Heath 🍉

Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club address. The vision? Cut education, health, childcare, climate programs, the ABC, SBS, Aboriginal programs and government departments. Scrap the NDIS and NIAA. Pull back from international cooperation. More coal. Nuclear. Yet somehow also spend more on hospitals, schools, homelessness and cost of living relief. When asked how she would help working Australians, she pivoted to business owners, complained about wage rises, workplace protections and workers being “lazy” and on their phones. Apparently owning a fish and chip shop 40 years ago qualifies you to lecture Australians about running a business in 2026. Asked about interest rates? Admitted she has no control over the RBA but claimed spending cuts would magically bring rates down. Asked about migration? Straight into fear campaigns about Muslims and Europe. Asked about her daughter’s taxpayer-funded job? Refused to answer, attacked journalists and cried “trashy journalism”. Asked about SBS helping migrants integrate? Her answer was basically: watch Sky News and learn English. Asked about childcare? Complained about qualifications and pay rises for childcare workers. Asked about abortion? Repeated the myth that women are having abortions the day before giving birth. They aren’t. Late-term abortions are extremely rare and usually involve serious medical complications or fatal fetal abnormalities. And when asked why Aboriginal programs should be cut, she argued everyone should be treated equally. But equality isn’t pretending everyone starts from the same place. Aboriginal Australians still experience poorer health, education and social outcomes. You don’t close those gaps by removing the services designed to address them. That’s like removing a wheelchair ramp and calling it equality because everyone now has the same stairs. If you’re asking Australians to hand you government, you should be able to answer questions about your policies without changing the subject every time it gets uncomfortable.