Pauline Hanson discusses immigration, maternity leave and new polls | Sunrise

One Nation is on a meteoric rise, with a new poll revealing a federal election would be too close to call after increased support for Pauline Hanson following her National Press Club speech.The Roy Morgan poll shows primary support for One Nation is up 2 % to 31 .5%, ahead of Labor, whose support has dipped 1%.One Nation is steaming ahead of the Coalition, with support currently sitting at just over 17%.And One Nation leader Pauline Hanson joins us now.Welcome, Pauline.Thank you, Natalie.

Good to be here.You say Australia cannot be a multicultural society and we all have to live under one cultural umbrella, under a One Nation government.What does that actually look like?What would change?

Well, nothing would really change.We still have our culture, we still have our laws.Do we really want to see Sharia law?Do we want to see multiple marriages?Do we want to see these gangs getting around our streets with machetes?That's not the Australian way of life.

It's about being united and strong under the one culture, and everyone should be treated the same under one law.I'm not saying forget where you came from or your cultural background.By no means.And these people get out there and say, well, it's about what food you have in the pantry.That's absolutely ridiculous.I can't think of anything more more mature than making those comments.

When we actually go to the Olympics, we represent our nation like the Socceroos, it's all under one flag, and that's the Australian flag.That's what I'm saying.Japan has a monoculture, so what's wrong with Australia having a monoculture?And 66 % of Australians in a survey said they believe in being monocultural.

Is it possible to be a multicultural society, which a lot of Australians would say we have been for many many years and many many generations, while sharing the same Australian values?

Now we're multi -racial but at the end of the day we must look at being Australians instead of all these different little individual groups who believe in their own cultures and their own laws, their own beliefs and I don't think that will work.As John Howard has come out and so as other leaders around the world have said that multiculturalism hasn't worked.It's about moving forward as a nation, people being treated equally and the same.What I found in the survey, and this is what I said in my speech, is that 872 ,000 people in Australia can't speak English or very little of English.What are we actually doing here is that these people will probably go on to vote in elections.Do they really know what they're voting for, who they're voting for?

I think English is very important, that people must learn to speak English and know the English language to actually assimilate into a society.So I'm not against people that have come here.Remember, people have come here to be Australian.And that's why a lot of people come up to me and embrace me and say, pulling your right.We are so proud to be here.We're so privileged to be here in this country and we want to be Australians.

So therefore I'm saying, let's look at, we are a mono -cultural society.

OK, let's talk maternity leave.You told the National Press Club, quote, if women take time off and they are not paid their wages because they're not working, fair enough.Why should the business pay them if they are not at work?Does that mean you support getting rid of paid maternity leave for working mums?

No, it's not.All public servants actually have it.It's up to companies, if they want to have it in their policy, to give it to their workers.So there's no way, shape or form, that I am actually saying to get rid of it.seen it's been very beneficial to women to get back in the workforce and yes they do need that when they are at home and having their children.So Nat, that was taken completely out of context.

There are businesses that cannot afford it, alright?It's okay for government, taxpayers pay for it.But there are businesses, smaller businesses, that cannot afford it.You put another pressure on the small businesses to pay for maternity leave, they'll actually fold.

Okay, so you support the government -funded, I think, 26 -week paid maternity leave.Correct.But then it's up to individual businesses if they do it themselves.Correct.Okay.Correct.

Now, one of your best paths to forming government is coalition with the Liberals and the Nationals.Have you picked up the phone to Angus Taylor?Have you talked to him?

No, I haven't actually.I haven't spoken to Angus for years.It's a two -way street there, Nat.Angus Taylor hasn't picked up the phone to me either.So we're still a year and a half out.That's right, I haven't seen him since about 2019, 2020.

Really?

Are you surprised?The last time I spoke to Angus Taylor.Are you surprised, given like this poll this morning, look at the Roy Morgan poll.One Nation, you're 31 and a half.Labor's 27.The Coalition's down at 17.

Are you surprised that they haven't picked up the phone to you?

Look, I'm not letting it worry me, Nat.You know, I've still got my job to do and that's what I'm trying to encourage the people and put out my policies to explain to people why we will be the better alternative than this current Labor government.Look, I'm not anti the coalition by no means.I hope that we can work together because I want to get rid of this toxic Labor -Greens -Cheels government that is actually destroying this nation.So in time, I'm sure we'll get to talk and strategise about our preferences and that type of thing, to encourage people to look at preferencing each other in this next election.And I just want to say to people, I want to inform people about how preferences work.

A lot of people don't understand.So if you give one vote to One Nation, where I'm encouragingthem to give their second preference or further down the track to the Coalition, rather than Labor put them last, or Greens last.

Look, we're running out of time, but we've had lots of people text in.One of them, Stephen Shermside, says only Barnaby Joyce has actual experience in government.If you win, how will you prepare your ministers to manage major portfolios?

That's, you're right, Barnaby Joyce is the only one, but the people I'm gathering around me as a team have experience.Now, you tell me, is it working with what we've got?Because I see such incompetence from the ministers that we have now, who do not cross their brief, who cross their portfolios, and that's why so much damage is being done to the country.We have backgrounds, you know, I have a business person in the Senate who has actually employed a thousand people, who ran a very successful business.Barnaby is an accountant, I'm bringing on an economist, I have, you know, CEO of companies, so we have people with that background, knowledge and experience, so don't underestimate One Nation and the people that we have.

Okay, by the polls I don't think people are.Carol in Harvey Bay says, will Pauline Hanson increase Centrelink payments for pensioners to help with cost of living?

What I'm doing for pensioners, aged pensioners, veterans, and I'm also looking now at students to be able to work unlimited hours after receiving the aged pension so they can work unlimited hours, pay your tax on that, but you will not lose your benefits and you won't lose your health care card.That's something that I'm not going to make policy on the run because we're in a trillion dollar debt.I've got to try and rein in government spending and there's a lot of wastage there.I would want to, dearly want to reduce the taxes for Australians people.That's what I want to do.

OK.

Pauline Hanson, we will chat again.Thank you very much.Thanks, Nat.Cheers.