Pauline Hanson denies White Australia policy support | Sunrise

Pauline Hanson has rubbish claims.She wants to reintroduce the White Australia policy, arguing she has never advocated for it and does not believe in it.It comes after comments she made on the podcast of UK far -right activist Tommy Robinson, also aired on 7 News Spotlight, where she blamed the end of the White Australia policy for our migration issues.

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.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.

For more, let's bring in Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek and One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce.Good morning to both of you.Barnaby, we'll start with you.Is your boss suggesting that any immigration issues we may have started after we scrapped the White Australia policy?

What she's saying is a logical sort of chain of events.

We don't support Sorry, we've just got an audio issue Barnaby, we'll just sort that out.Tanya, you would have heard these comments over the last few days.What is your response to what Pauline has said?

Well, I watched that spotlight interview last night.She very clearly said that the problem started after we got rid of the White Australia policy.And she also backed in mass deportation and said that all of her members of parliament support her in that call for mass deportation.I think it's extraordinary that whenever she gets challenged on what she's actually said, that we've all seen and we've all heard, she says, no, no, never said it.You know, For 10 years she's been criticising paid parental leave and now she pretends she supports it.She's actually on the record saying...

Australian workers are lazy, they should be easier to sack and they should be paid less, but she tries to portray herself as a friend of the Aussie battler.She's voted against tax cuts and pay increases and making jobs safer, but she says that she's for better pay and conditions and more certainty for people.This is a woman who will say anything and then when it is challenged, she wants to stick her head in the sand and pretend she never said it.It's like watching a toddler do something wrong in front of you and then turn around to you and say, no, no, never did it, it wasn't me. I think that interview last night was very telling.She's palling around with convicted criminals.She's trashing Australia overseas, trashing Australia overseas.

And then she's saying she's all for white Australia and for mass deportations.And today, apparently she's not.I mean, go figure.

Barnaby, what part of that is wrong?

I don't know, because it just didn't go on for a long while.But what I would say is we We don't support the White Australia policy.Let's get that completely clear.Let's go back to the start.What we see is a chain of events.It's a statement of fact that, and Pauline herself said, that at the start, from Holt actually, the wind -down of the White Australia policy, a very good thing.

And at the start, there was really no issues with it.But over time, we got a section of people who didn't want to really assimilate with Australia, didn't work within the guardrails of Australia.And therefore, we started moving away from Australia.Australian culture to having to encompass a whole range of views, some of which are just not conducive to an egalitarian, easygoing society which you, I, and Tanya wish to live within.Now, that is the Australian culture.That is the culture we want to live within.

Now, as far as, you know, I don't know, there's some sort of diatribe about other things atstuck to the back of that.Let's put that aside.Let's put that aside.What we have is a clear understanding of what is happening in England.And what is happening in England is you're getting a social fissure.

And it's no good.What we are seeing there is quite obviously the involvement of a culture that you can't say is a representation of what you presume would be English culture.And as this grows and now we have movements to make sure that people speak English in councils, that's surprising.And what we got is a clarion call that we don't want to go down that path.That's not where we want to end up.That is not going to work in Australia.

It's not something we need, not something we want.We need people to come to our nation and work within the Australian guardrails.

OK.Barnaby, on the mass deportations, she says she likes the idea of mass deportations.Do you support that?

She said she loved the idea.

She loves the idea.You're right.Those were her words.Do you support that, Barnaby?And who do you want to deport?

Illegal immigrants.That's why they're illegal.So how would you do that?

There are about, I think, 70 to 75 ,000, as I understand it, people who are undocumented or don't have the right paperwork in this country at the moment.How would you do that?

First of all, that's a very good question to ask the Labor Party.Well, there's so many people who are illegal immigrants.That's why we call them illegal immigrants.They're immigrants.They're not legally supposed to be here.

So just first of all, Barnaby, what would you do?

As it becomes apparent that they're not supposed to be here, that they'll be put on a plane and sent back to where they're supposed to be.What's the point of calling them illegal immigrants if you believe they're legal?What's the point of having an immigration policy if you're just going to let anybody in, whether they're legal or not?

Because many have been here many, many years.

It's just like saying I was involved in a crime years and years ago, therefore it's nowto be forgotten.If you're illegal, you're illegal.

Okay.Tanya, what's your response to that?

Actually, Nat, literally everybody agrees with that.If you're here illegally, you should be deported.No questions asked.Barnaby was the Deputy Prime Minister.There were people who were here illegally when he was Deputy Prime Minister.What did he do about that then?

Yeah, so tens of thousands, Barnaby.How do we find them?Is there a problem finding these people?

I'm glad we got onto the main topic.Illegal immigrants should be removed.But how do we find them?What's the problem here?There should be.

We all agree.

We all agree.We have an imperfect system.I mean, this is the ridiculous...This is the ridiculous thing about Australia.Everybody agrees to that.

Tanya, let's go back to you.

You're the government at the moment.We're going to have to make sure as people present themselves for medical issues or other things, they're removed from the country.I mean, obviously, you're going to come across them from time to time.They should be removed.

OK. I think there were like 50 ,000 when, you know, tens of thousands when you were in government too.So it's obviously a difficult issue.Tanya, you are the government of the day.How do you find these people?

Absolutely, Nat.As soon as we find them, and when we find them, we should deport them straight away.And that's what we're doing.And we've actually decreased immigration by 45%, Barnaby recently voted against a cap on overseas student numbers.Like they say one thing and they do another.That's the problem here.

You cannot pin them down.You're asking reasonable questions that Barnaby can't answer.And Pauline said that all of her MPs supported her when she said she supports mass deportation.What does that look like?There's 17 ,000 people who live in Barnaby's electorate both parents born overseas.Are we deporting them as well?

I don't know.You seem very excited, Tanya.I know the poll is not great for you and I suppose that's something you've got to work on.But the thing is, if you're illegal, you're illegal.It's really simple.If you had both parents born overseas...

We agree.Okay, so you both agree.Both parents born overseas and there is not the issue.So why do you say things?Why do you bring things in like that?

So Tania, Pauline Hanson is right.Do we need some sort of concerted campaign to get rid of the illegals?

We are absolutely focused on removing people when we find them and we'll continue to do that.We'll continue to do that because everybody agrees when people are illegal they should be removed as quickly as possible.Everybody agrees with that.And that's not what Pauline Hanson was saying last night on the TV.

She was saying that it all went wrong.Thank you very much.The Labor Party has joined One Nation.It used to be just the Liberal Party but now it's the Labor Party as well.Great.

OK, it seems like you both agree and the government is working on that.

Yes, Tanya, last word?Well, I certainly don't agree with Barnaby because Pauline Hanson says that One Nation supports the White Australia policy and mass deportation.Pauline Hanson has denied that.

I don't believe in the White Australia policy.

But you heard her, Nat.Like, this is the problem.She also says she doesn't support paid parental leave.

She said it last night on the TV, Barnaby.She said it all started going wrong when we got rid of it.She says she still stands by saying that we're in danger of being swamped by Asians.

Yeah, I think she said when the white Australia policy ended and Italians and Germans and the Polish came in, they were integrated, they learned English and then afterwards I think she said that we've got a problem.That's how, you know.I think that's not what she said Nat.

And she also said she loved mass deportation.

I think we've got to go because we've got to get to the news.Thank you very much.We'll see you next week.Here's Sherbo.