Look in the mirror: Labor heavyweight responds to Hanson’s ‘incitement’ claim

Pauline Hanson should reflect on whether her own engagement with extremist ideologies is fuelling violent threats against her, one of Labor’s most senior women has suggested, a day after the One Nation leader accused the prime minister of fanning political hatred.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland acknowledged on Tuesday that threats against politicians, especially women, were on the rise, but suggested Hanson’s security concerns weren’t helped by her decision to platform extremists and convicted criminals like British man Tommy Robinson .

“It is dangerous to be a politician in Australia today. It’s dangerous to be a high-profile woman. It is dangerous to be going out in public in some instances, and I can say this as someone who has been in parliament for 16 years,” Rowland told ABC radio.

“I would suggest that Senator Hanson should examine what her party and what her ideology and her behaviour is doing, and whether or not that is encouraging that. I don’t wish any politician any ill will, irrespective of their political persuasion … [however] I think sometimes when comments like this are made, one needs to look at oneself and one’s behaviour.”

This masthead revealed on Monday that Hanson’s security detail had increased from the usual two or three federal police to include as many as a dozen officers, including some undercover.

Deputy One Nation leader Barnaby Joyce also has an occasional security detail. The party’s leadership has become the target of protests following surging popularity in the polls.

While on a recent trip to Europe, Hanson gave an inflammatory interview with Robinson – a far-right British activist with a history of criminal convictions – in which she said Australia’s problems with immigration began when the government “got rid of the White Australian [sic] policy”. She also claimed many Muslim migrants had migrated to Australia to access welfare payments and “rip off” the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

In 2024, Hanson was found guilty of racially vilifying Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi in a social media post from 2022 by telling her to “piss off back to Pakistan”. Hanson is currently considering whether to appeal the decision to the High Court .

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used a weekend speech to attack Hanson and One Nation for sowing division. Hanson fired back on Monday, accusing the prime minister of “incitement” and arguing he should know better given the threats made against her.

A Perth man appeared in court last month after allegedly threatening to kill Hanson. He is scheduled to front court again in October.

Albanese is in Palau for the latest Pacific Islands Forum and has not responded to Hanson’s claims. But Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Monday night that the One Nation leader had “a lot of complaints, but really very few solutions”.