become a parliamentary office, a parliamentary party, when Barnaby came on board.So I believe that I got a letter from them saying now we're a parliamentary party, we can actually move forward and we go up.a notch because we're a parliamentary party.So I believe that's going to open up the doors for us.We're not able to get these things done at the drop of a hat in the past.

You know, I can't even half the time get even private senators' bills drafted up.We're always last to have anything done for us because we didn't have the numbers.But now, hopefully, we're going to get things more moving forward.whether it's private member's bills being drawn up or whether we're going to get costings done, which we should be able to get that done.But I haven't got the policies at the moment.James, I haven't got the policy at the moment.

I'm not going to put anything forward to get anything costed at the moment because I haven't got those policies set in concrete that I need to get costings done at the moment.That'll be done closer to the election when we need to have those policies costed.

You're certainly getting attacked on all sides at the moment.The Australian's reporting tonight that your West Australian...Senator Tyrone Whitton's eligibility to sit in Parliament is under question amid claims he retains shares in a family company that's been awarded a Commonwealth contract with the Snowy Hydro 2 .0 project.What's your response to that?Is there a danger he may be out of Parliament?

No, not at all.And the Australian was told this by our solicitors on Friday afternoon, but they still went ahead with the story.The Australian is dead set on trying to discredit One Nation.nearly every day of the week and this isn't the only case.They contacted my staff that used to work for me five years ago to see if they can get any dirt on One Nation.This is constantly going on all the time.

I don't trust the grubs.This is where they keep trying to have a go at and discredit us.Tyrone had nothing to do with that.That was actually a public construction company, nothing to do with the government at all.So that's Sarah, I think it's Sarah Eisen who did the story.Hopeless.

Absolutely hopeless.She never did her research.She's the one who's constantly having a go at One Nation to try and discredit us, and that's the Australians, every time.So if you're going to write a story about One Nation, make sure you do your research properly instead of trying to discredit us every which way.

Alright, before I let you go, Senator, there's a billboard going around Melbourne depicting Victoria's Labor Premier Jacinta Allen as a witch.Jacinta Allen has complained on Instagram that the billboard is sexist.She added, I cannot stand back and let Victoria become a place where this sort of language is fair game against any women at work or any woman in leadership.What do you think about that?

Suck it up, sweetheart.Right.If you've seen what's happened to me over the years, I remember years ago, Tim Fisher called me a witch and I should be burned at the stake.So I've beentagged that long before you.So anyway it's just toughen up and besides Jacinda I'll tell you something I've heard on the grapevine you won't be there in a couple of weeks time.

I think they're ready to move you on.

What have you heard Senator?

She won't be there in a couple of weeks time.So she'll be She'll be dethroned.So that's what I'm hearing.She will be dethroned.So you don't worry about the billboard anymore.So that'll be absolutely nothing.

It'll be blank because you won't have your photo up there.You'll be gone.

Senator Hanson, I appreciate you joining me tonight.Thank you.