Lee Hanson says her mother’s comments about the White Australia policy were misinterpreted
Lee Hanson, daughter of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, has said her mother’s comments about the White Australia policy have been “misinterpreted”.
In an interview on a podcast hosted by the far-right British activist Tommy Robinson, Pauline Hanson blamed the end of the White Australia policy for creating what she sees as problems with migration.
Lee Hanson told Sky on Sunday night that “snippets” of her mother’s comments were “misinterpreted”:
I know who Pauline is, Mum is, and I know that’s not what her intention was in any way. I do think snippets of it was misinterpreted. Under no way, shape, or form did she say she wished the White Australia policy hadn’t have been changed. She does not support it and she does not want it back. So I do believe it’s been taken out of context.
We know that media grabbed their snippets and their grabs, and it’s all about clickbait, and then Labor’s obviously jumped on it, and so are the Liberals, right? That’s how they try to better themselves, by picking out a little slogan when she was talking about the history of immigration and the change that has occurred.
She may not be the most eloquent person in the world but that is also a positive about her too, because she’s not necessarily the polished politician that speaks the talking points as everybody else. She is authentic but, yes, it was misunderstood, that’s for sure.
Key events
Josh Butler
Joyce suggests details of ‘mass deportation’ policy
In Barnaby Joyce’s interview on Sunrise, he didn’t distance himself from Hanson’s comments about “mass deportations” of illegal immigrants to Australia.
He said:
As it becomes apparent that they’re not supposed to be here, they’ll be put on a plane and sent back to where they’re supposed to.
Appearing alongside Joyce on a panel segment, Labor minister Tanya Plibersek claimed “literally everybody agrees” with deporting people who were in Australia illegally but asked how One Nation planned to carry out “mass deportations”.
Joyce replied:
We’ve got to make sure, as people present themselves for medical issues or other things, they’re removed from the country. I mean, obviously you’re going to come across them from time to time. They should be removed.
Plibersek agreed with deporting people in Australia illegally, saying Labor is “absolutely focused on removing people when we find them”.
And we’ll continue to do that. We’ll continue to do that because everybody agrees, when people are illegal, they should be removed as quickly as possible.
One Nation doesn’t support White Australia policy, Joyce claims
Josh Butler
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce claims Pauline Hanson’s party does not support the White Australia policy but has backed the idea of “mass deportations”, including people seeking medical appointments after overstaying their visas.
On Sunrise this morning, Joyce said “we don’t support the White Australia policy” but claimed there was a “chain of events” from its abolition that he said had led to bad outcomes.
Joyce said:
It’s a statement of fact, and Pauline herself said that at the start, it started from [Harold] Holt, actually the wind-down of the White Australia policy, a very good thing. And at the start there was really no issues with it.
But over time we got a section of people who didn’t want to really assimilate with Australia, didn’t work within the guardrails of Australia and therefore we started moving away from Australian culture to having to encompass a whole range of views, some of which just are not conducive to an egalitarian, easygoing society.
One Nation has had to issue multiple clarifications over the weekend after Hanson’s interview with far-right British activist Tommy Robinson, where she blamed the end of the White Australia policy for creating what she sees as problems with migration.
Asked by Robinson about “the changing face of Australia due to Islamic immigration”, Hanson replied:
They opened up and got rid of the White Australian policy, then they started bringing in the different migrants.
Andrew Charlton says Labor does not want robodebt-type situation due to AI use
We brought you news earlier about the federal government’s plan to subject the use of AI in automated decision-making by government departments to new rules.
Andrew Charlton, the federal assistant minister for science, technology and the digital economy, has said this morning that the government’s priority is to ensure “we have humans in the loop”, suggesting that the public can expect AI integration into government services, albeit subject to “transparency and accountability”.
Speaking to ABC Sydney, Charlton said:
When it comes to the use of automated decision-making, which is using technology in government services, the government’s priority is to make sure that we are fair, that we have humans in the loop, that we have transparency and accountability.
We do not want to go back to the type of situation that we had in robodebt. We think that these tools, if they have the right governance around them, the right transparency around them, the right oversight around them, humans in the loop, can improve services for citizens, make those services better, fairer, quicker.
The attorney general has been doing a lot of work on this and the purpose of that work is to give Australians confidence that, as these types of automated technologies are introduced into government, they will be delivering them benefits, not delivering them risks.
Patrick Commins
Nearly 2.2 million Australians 15 years and older are living below the wellbeing poverty line, with the share of people reporting very low life satisfaction doubling over the past decade.
In 2025, 9.7%, or about one in 10 Australians, rated their general satisfaction with life at four or below out of 10, according to Guardian Australia’s analysis of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’s (ABS) general social survey.
That compares with one in 20, or 4.8%, reporting very low overall life satisfaction in 2014.
The initial surge of Australians reporting dissatisfaction with their lives came during 2020’s Covid lockdowns and has persisted over the intervening years amid soaring cost of living.
The ABS data echoes other surveys, such as Westpac’s consumer confidence index, which has languished at around 50-year lows since failing to recover from the pandemic blow.
