Pauline Hanson defends outburst during the Acknowledgement of Country in the Senate

One Nation’s Pauline Hanson has doubled down on her decision to storm out of the Senate, despite the move being labelled “ignorant and racist”.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has doubled down on her decision to storm out of the Senate during the Acknowledgement of Country yesterday, despite the move being branded “ignorant and racist”.

Senate President Sue Lines acknowledged the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples as the traditional custodians of the Canberra area and paid respect to elders past and present during the opening of Wednesday’s sitting.

But before Ms Lines could finish the acknowledgment, the One Nation leader interjected.

“No, I won’t,” she yelled, adding, “I never will.”

While it wasn’t captured on the parliamentary broadcast feed, NCA NewsWire photographer Gary Ramage caught Ms Hanson leaving the chamber.

Pauline Hanson caused a sensational upset at the start of the Senate on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

Speaking to 2GB’s Jim Wilson following the outburst, Ms Hanson said she didn’t regret her decision, claiming there was no other way to voice her concerns other than what she did.

The One Nation leader claimed she has had multiple people contact her and praise her for the move.

“A lot of people have contacted my office and said thank you,” Ms Hanson told the radio program.

“A farmer from NSW called up and said, ‘We go to every meeting, we hear it at every meeting and we are sick of it.’ People are so over it. We don’t need to hear this every time.”

Ms Hanson complained she couldn’t even hire a hall for a party meeting unless an Acknowledgement of Country was said, saying “it was forced on us”.

When Wilson suggested that the way in which Ms Hanson expressed her discontent didn’t really help move the conversation forward, the senator said she disagreed.

“A lot of people are fed up with it,” she said.

She walked out of the Senate following her outburst. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

Her protest came as the Senate was due to consider a motion to display the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in the chamber alongside the Australian flag.

Anthony Albanese made a point to include the flags in the backdrop of his first prime ministerial press conference after being sworn in.

The three flags are already displayed side-by-side in the House of Representatives.

“All of these things are slowly being forced on us without anyone saying, ‘Hey, hang on a minute,’” Ms Hanson said.

“I said this is the people’s house. This is the heart of our democracy. The people have not been asked do they want these flags on the floor of parliament.”

Ms Hanson then claimed she didn’t “storm” out of parliament, branding it a “beat-up by the media” before questioning why she should give her respect to Indigenous elders.

“Where is the acknowledgment for the Diggers or the people who have fought for our freedom for this nation?” she said.

“Why should I give my respect to past, present and future elders when respect must be earned?”

Pauline Hanson, you are ignorant and you are racist.

— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) July 26, 2022

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe, a proud Gunnai, Gunditjmara and DjabWurrung woman, quickly condemned the “disrespectful” move yesterday.

“Day two of the 47th parliament and racism has reared its ugly head,” she tweeted.

“Pauline Hanson disrespectfully stormed out of the Acknowledgement of Country in the Senate, refusing to acknowledge ‘those people’. You want to make parliament safe? Get rid of racism.”

As is tradition, the acknowledgment is given daily after the Lord’s Prayer.

The acknowledgment was made a permanent feature of daily proceedings in 2010 after the election of the Gillard government.

Ms Hanson has been a member of the Upper House since 2016. Colleagues say she has sat through years of daily acknowledgments without a peep.

– with NCA NewsWire