Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I wish to honour the everyday men of Australia—the many males who go about their lives working hard to provide for their families, putting food on the table, without any fuss and without expecting any fanfare or huge accolades. You men help make Australia what it is today. It's not often that the dedicated and hardworking men in this country collectively get a pat on the back as they deserve, so I'd like to do that now. Well done, men. You deserve to be honoured. I thank you.

It is more often that we uplift women in this country. Men are widely regarded as toxic. That is wrong. The extreme majority of men are not toxic; they are good, they are caring. The issue has really come to the fore in the recent month with the bushfires around the country, particularly Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. While the firefighters, who are mostly males, were battling the blazes, we had feminists telling us that after they fight the fires—no doubt exhausted, dehydrated, covered with ash and soot and with their skin singed from the heat—they go home and beat their partners. What an idiotic suggestion. There is zero research to back up that claim. It is perhaps no surprise that the comments were made by a good friend of the Greens. At the time, I stood firm and described the comments as disgusting and male bashing. It was not good enough for the Greens to promote and support such comments.

I also made it clear that I have had a gutful of hearing from man-hating feminists. I believe in what is fair and just and I'm sick and tired of this criticism of men in Australia, especially if they're white. I think the property owners who watched their homes go up in flames are not too worried about a pile of paperwork that hasn't been filled out. Why is there such an ongoing attack on the men of this country, particularly those who are showing strength and masculinity and who risk their lives to protect property, lives, pets and animals? Well, I'm not going to man bash. There is no reason to do it. The vast majority of men are not toxic; they are loving, caring, respectful and hardworking.

It is mostly men who step up and face the flames, extreme heat, rough terrain and tinder-dry fuel to fight the bushfires. In August 2019, there were 15,300 firefighters in Australia, and 9.6 per cent were female. Why aren't the feminists who demand equality in boardrooms and politics not rushing to sign up as volunteer firefighters? Where is the feminist campaign for equality in this difficult, physically demanding and thankless profession?

In August 2019, there were 208,900 truckies in Australia, and 4.3 per cent were female. Well, the feminists should be ashamed at letting themselves down in this field. I have never seen a feminist recruiting campaign to get more women behind the wheels of a truck. Maybe it's too demanding and not glamorous enough, so they're happy for the men to do it. Trucking is a tough life. They spend days away from loved ones, they sleep uncomfortably and they are under pressure to meet delivery deadlines. For owner-drivers it's a cut-throat industry and they struggle to make a decent profit. It's worth noting that without trucks, Australia stops. So I guess, with 95.7 per cent of truckies being men, we can thank the men that Australia hasn't stopped. I say thank you to the truckies for what they do for Australia.

In August 2019, there were 51,300 coal mining workers in Australia, and 13.9 per cent were women—no doubt less down in the mines. Why aren't the feminists demanding that more women be given jobs several kilometres underground in the darkness, the heat and the danger on the machinery drilling for coal? I could go on. Of 45,300 coach drivers, 11.4 per cent are women.

I suppose what I'm getting to is the fact that day in and day out I hear that the Greens are getting up and having a go about domestic violence again women. Yes, it is happening, but I cannot stand here and see the bashing of men going on in this country all the time. What we're seeing here in Australia is that, each day, six men take their lives and 82 men call an ambulance due to suicidal thoughts or attempts. Prostate cancer kills more men that breast cancer kills women. Two-thirds of homeless who sleep rough are men. Ninety-five per cent of workplace fatalities are men. One in three domestic violence victims are men. These figures are backed up by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, who confirm that, in 2018, 29.2 per cent of domestic violence victims were men. I would like to say thank you to men; you help make Australia the great nation it is today. To my colleagues in this chamber, thank you very much. You make it very interesting.