Free speech, open debate and the restoration of Australia
The political landscape in Australia is changing. There is no question about that. Some call it the rise of ‘Populism’. Others prefer to frame it as a return to common sense.
Public sentiment is changing because Australians are fed up with years of lies and bad governance.
They are demanding that government do a better job and stop wasting money.
Specific demands to restore Australia – taxes, migration, regulation – have been laid out in the public forum. Public demand is not a mystery to solve. It’s a list titled, ‘Fix these things!’ handed to politicians.
The Labor-Liberal uniparty are simply not listening.
Or if they are listening, they are choosing to ignore the public.
This is why Australians are joining One Nation.
Our growing support has nothing to do with ‘evil social media’, online ‘misinformation’, the ‘spread of hate’, or ‘grievance politics’. No. Our popularity is the Australian public expressing their survival instinct against an increasingly expensive, unreasonable, and incompetent government.
Voters know that One Nation DOES listen.
We do care. We want a better Australia – for everyone.
Unlike the uniparty, which seems happy to govern over the ashes of Australia, we want rich pastures and pristine landscapes – metaphoric and literal.
One Nation are the last true conservatives, the last environmentalists, and the last party the serves both small business and workers.
We do not see Australia as landscape of race, class, and religious conflict. We believe it’s a hub for healthy financial and ideological competition with free speech as the pinnacle of innovation. After all, if we are not able to speak our minds, how could we possibly debate the best possible future?
And yet, instead of conceding that decades of failure can be fixed with a return to basics, the uniparty has locked arms to counteract ‘evil Populism’ which they see as the greatest threat … to themselves. At no point have Labor and the Coalition combined to talk about the restoration of Australia. It took a uniparty popularity crisis for them to act. This, if nothing else, shows you where their priorities sit – with themselves.
One Nation is facing this increasingly intolerant and jealous political force. A uniparty movement whose followers are leaning on sometimes violent speech and disturbing demands.
It’s our view that the Left has become dangerous.
One Nation have always – and will always – defend free speech and open debate.
These are the foundations of our democracy and the wider civilisational idea of the Enlightenment.
However, we are also aware of the legacy of violence and political persecution perpetrated by left-wing regimes throughout history.
Mao’s Great Leap.
Stalin’s Cannibal Island.
The Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge.
On and on it goes. An endless list of murder, slavery, and horror perpetrated in the name of collective power.
It always starts the same – with the radicalisation of young people.
What begins as a few chants about murdering a political leader or imprisoning their followers – shouted from the mouths of people too young to understand what they’re saying – ends in a disaster for every citizen.
Extreme politics does not end with the political figures it targets. It ends with the collapse of democracy, the erasure of history, and the refashioning of objective truth into propaganda.
One Nation believes there’s a clear line between debate and language that normalises hostility or encourages others to treat political opponents as legitimate targets of violence.
It’s my view that Jim Chalmers, Anthony Albanese, and now Michelle Rowland are in danger of encouraging or, at the very least, remaining idle while those who align with their political movement cross that line.
Listen to this speech from the Prime Minister following One Nation’s spectacular victory in Secret Harbour:
Following One Nation raising a complaint, the Attorney-General appeared to victim-blame Pauline Hanson and One Nation, suggesting that Ms Hanson should, quote: ‘reflect on her own behaviour and her party’s ideology’.
In recent weeks we’ve seen children call for violence against Pauline. Threats of violence graffitied on public places. Threats of violence left on our social media accounts. Around the world, conservative figures have been murdered or almost killed at the hands of left-wing radicals. When these uncivilised tragedies occur, educators, commentators, and left-wing political figures have either openly cheered or called for more violence. This is shocking.
When the Prime Minister takes the stage and uses misinformation and disinformation to falsely paint a grassroots political opposition as ‘a threat to democracy’ – he shames himself and his office. He is partaking in the normalisation of extremism on the Left.
Young people on the left take their lead from the Prime Minister.
As Senator Hanson said, quote:
‘What he’s doing is putting me in a position of threats against me now that I have to have federal police protection whenever I’m out here, meeting people. It’s a shame. He’s caused this. I don’t want it. I want to feel safe in my own country.’
So, what’s the truth?
The truth is the Albanese government has abused the trust of Australians. Their tax hikes have made people poorer. Their policies have oppressed and marginalised honest, hard-working people. And businesses are collapsing. Voters want hope. They want change. They want peace.
And again, I say – shame on Albanese for trying to paint his political opposition as a threat to Australia simply because he’s too weak and incompetent to save his government.
One Nation is polling as high as 30%. Millions of Australians support One Nation. These are ordinary citizens who want change. Our supporters are not extremists. Can Labor and the Greens say the same?
Ministers should not use language that encourages the public to treat them as something to fear.
The Attorney-General should never imply that threats against Australians are somehow understandable because of how they vote.
Instead of asking why Australians are walking away from them, Labor is choosing to vilify those Australians and heighten the risk to them from other members of the public. The Coalition aren’t much better. Certainly, they are more jaded.
It’s also worth noting the staggering discrepancy between ‘outrage’ for the safety of high-profile women.
When a campaign against Jacinta Allan used the phrase, ‘ditch the witch’ – Labor ministers and media erupted in outrage. The Prime Minister declared it ‘totally unacceptable’. It became a national lecture on sexism.
What about kids marching in the street, shouting for Pauline Hanson to be killed and her face drawn onto images of a pig?
Not so much as a comment.
This isn’t speculative. A few weeks ago, at the height of this rhetoric, a One nation staffer, a grandmother, was assaulted and hospitalised while wearing a One Nation shirt.
We are constantly told by government officials that more must be done to prevent violence against women. Which is absolutely correct. So why is violent, misogynistic rhetoric excused when it supports the Labor cause?
Why is one woman’s safety treated as less important than another woman’s?
It’s a dangerous moment when Australia’s first legal officer refuses to condemn threats against a fellow female politician and instead blames her for them.
When the Prime Minister was evacuated from his home in February due to security threats, Pauline responded by saying, ‘Violence is not the answer – we have to have free speech, free debate and make our choice felt at the ballot box.’
That is the standard every elected leader should uphold.
