‘Won’t knock the job’: Hanson declares she can be PM
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has declared she has what it takes to become prime minister, saying she can form an effective cabinet to run the government.
As support for his right-wing party grows, Senator Hanson said he “will not take away the job” of being prime minister, but also admitted that he does not know whether he will be elected to the post.
“I believe I have the ability to do this,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“I’m not going to belittle myself or say no, I can’t do that because… look at what we have right now… and that’s why we’re in a mess.
“Whether it’s Pauline Hanson as prime minister or whether it’s someone else who can take on the job… I’ll see who’s the best person to do it.”
A recent RedBridge/Accent Research poll showed that if the election were held now, One Nation could win up to 59 seats in parliament, while Labor has a slim majority, the Liberals have a handful of seats and the National Party has no seats.
The fish and chip shop owner has become a fervent conservative and said he was confident One Nation MPs could form a competent cabinet if the party wins government.
“I’ve got a great team around me and even the parliamentarians that I have now are amazing, down to earth; the experience and knowledge they have behind them is amazing,” said Senator Hanson.
Senator Hanson again said he is considering running for the lower house in the next election, but did not say which seat he would like to run for.
“I’m not making a decision right now and I’m not going to tell anyone what I’m doing right now because I haven’t made a clear decision yet,” he said.
Traditionally, the Australian prime minister serves in the lower house rather than the Senate.
Addressing his party’s stance on Muslim immigration, Senator Hanson said he wanted to ban the burqa and left the door open to preventing people from certain countries from entering Australia.
“If there are radical Islamic people coming from these countries and their ideology is not compatible with our country… there are some countries that I would probably ban them from coming to Australia,” he said.
The One Nation leader also defended his ties with mining magnate Gina Rinehart, who recently gifted the party a million-dollar private plane and flew Senator Hanson to events in Australia and abroad.
“I appreciate his support,” said Senator Hanson.
“I’ve been open and honest about this. I don’t know why people have a problem with me having a plane to take me to regional areas.
“It doesn’t cost the taxpayer anything. You’re not paying for fuel.”
Ms Rinehart is Australia’s richest person and was previously a strong supporter of the Liberal Party.
