One Nation reminds branches of strict gag orders not to speak to the media

One Nation is moving to assert stronger discipline among its members by reminding party faithful that “speaking out of turn” could jeopardise its fortunes, as leader Pauline Hanson returns to Australia following a controversial trip to Europe.

On Tuesday Senator Hanson is due to speak at a sold-breakfast event in Perth, days after sparking headlines for a recorded appearance with far-right UK figure Tommy Robinson.

Her trip to the UK and Europe had drawn international attention after telling Robinson’s podcast that the end of the White Australia Policy had led to immigration problems in Australia and in a speech at London conservative event CPAC GB that she doesn’t apologise for “being white”.

The exchanges had featured in Seven’s hour-long Spotlight special, which aired on Sunday night.

But while Senator Hanson was abroad, her allies on home soil were left to defend her remarks, with Barnaby Joyce and daughter Lee insisting she was taken out of context.

Senator Hanson had brought up the old policy while recording a podcast with British far-right activist Tommy Robinson after he asked about migration in Australia.

“Well, it started in 1973 with Gough Whitlam. So they opened up and got rid of the White Australia policy. Then they started bringing in the different migrants,” Senator Hanson said.

“And a lot of them couldn’t speak English, but they learned to speak English. But over the decades, as the governments have changed and different people they’ve brought in, and a lot of people come into Australia purely for the welfare system.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday condemned her trip, insisting it wasn’t appropriate that an Australia Senator had travelled overseas to “denigrate and talk down Australia” with fringe groups.

Senator Hanson’s newest member and ex-Nationals MP, Mr Joyce, appeared on Seven’s Sunrise program just hours after it aired to clarify the party’s position.

“Pauline Hanson does not support the White Australia Policy,” Mr Joyce said.

When pressed on Senator Hanson’s support for mass deportations which also aired on the program, Mr Joyce said people living in Australia illegally should be removed.

“As it becomes apparent that they’re not supposed to be here, they’ll be put on a plane and sent back to where they’re supposed to be,” he said.

“What’s the point of calling them illegal immigrants if you believe they’re legal?

“We need people to come to our nation and work within the Australian guardrails.”

Barnaby Joyce’s defence of his leader comes as a One Nation memo leaked to The Nightly warns members against speaking with or inviting media to events, insisting that “one person speaking out of turn” could jeopardise the party.

“No media outlet or journalist is ever entitled to attend a One Nation branch meeting,” the memo stated, which was shared widely on Monday but dated July 17.

“Journalists are not to receive minutes of meetings, and they are not to conduct interviews with branch office holders.”

“One person speaking out of turn can undo the disciplined work of every other branch in the country.”

The memo instructs members to decline to comment, not to “confirm, deny, or elaborate” on any matter “however trivial it may seem”, not to agree to speak “off the record” and to refer enquiries “immediately” to the national office.

It’s understood the leaked memo — signed by the party’s general manager Kelvin Morton — was emailed to all members on Monday afternoon under strict orders not to redistribute it.

A party spokesperson later insisted to The Nightly that the reminder of the rules was just part of “standard practice” for elected office holders.

During Mr Joyce’s appearance on Sunrise on Monday, Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek said there was no disagreement over Senator Hanson’s position to deport people who were found to be in Australia illegally

Ms Plibersek said that “literally everybody” agreed people in Australia illegally should be deported once they were located.

“As soon as we find them and when we find them, we should deport them straight away. And that’s what we’re doing,” she said.

Lee Hanson had also echoed Mr Joyce’s claims on Sky News, insisting her mother had no intention of brining back the policy.

“In no way, shape, or form did she say she wished the White Australia Policy hadn’t have been changed. She does not support it,” she told Sky.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young labelled Mr Joyce “clean-up boy, Barnaby” and called for Senator Hanson to face the media herself and explain her comments.

“Every time she gets under some pressure, every time she gets scrutinised, she runs for cover,” she said.

“The reason we’ve got cleanup, boy, Barnaby out today is because Pauline Hanson is hiding.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said on Monday that One Nation “doesn’t have the solution” and was “not fit to govern”.

“Well, I just don’t think she has any of the answers,” he said.

“We have an economic crisis that the Prime Minister and his team has brought about, and One Nation doesn’t have the solutions.

“One Nation is a one person show, as I said, and it is not fit to govern.

“They don’t have the policies that will get us out of that crisis.”

The criticism comes as One Nation drew level with Labor in the latest Newspoll published on Sunday evening, with 30 per cent of the primary vote, while Coalition sat at 19 per cent.

In the three horse race for preferred PM, however, Anthony Albanese was comfortably ahead at 46 per cent compared to Senator Hanson’s 32 per cent but above Mr Taylor’s 22 per cent.

Labor frontbencher Murray Watt dismissed the polling and said what mattered was how people voted on election day, which is expected in 2028.

He said Labor would be focused on addressing cost-of-living pressure for Aussies at home, not the “shenanigans” Senator Hanson has “been up to over the last few days in Europe”.

“I don’t think we’ll necessarily see the current polling reflected when we get to election day, when people really start thinking about who’s going to manage government in a way that best helps their families,” he said.

“A lot of the time, people like to give politicians a bit of a kick, and this is their way of doing that.

“I think everyone understands at the moment that there’s a lot of Australians who are doing it tough and feeling frustrated by the way things are going in their lives and in Australia.”