One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says she will push for a referendum to create a right to free speech that would make it harder for her widely condemned remarks about Muslims to fall foul of the law.

The anti-immigrant populist party has used online posts recently to falsely claim Labor’s post-Bondi hate crimes laws were being used by “political elites” to jail her over her statement that there were no “good” Muslims, directing supporters to a web page to sign up as One Nation members.

Hanson wants referendum to avoid hate speech laws

BY Paul Sakkal

Labor’s changes did not alter anti-vilification laws targeting speech after the government dumped those proposals following an outcry from free speech advocates. Federal police confirmed they had received complaints after her remarks on Sky News on February 16, and police are assessing the reports.

Hanson’s spokesman said One Nation wanted to enshrine a constitutional right to free speech, requiring a referendum and the support of a majority of voters in a majority of states. Unlike the US, Australia has no express right to free speech. The High Court has found that there is an implied restriction in the Constitution on the government’s power to prohibit discussion about political matters.

“With Labor’s new hate speech laws rushed through after the Bondi terrorist attack, and the potential of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion to recommend further restrictions on free speech, the need for stronger constitutional protection of this most important democratic right is more urgent than ever,” Hanson’s spokesman said.

Hanson’s party is climbing rapidly in polls, but splits have emerged over her inflammatory characterisations of Muslims, including with star recruit Barnaby Joyce, who refused to endorse her stance but did not criticise it.

Focus has also turned to the feasibility of Hanson’s policy platform and her team’s lack of governing experience as it faces real-world tests of its support in an upcoming state election in South Australia and a by-election in Sussan Ley’s seat of Farrer.

Deakin University extremism researcher Josh Roose said Hanson’s appeal – like that of Donald Trump and Nigel Farage – did not rely on policy detail and her supporters did not scrutinise her often-muddled remarks.

“It’s a narrative of victimhood, of resistance, of standing up to authority,” he said, adding that he was not aware of any political support for prosecuting Hanson over her Muslim remarks.

Roose said Hanson was following the playbook of the far right by declaring herself a victim of a censorious state “acting illegitimately and undemocratically, and in doing so attempting to mobilise action” among her base.

“The danger comes from those individuals at the fringes who may see the need to take things into their own hands,” Roose said. He added that good-faith attempts to crack down on hate speech were falling over because of arguments from the left and right that such laws impinged on freedom of expression.

Hanson was found guilty of racially vilifying Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi in 2024 when she said Faruqi should “piss off back to Pakistan”. The Greens deputy leader said Hanson’s idea for a referendum, unlikely to get off the ground without major party support, was about the “freedom to be bigots”.

“All they are looking for is a free pass to spread their hateful anti-migrant, anti-Muslim and transphobic views, while these marginalised communities pay the price,” Faruqi said.

Multiple polls have shown One Nation is the party whose policies on migration are most appealing to voters. Former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott and former treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Wednesday called for overhauls of the migration system at Aspire, a conservative conference in Sydney. According to The Australian, Frydenberg said other nations were taking longer to grant citizenship and Australia needed to make a significant shift to a migration system that “does discriminate” on values.

Labor’s assistant minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Julian Hill made waves on Wednesday with a speech urging progressives to embrace the national flag and Australia Day, lest such symbols and institutions be ceded to the far right.

Hill’s speech was notable as he is a Left faction powerbroker representing a seat in Melbourne with a large multicultural community.

With the ideal of multiculturalism under attack from conservatives, Hill said progressives and their “instinctive values-based focus on rights” must “remember there are limits to cultural expression”.

Hill warned against the proliferation of faith-based schools that meant children were not mixing with anyone outside their religious or ethnic groups, also calling out abuse of gay children by new migrants.

“It is a myth of course that most migrants don’t integrate – they overwhelmingly do. But the trap for progressives is to fail to acknowledge that concerns are real, and to act when genuine issues arise,” he said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/hanson-wants-referendum-to-avoid-hate-speech-laws-20260226-p5o5m5.html

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