On the campaign trail — Pauline Hanson visits Katandra

By Youssef Saudie

May 5, 2022

Campaign issues on the agenda: One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was in the Goulburn Valley this week. Photo by Megan Fisher

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson visited the Victorian region that supports the largest population of First Nations people outside Melbourne on Thursday — but had very little to say about Traditional Owners.

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Speaking at the Katandra West Community Centre, Senator Hanson was queried by The News why her party should have special policies for First Nations people.

“They all have the same voice as I do ... we don’t need policies,” she said.

One Nation candidate for Nicholls at the Federal Election Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell is a Wiradjuri woman.

Ms Tyrrell, an Invergordon dairy farmer, has assisted the party in developing new water policies.

Senator Hanson said water should belong to the community or the person on the land.

One Nation wants to see water trading abolished and water allocations remain attached to land.

The party promises to build new water infrastructure projects, including dams, and increase the supply to Australian farmers, and will legislate the full disclosure of water ownership and ban the sale of water to foreign investors.

Senator Hanson described the public discussion on climate change as “fear mongering”.

“Scientists are pushing their own agenda, and I think it's disgusting to do that to people,“ she said.

According to a recent Climate Council report, more than 91 per cent of homes are at risk of riverine flooding in Shepparton by 2030, making them ‘uninsurable’ by the report’s definition.

Senator Hanson said the “housing market is about 10 years behind our needs”, but did not say climate change was a factor.

“What’s climate change got to do with housing and getting housing insured?” she asked.

One Nation has a net-zero policy on immigration, and Senator Hanson said farmers in the region should be engaging Australians for labour.

“Get those people that are unemployed for years like 30 or 40 years to actually get them into the workforce,” she said.

Senator Hanson was attending a morning tea at the community centre as part of ‘Pauline’s Campaign Tour’.

A visit to Benalla was also on the tour’s itinerary.