Pauline Hanson has promised One Nation will attempt to block Labor’s controversial new “hate speech” laws, and called on other members of parliament to oppose the legislation.
Ms Hanson said on Wednesday the bill, drafted in consultation with the Jewish community in response to the Bondi Islamic terrorist attack would be an “unworkable mess”, and warned it could see people jailed for up to five years for saying Australia is the best country in the world.
She spoke out after the Nationals said they could not support the bill due to the gun reform elements, and Liberal MPs Andrew Hastie, Alex Antic and Henry Pike said they opposed it, although the legislation is still expected to pass when parliament resumes early next week.
Media Release: One Nation to oppose Labor’s rushed hate Bill
Labor’s proposed law to combat antisemitism could see a person jailed for up to five years for saying Australia’s the greatest country in the world.
One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson said Labor’s Bill, to be… pic.twitter.com/7x9q8fTyOz
— Pauline Hanson
(@PaulineHansonOz) January 14, 2026
“This bill has been very rushed, with only a day or so allowed for Parliamentary debate and a snap Senate committee inquiry that’s barely hours long. I’m reminded of the many changes made to legislation to address the problem of immigration detainees, and how Labor repeatedly got it wrong,” Ms Hanson said.
“I have no confidence this legislation – which amends the criminal code along with 15 other laws and eight regulations, and throws in a $1 billion gun buyback – will be any better. It will be a mess. Australians could be stripped of their freedom of speech and opinion, and their ability to express pride in their culture and nationality.
“This bill is fraught with all sorts of potential unintended consequences, which is always what happens when you use subjective language in legislation that is open to differing interpretations. For example, you could even go to prison for saying Australia’s the best country in the world because it could be interpreted as ‘disseminating ideas of superiority’.”
Ms Hanson also said she would not support punishing law-abiding gun owners for the actions of the Bondi terrorists as Australia already had the toughest gun laws in the world, and warned about UK-style free speech restrictions.
“We will not support a vaguely-worded law that could put Australians in jail for making a patriotic statement. I very much fear Australia is heading down a path where we become like the United Kingdom, where police come to people’s homes and take them to jail for a social media post,” she said.
“I know Albanese would love that, because he’s so terrified of free speech, but One Nation will not stand for it.
“One Nation is prepared to act decisively to protect Australians from radical Islamic terrorism, but this isn’t the way. I call on all of my fellow members of Parliament to oppose this legislation until we can get it right.”
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie says he will vote NO on the ‘Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism’ Bill.
It will have no material impact on the lower house vote, but hopefully he can convince his Liberal Senate colleagues to vote No as a Coalition. pic.twitter.com/xNtQgeSvSm
— Australians vs. The Agenda (@ausvstheagenda) January 14, 2026
Mr Hastie said on Wednesday he would vote against the bill as it “is an attack on our basic democratic freedoms – freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of religion”.
“Those three freedoms are fundamental to any democratic society, they’re hard won, and they’ve served Australia well for 100 years, and this bill will reduce them,” he said.
A US State Department official has also expressed concerns about the bill, as have Christian groups, free speech advocates and everyday Aussies who fear they will be unable to call for immigration restrictions or deportations.
The new laws also allow the government to ban organisations who have engaged in or advocated for “hate crimes” as “Prohibited Hate Groups”, resulting in the National Socialist Network (NSN) announcing on Tuesday that it would disband.
But despite the opposition to the bill, Jewish, Muslim and LGBT lobby groups have complained that the laws do not go far enough, and should include protections against “islamophobia” and “homophobia” and be stricter on anti-Semitism and racism.
In response to the complaints Muslim Labor MP Anne Aly said the government was open to expanding the laws to “other forms of hate” once the bill has passed.
Header image: Pauline Hanson (Sky News).
The post Pauline Hanson vows to fight ‘hate speech’ laws that make national pride illegal first appeared on The Noticer.
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