Pauline Hanson's wild ceremony claims
Speaking on 10 News+, Senator Hanson said she wouldn't defend the country if she felt like the land belonged to one race of people.
The One Nation leader defended her decision to reject Welcome to Country ceremonies in the Senate when she was questioned why her party's senators were present during ceremonies when they did not have to be there. Pauline Hanson has defended her decision to reject Welcome to Country ceremonies in an interview on 10 News+. Supplied / Channel 10 Credit: Channel 10
One Nation senators were called out by their Labor and Greens counterparts over 'childish stunts' and 'hurtful' behaviour when they turned their backs during proceedings.
Senator Hanson said they had a right to be there and the new senators wanted to experience the opening of the Senate.
'But it's also to be a voice for the Australian people that have had a gut full of it and don't want to hear Welcome to Country anymore,' she said.
'It is showing leadership, that you don't have to go along with this.
'When our kids have been taught in school to put their hand on the ground and say, you know, acknowledge the land is Aboriginal, we're not making people feel part of this country. Senator Pauline Hanson said she would not defend Australia if she thought the land belonged to another race of people. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia
'And I'll ask the question, if we ever have war that touches our shores here and we've conditioned the people think this is not our land, it belongs to another race of people, how many Australians are going to get up and fight to defend it?
'I won't.'
The Queensland senator hopes her legacy will be that people thought she did her best to stand up for a fair go for all Australians, without fear or favour, and promised to run again in three years time.
'I think that's important, people want that from their politicians,' she said.
'But I'm a conviction politician and I've had so much thrown at me – I've have been to prison, had everything bar the kitchen sink thrown at me.
'Guess what, I'm still standing, the problem is people have underestimated me.'
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