Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. The extraordinary thing that has happened here is that Senator Pauline Hanson, the leader of One Nation, came into this place and said, black and white, that she does not get a tax cut from the passage of this bill. That is fundamentally wrong. She then went on to say that anybody suggesting that she gets a tax cut would themselves be misleading the Senate. That is wrong because, of course, like every other politician in this place, the tax cut applies to her. I don't support the tax cut. I voted against it. Senator Pauline Hanson and One Nation did not. They have supported it. She has given herself a financial benefit and denied doing so to the Australian people.

Senator Pauline Hanson had numerous hours yesterday after it was pointed out to her that her statement was fundamentally wrong and that she had misled the chamber. She had ample opportunity to come into this place and correct the record. She did not take that opportunity. In fact, the leader of One Nation stood a number of times in this place since making that statement and did not once correct the record. She has misled this chamber and she has misled the Australian people. She should be held to account.

You can't carry on in this place pretending that you're here for the Australian people and you believe that honesty from politicians is important and then come in here and do otherwise. Senator Pauline Hanson says one thing in Queensland—apparently, she's 'the people's Pauline'—then she comes down here and does the total opposite. Not only does she vote to support a massive tax cut for the big end of town, for politicians; she's going to pocket it herself and she's pretending that she's not. She is a fraud. This is a fraudulent leader of a political party. She should be held to account, and we should expect better of leaders of political parties in this place. She had every opportunity to come in and correct the record. Here she comes! She's just walked into the chamber. Will she accept that she made mistakes?