Pauline Hanson reveals she ‘wants to work with Muslims’

IT SHOULD have been an easy win for Pauline Hanson, but one question left the One Nation leader absolutely speechless.

IT WAS the one question that silenced Pauline Hanson.

In what should have been an easy win for the re-elected Senator, the divisive One Nation leader was left speechless by what has been described as a “simple question” on 60 Minutes.

“If you had one message for the people of Australia now that you are in parliament what would it be?”

Footage shows Ms Hanson struggling to find an answer...and after a long 24-second wait, she’s left a mumbling mess.

“Uh...I don’t..I don’t know what I’d actually...the message I’d say to them,” she replies.

"If you had one message for the people of Australia, now that you are in Parliament, what would it be?" | #60Minshttps://t.co/0zX2mJfuhx

— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) August 28, 2016

But on KIIS FM this morning, Ms Hanson got her chance to answer.

“The question threw me,” she explained.

“I had so many things that were going through my mind, what do I actually want to tell them, something that would be of significance, and so much meaning to the Australian people.”

“I think when I reflect on it now, it’s to embrace everyone that’s here, whether you’re born here or come from another country, that our aim is to live in peace and harmony and united and I think that’s very important if we’re going to continue to be the nation that we are.

“I don’t want to see the division that’s happening, I don’t want to see hatred or terrorism or problems on our streets. I want to see kids that can get jobs and own their own homes, I don’t want to see the older generations thrown on the scrap heap.

“There’s a lot of things I want to tell the Australian people, but you know it’s not my telling them, it’s by my actions and that’s what members of parliament, we have to prove to the people that we’re worthy of it.”

Arriving on the political scene in 1996, Pauline Hanson shocked the nation with her polarising views. #60Minshttps://t.co/y4lvhNrYA1

— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) August 28, 2016

Ms Hanson also revealed former Prime Minister Tony Abbott called her to congratulate her in a “genuine, lengthy conversation” on her recent Senate win.

According to Ms Hanson, Mr Abbott told her “I’m a stayer, that my tenacity, that I’ve kept going and going, that I’ve deserved it.

“I discussed some of the things I’d like to put before parliament, he thinks they’re not bad policies actually, that they do need looking at.

“I’m going to sit down and have a talk, have a cup of coffee with Tony.”

Hanson believed her 2003 imprisonment was political & cited Tony Abbott for helping fund the legal case against her.https://t.co/S59ufn0Das

— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) August 28, 2016

Ms Hanson, who was elected to the Senate alongside three other members of her party, called on the Muslim community to work with her as she fought to stamp her mark on the country.

“What I’d like to see is ... these Muslims that are not the radicals, the ones that want to live their life in peace and harmony and quite happy to be here in Australia and love and embrace this nation, then work with me to find the answers,” she told reporter Liz Hayes.

The influential senator said she was “trying to be protective” by calling for a total ban on Muslim immigration.

“I don’t want to see another Australian lose their life or a loved one lose their life because of this,” added Ms Hanson, who carries a copy of the Koran in her handbag, for “reference”.

The controversial politician admitted that her comments that Australia was “in danger of being swamped by Asians” in her maiden speech in 1996 had caused problems, along with her later remark that she didn’t want the country “to become Asian-ised.”

But the former fish and chip shop owner insisted: “It wasn’t meant to offend the Asians that are here, or people who’ve come here for a new way of life.”

The visibly emotional new senator has already met privately with Malcolm Turnbull.

Ms Hanson, who famously replied “Please explain” when 60 Minutes asked if she was xenophobic back in 1996, was totally clear on the point this evening.

“That’s stupid to say, you know, fear of foreigners. Not so.

“I don’t hate Asians. I don’t hate Muslims. I don’t, you know, hate’s a very strong word.

“I’m quite open-minded with a lot of things.”

The senator, who was visibly emotional as she spoke outside Parliament House in today’s episode, is already attending private meetings with Australia’s most powerful politicians.

After spending an hour in one-on-one talks with Malcolm Turnbull, she said she “respected” the Prime Minister.

“He was very gracious, and spoke to me about ... Well, I did most of the talking!”

And Mr Turnbull isn’t the only prominent figure courting Ms Hanson.

“Tony [Abbott] has already offered to have a cup of coffee with me,” she said, adding that she would love to sit down with him.

The One Nation leader previously claimed she “detested” Mr Abbott because she believed the former prime minister had played a role in her imprisonment for electoral fraud, which her daughter said left her “emotionally ripped apart” for years.

“You can’t live on hate,” she said. “Don’t forget, I’m like a bloody old elephant, and I don’t forget, but the whole fact is he has a job to do, I have a job to do. I’m not a vindictive person. I’m there to do work for the people.”

The One Nation leader says her children ask her to “say things differently.”

The mother of four children, who started out as a local councillor, told Hayes she never sought to stoke the flames and was “the quiet one” in her family.

“I really had to push myself to be the voice. It doesn’t ... it’s never come to me easily.

“It’s just the way that it comes ... it comes out sometimes, and people say, ‘Oh, shock, horror’,” she said.

“This is who I am, this is what you get, and people say, ‘Oh, can you say it differently?’

“Even my kids say to me, ‘Mum, we understand what you’re saying, but can you say it a little bit differently?’”

Her daughter Lee told the program it had been “challenging” at times to be the child of the controversial figure in political life.

“I had a death threat against myself, so that was bizarre,” she said. “I was 13.”

But Ms Hanson is convinced she has a job to do.

“What I would say to the Australian people is thatI will always try to be upfront, honest and accountable to them.

“People need hope. And if you’ve got hope, then you can actually say ... Give them that confidence to say, “At least someone’s there, thinking about us. I hope they just give me a fair go.

“Judge me on my performance and my achievements. I’m not perfect. I’ve never claimed to be perfect. But if anyone wants to criticise me, then at the next election, put your name forward. You have every right to stand for parliament. And I’d like to see what sort of job you do.”

And now she’s in, she warned she doesn’t plan on going anywhere in a hurry.

Asked what she would consider failure after six years, Ms Hanson replied: “If they didn’t want to vote me in at the next election.”