Amid an explosion of support for far-right and populist politics, those reporting life satisfaction scores of four or below are more likely to feel alienated and disempowered in their community, and express lower support for multiculturalism, the ABS figures show.
Read more about the survey’s findings here:
Tom McIlroy
The use of AI in automated decision-making by government departments and agencies will be subject to tough rules under a new national plan, expected to extend to consumer protections, workplace safety and privacy.
As the Albanese government grapples with the rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence and a boom in datacentre construction, senior ministers have begun work to draw up new rules to ensure safety is built into AI processes inside government, prioritising fairness, accuracy and transparency.
Federal departments and agencies continue to rely on automated decision-making in some service delivery functions, prompting fears increasingly sophisticated AI systems could replace more human-led processes.
Though the saga of the illegal robodebt scheme revealed the unreliability of some automated processes, the rise of AI is already dramatically changing the way data is used across the economy.
Labor said that the attorney general, Michelle Rowland, will lead development of the new rules – coming as AI giants including Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft and Google eye major developments in Australia.
Read the full story here:
Lee Hanson says her mother’s comments about the White Australia policy were misinterpreted
Lee Hanson, daughter of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, has said her mother’s comments about the White Australia policy have been “misinterpreted”.
In an interview on a podcast hosted by the far-right British activist Tommy Robinson, Pauline Hanson blamed the end of the White Australia policy for creating what she sees as problems with migration.
Lee Hanson told Sky on Sunday night that “snippets” of her mother’s comments were “misinterpreted”:
I know who Pauline is, Mum is, and I know that’s not what her intention was in any way. I do think snippets of it was misinterpreted. Under no way, shape, or form did she say she wished the White Australia policy hadn’t have been changed. She does not support it and she does not want it back. So I do believe it’s been taken out of context.
We know that media grabbed their snippets and their grabs, and it’s all about clickbait, and then Labor’s obviously jumped on it, and so are the Liberals, right? That’s how they try to better themselves, by picking out a little slogan when she was talking about the history of immigration and the change that has occurred.
She may not be the most eloquent person in the world but that is also a positive about her too, because she’s not necessarily the polished politician that speaks the talking points as everybody else. She is authentic but, yes, it was misunderstood, that’s for sure.
Ima Caldwell
The arrest unfolded in real time, behind a bank of television microphones at Perth’s busy Mirrabooka bus station. As Western Australia’s police commissioner, Col Blanch, spoke to reporters on Thursday 2 July, a camera mounted on a nearby marked police van had been quietly panning across the interchange.
It can scan hundreds of faces a minute, instantly cross-referencing their profiles against a database of about 4,000 people: those with outstanding arrest warrants, registered child sexual abuse offenders and people reported missing.
Midway through the media conference, the algorithm pinged. Officers stepped into the crowd and led away a woman wanted for failing to appear in court.
“Commissioner, can we just get your reaction? There’s just been an arrest from the cameras behind you right now,” a reporter said.
“Been happening all week,” Blanch said. “I’d love to say I planned that but I think that’s exactly what the technology is … People are being arrested because they are wanted.”
Read more on this story here:
State funeral for Derryn Hinch to be held this afternoon
The state funeral for veteran broadcaster Derryn Hinch will be held in Melbourne this afternoon. Hinch died on 10 July, aged 82, after long-term health struggles.
The Victorian government-hosted service begins at midday at the Timber Yard events space in Port Melbourne, and is expected to be attended by notable figures from politics and the media. The service will also be livestreamed from the Victorian government website.
Hinch’s friends and former colleagues, including Ray Martin, will appear and 3AW’s Darren James will be master of ceremonies.
As the Guardian’s obituary of Hinch describes, his was a life that featured imprisonment, politics, a rags-to-riches twist, multiple marriages and several serious health challenges, all played out in the public sphere, earning the Australian journalist, broadcaster and former senator his nickname: the human headline.
His death drew tributes from a broad range of public figures, including the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the opposition leader, Angus Taylor.
A statement released by the Victorian government remembered Hinch as living a life defined by his principles and an unwavering commitment to stand up for what he believed was right.
– With AAP
Luca Ittimani
Corporate cop wins record $830m for government coffers
The corporate regulator won $830m in civil penalties from courts over the past year, more than it did in the past six years combined.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has reported its enforcement figures for 2025-26 and found courts had demanded companies pay a record total in civil penalties. That included the biggest penalty ever awarded in an Asic case, a $300m penalty against collapsed foreign exchange broker Union Standard in June.
From 2019-20 to 2024-25, Asic won an average of just $137m of civil penalties against companies.
Asic said its action would lead to $643.5m worth of remediation, refunds and payments to tens of thousands of customers and investors. Penalties will also prop up the federal budget.
The regulator also issued $12m worth of infringement notices, double the amount from 2024-25. Asic’s chair, Sarah Court, said:
Our enforcement work is focused on misconduct that causes real harm and we are delivering results, forcing change, strengthening accountability and returning money to consumers and investors.
Tom McIlroy
Seven’s Spotlight on Pauline Hanson an awkward affair
Perhaps the most telling moment in Channel Seven’s special Spotlight episode on Pauline Hanson last night came right at the end.
