Pauline Hanson claims immigrants ‘destroying’ Australia at CPAC dinner in London

Immigrants are “destroying” Australia like they have the UK, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has told a black-tie conservative dinner in London.

Senator Hanson covered familiar ground when she addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) dinner at the weekend, saying immigration was “destroying” Australia.

“What I find is happening around the world is that leaders are not doing their best to protect our nations, and are being controlled by international interests, and we are not the countries that we once were,” she told the room.

“I see in Australia the problems that you have in Britain. I see immigration is destroying our country as it has destroyed yours.”

That view was largely informed by a tour she took of Luton – a town just north-west of London on the front lines of multicultural friction in the UK.

Her tour guide was far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the moniker Tommy Robinson.

He has a string of convictions ranging from assault to stalking and has been investigated over his ties to Russian government propagandists.

During her dinner speech Senator Hanson also claimed that both white Australians and their British counterparts were being “told that we must be ashamed of our past – that we are white privileged”, adding “do not apologise for being white”.

“We have been told that we must forego a national identity, and embrace others into our nation,” she said.

“I have always welcomed people to Australia, a country built by the migrants that came there for a better way of life.

“And as I said at citizenship ceremonies: ‘I welcome you as long as you give our country your undivided loyalty.

“‘But if you don’t, I’ll be the first one to take you to the airport, put you on plane, and wave you goodbye.’”

The White Australia policy, embedded in the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901, was a series of race-based laws restricting non-European immigration to preserve a white and largely British society.

The policy was gradually dismantled until former prime minister Gough Whitlam fully abolished it with bipartisan support in 1973.

‘Un-Australian’

Senator Hanson’s made her remarks on the White Australia policy in a podcast with Mr Yaxley-Lennon published on Friday, where they canvassed issues from climate change to migration.

Mr Yaxley-Lennon, who was a member of the fascist British National Party, again praised Senator Hanson as a figure he had “looked up to for years”.

As they talked through migration, the anti-Islam campaigner asked how Australia had “Pakistanis, Somalis, all of these African problems with violent Africans?”

“I’ve seen some crazy videos coming out of Australia,” he said.

“How has that happened when you have such a strong immigration policy?”

Senator Hanson said it “started” when Mr Whitlam “opened up and got rid of the White Australia policy”.

“Then they started bringing in different migrants,” she said.

The comments sparked immediate criticism from both the Albanese government and the opposition.

Cabinet Secretary Andrew Charlton, whose Western Sydney seat encompasses the multicultural melting pot of Parramatta, condemned the comments on Sunday as “incredibly divisive”.

“Australia is a multicultural country,” he told Sky News.

“Waves of migrants have added a huge amount to our country and I just think it’s incredibly divisive to be saying that some groups should be here and suggest that other groups shouldn’t be here.”

He added that the thinking did not “take us anywhere as a nation”.

“It doesn’t address any of the real challenges that we have in this country,” Mr Charlton said.

“It’s not building new homes. It’s not helping people with the cost of living. It’s not reforming our tax system.”

Deputy Liberal Leader Jane Hume echoed her political opponent, calling Senator Hanson’s comments “un-Australian”.

“I think that they were unnecessary, they were divisive, they were inflammatory, and they were totally un-Australian, ” she said, also speaking to Sky.

“We have a proud history of multiculturalism. We’re a great migrant nation.”

However, she added that the Coalition did “agree that migration in the last four years has run out of control”.

“The numbers have been too high,” Senator Hume said.

“If we’re going to have the prosperous and progressive society that we have always wanted, that we’ve always enjoyed in Australia, we need to make sure that we have a migration program that’s delivering for our country, that’s driving productivity, not taking away from it.

“But restoring a white Australia policy is not part of that.”