‘I couldn’t care less’: Pauline Hanson defiant on TV ban

Pauline Hanson has defended her comments about tower residents saying Australians support her and she “couldn’t care less” about her ban.

A defiant Pauline Hanson has defended her comments about housing tower residents saying most Australians support her and she “couldn’t care less” about her Today Show ban.

Wearing an Australian flag sweatshirt, Hanson told Andrew Bolt on Sky News that immigrants should speak English as their first language and she “didn’t regret” any of her comments.

“I couldn't care less about whether I go on Channel 9 or not,” she said

“I have my Facebook page, I connect with people. I don’t really care about Channel 9 or Channel 7.”

The One Nation Senator was on Sky’s The Bolt Report after the Nine Network banned her for slamming the 3000 Melbourne people quarantined in nine housing towers, calling them “drug addicts” and “alcoholics”.

After Monday’s Today Show segment, in which Hanson said Melbourne was “being isolated because these people, who cannot speak English, don’t know what the hell to do”, Nine axed her for being “ill-informed and divisive”.

Asked by Bolt about Nine’s comments, Hanson said: “I don’t believe I was divisive at all, I raised issues that have concerned me for 25 years.”

She said that for immigrants coming to live in Australia: “English should be your first language and … you should learn English.

“People have been in this country for many, many years and still don’t know English.”

Asked by Bolt if there was anything she regretted, Hanson said, “No I don’t.

“What I read about the methadone and there is alcohol addiction. I shouldn’t probably have said … that.”

A defiant Pauline Hanson wearing an Australian flag shirt told Andrew Bolt she ‘didn’t care’ about the TV ban. Picture: Sky News

Hanson told Andrew Bolt it was ‘tough’ if people didn’t agree with her views and all immigrants should speak English. Picture: Sky News

Hanson denied she was ill-informed on the issue of spoken English, telling Bolt that “across Australia it is a big problem” and that people “have pushed for a multicultural Australia and it’s not for us”.

Asked if people had differing views to her was reason enough for a Channel 9 ban, Hanson said, “it’s always the same, ‘let’s shut her down’, if I say something that upsets the left.

“If we are going to allow the left to shut us down, we won’t have true democracy in this nation.”

She said she would continue on regardless and “if they don’t want me, don’t vote for me. If they don’t like it, tough.”

Hanson said “everyone is in fear of what the left is going to say”.

She said following her appearance on the Today Show, her Facebook page with 350,000 followers had comments which were “all good, no negativity”.

Pauline Hanson on Nine’s Today Show on Monday expressing controversial views which saw her axed by the network.

She said in responses on the Today Show’s Facebook page “most people support my views”.

“People of Australia are fed up. Having criticism is not racism. I’m not racist. People misuse that word.”

Pointing to her sweatshirt, she said “that’s the Australian flag. That’s being proud of who we are. Speaking English.

“I will keep speaking out. I will call it the way that I see it, which is in tune with a lot of Australians.”

On the Today Show Hanson had questioned why the locked-down occupants of the nine towers were ”getting paid extra money … for what? They are not leaving the premises”.

She also suggested refugees from war-torn countries used to “tough conditions” should be able to withstand the lock up.

Asked by host Ally Langdon if she had a heart, Hanson said Australians were “sick and tired of people bleeding bloody hearts”.

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