After an hour of watching the One Nation leader revive her “greatest hits” – including divisive comments about Muslim Australians, attacks on multiculturalism and her claims to be sticking it to “the establishment” – she told reporter Liam Bartlett that he wasn’t getting an exclusive.
The show must have spent tens of thousands following Hanson to Britain, where she met with former Neighbours star Holly Valance, far-right activist Tommy Robinson and Reform MP Robert Jenrick, but in the final segment Bartlett conceded he had never expected exclusive news from Hanson and instead anticipated only “a robust conversation”.
The program included awkward moments for the Queensland senator too. Crowd sizes for her speech at the CPAC conference in London were slim, and she and Nationals defector Barnaby Joyce had to defend previous comments attacking one another. A street tour of Robinson’s home town, Luton, nearly devolved into a fight with a local resident. Robinson also denied ever trying to come to Australia, despite previously having visa applications refused because of his criminal record.
Voters considering One Nation learned little that was new, except perhaps a newfound appreciation by Hanson for so-called mass deportation policies. Asked about Reform UK’s policy to remove hundreds of thousands of people from Britain, Hanson said she favoured a similar policy for people living in Australia illegally.
“I love it,” she said, before promising to plan implementation of the policy with bureaucrats if One Nation wins government.
Despite controversy about Hanson’s tour, and her visit to Italy with donor Gina Rinehart, Monday’s Newspoll shows One Nation with a primary vote of 30%, equal with Labor and ahead of the Coalition on 19%.
Private schools pitch for more government money
Krishani Dhanji
Independent Schools Australia, the peak body for private schools, is launching a campaign today to increase government funding, targeting key Labor and teal seats across the country.
The body will roll out digital advertising, billboards and posters on buses in inner-city federal seats including the Labor-held Brisbane and Griffith in Queensland, Melbourne, as well key teal seats including Mackellar and Wentworth in Sydney, and Curtin in Perth. It will also target Goldstein, won by Liberal Tim Wilson, who was previously ousted by the teals.
The slogan? “Parents are choosing, families are contributing, and policy needs to reflect that reality.”
The campaign comes before Labor’s national conference this week, with the group arguing that as more parents choose private schools and make other sacrifices to pay for it, the government should pitch in more.
But according to Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Acara) data from 2023, 98% of private schools were funded above the schooling resource standard (SRS) recommended by Gonski and more than 98% of public schools were funded below it.
The ISA chief executive, Graham Catt, says:
Independent school families have been stereotyped for too long. They are parents and taxpayers making careful decisions about their children’s education, often under real financial pressure.
They deserve to be seen, they deserve to be heard and they deserve policy settings that recognise the choices they are already making.
Tom McIlroy
Albanese helps launch major air combat exercise
Anthony Albanese has announced the official opening of Exercise Pitch Black 2026, Australia’s premier international air combat exercise, which is happening in Darwin.
Over the next three weeks, 100 aircraft and about 2,500 personnel from the Royal Australian Air Force and 20 countries overseas will take part in training activities and exercises in the skies over Australia’s north.
The biennial exercise is designed to strengthen cooperation using high-end training from Raaf Bases Darwin and Tindal in the Northern Territory, and Raaf Base Amberley in Queensland.
Aircraft from the United States, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, India, Singapore, Germany, France and Spain as well as embedded personnel from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Fiji, Canada, Brunei, Malaysia, Finland and Sweden will all take part.
Albanese said:
Australia is strongest when we work closely with our partners.
Exercise Pitch Black strengthens those partnerships and demonstrates Australia’s commitment to working closely across our region to support peace, stability and security.
Hanson ‘talking Australia down’ on rightwing tour: Albanese
Tom McIlroy
Anthony Albanese says Pauline Hanson should not be talking the country down as she appears at a string of conservative political events and holidays with billionaire benefactor Gina Rinehart in Europe.
The One Nation leader attended the CPAC conference in London on the weekend, after recording a podcast with far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Albanese was asked about her tour during a visit to Tiwi Island on Sunday.
He said:
When I have the opportunity to represent Australia overseas, I talk Australia up.
I don’t talk Australia down. I go as someone who’s proud to represent our nation and proud to talk about what we are as a nation. There’s nowhere you’d rather be than Australia and I think that it is up to our representatives, no matter where they stand in the parliament, when they’re overseas, to talk Australia up, not talk Australia down.
We have created in this country an extraordinary nation and it is something that the world is envious of because of what we’ve created here. And that is why, in my view, it is the responsibility of people when they travel overseas to talk Australia up and to be proud of who we are and what we have created as a nation.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to the first live news blog for this brand new week. I’m Stephanie Convery and I’ll be with you until early afternoon today.
First up, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says Pauline Hanson should not be talking the country down as she appears at a string of conservative political events and holidays with billionaire benefactor Gina Rinehart in Europe. The PM’s comments also come as an awkward interview with the One Nation leader airs on Seven.
Longtime broadcaster Derryn Hinch will be farewelled at a state funeral in Melbourne this afternoon. The so-called “Human Headline” died earlier this month, aged 82.
All that and much more to come.
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