Kylie Lang: Why Pauline Hanson is looking more dangerous by the day
Pauline Hanson stands for something – and she has the guts to communicate it, so I can understand why conservatives are jumping from the Coalition, writes Kylie Lang.
I understand why conservatives are flocking to One Nation.
For all her burqa-wearing stunts, Pauline Hanson stands for something – and she has the guts to communicate it.
The Coalition, in contrast, appears to be bumbling around, picking over its past mistakes and trying to salvage anything that will win them votes after Peter Dutton’s drubbing at the last federal election.
Waking up to the idiocy of Labor’s net zero policy took the wounded Coalition far too long – and now Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is performing the same awkward dance around immigration.
Voters don’t want ditherers.
They deserve a strong and agile Opposition that can hold the Albanese Government to account – and provide a viable alternative at the 2028 election.
This requires bold measures to, among other things, correct an economy artificially propped up by unskilled migrant labour.
Ms Ley has so far refused to set an immigration reduction target. For now, she’s talking about “policy principles and directions”, to be revealed before Christmas.
How much time does the Opposition need?
This is not an issue that has presented itself overnight.
Liberal backbenchers Andrew Hastie, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Henry Pike and Garth Hamilton are right to pressure Ms Ley for specifics on how migration will be decreased.
Mr Pike says: “Each year, hundreds of thousands of new arrivals mask stagnant economic growth, while housing, hospitals and schools fall further behind.
“If we cannot build the homes and infrastructure to sustain real growth, then we should be making sharp, immediate cuts to the number of migrants.
“We also need to completely rewrite Labor’s new ‘core skills occupation list’, which ignores vital trades like bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, and crane operators, while somehow prioritising yoga instructors, martial arts teachers, dog handlers, artistic directors and even circus performers.”
Mr Hastie, who quit as home affairs spokesman in October over the party’s immigration policy, argues “cutting numbers isn’t enough”.
“There should be two objectives in our reform: we must uphold social cohesion, and we must be laser focused on essential skills.”
Mr Hastie says “we don’t want a nation of tribes, and we don’t want an economy that treats immigration like an endless revenue stream”.
This is common sense writ large.
Yet all Ms Ley could offer last weekend was the Captain Obvious observation that Labor “has not got the balance right”.
Thanks, we know.
If the balance was right, nobody would be marching in the streets to reclaim a recognisable Australia.
Nobody would be living in fear that in the event of a home invasion or carjacking, offenders will be brandishing machetes and be primed to kill or maim – because that’s how things are done in the country they fled.
It is essential that any immigration policy revision mandates the adoption of core Australian values.
That doesn’t mean forgetting where you came from, but remembering where you are.
Yet there appears to be hesitancy around this – in case some migrant groups become offended.
We should not be afraid to stand up for our long-held values of respect, a fair go, mateship and pride in our flag.
And we should not be accused of racial vilification for doing so.
After Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jono Duniam flagged the Opposition was “looking at how best to assess someone’s commitment to our country”, the blinkered Greens predictably said a “values screening test” would demonise migrants and feed “rising racism”.
Which brings me back to Pauline Hanson.
The One Nation senator attended an anti-immigration rally in Melbourne on Sunday at which she said, “we do have a culture and we should be proud of it”.
“I am not anti-migrant; I am not against anyone who wants to come here and give this country their undivided loyalty,” Ms Hanson said.
I’m sure most Australians agree.
The latest Newspoll shows One Nation’s primary vote has jumped to 15 per cent, while DemosAU estimates if a federal election were held now One Nation would win 12 seats, eclipsing the Nationals.
This wouldn’t be enough to win government, but if the Coalition holds any hope of doing so, it needs to lift its game, and fast.
Kylie Lang is Associate Editor of The Courier-Mail
kylie.lang@news.com.au
LOVE
Australian scientists developing a world-first nasal spray that could fight Alzheimer’s disease. A new Melbourne-based company to deliver and trial the treatment will be led by renowned IVF and stem cell pioneer Professor Alan Trounson.
LOATHE
Special treatment for sports stars – again. Queensland Police won’t be fining English cricketers Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Jamie Smith for riding the e-scooters without helmets. No reason given. Great message to send our young people.
Why on earth does a four-year-old need a hydrating face mask?
