Joyce backs Hanson on mass deportations, denies One Nation wants return of White Australia policy

Barnaby Joyce has denied that One Nation supports the White Australia policy, while backing party leader Pauline Hanson’s call for mass deportations and suggesting illegal immigrants could be targeted when they seek medical treatment.The One Nation MP’s response came after Hanson’s remarks about the exclusionary migration principle and her approval of a far-right UK party’s deportation plan were broadcast on Sunday night and as Lee Hanson blamed her mother’s lack of eloquence for her being “misunderstood”.Barnaby Joyce defended Hanson’s remarks on Monday.Alex EllinghausenThe One Nation leader said in an interview with convicted criminal and far-right agitator Tommy Robinson last week that Australia’s problems with immigration began when the Whitlam government “opened up and got rid of the White Australian [sic] policy, then they started bringing in the different migrants”. Hanson defended herself on social media, saying media including this masthead made “false allegations” in reporting her comments.“We don’t support the White Australia policy. Let’s get that completely clear,” Joyce told Sunrise on Monday. He said the winding down of the policy was a good thing and did not immediately cause problems.“But over time, we got a section of people who didn’t want to really assimilate with Australia ... and therefore we started moving away from the Australian culture to having to encompass a whole range of views, some of which just don’t, are just not conducive to egalitarian, easygoing society,” he said.During her overseas trip Hanson spoke to Robert Lowe, leader of far-right party Restore UK, about his plan to remove 1.8 million people from the UK. Asked during an interview with Seven’s Spotlight, aired on Sunday night, what she thought of mass deportations in Australia, Hanson said: “I love it”.Joyce backed the call on Monday, saying “illegal immigrants” would be targeted. Asked how mass deportations would be executed, Joyce said the system was imperfect, but immigrants come into contact with the system from “time to time”, such as when they go to the doctor.“As it becomes apparent that they’re not supposed to be here ... they’ll be put on a plane and sent back to where they’re supposed to be,” he said.Hanson was unable to explain how immigrants would be identified for deportation in the Spotlight interview. One Nation’s policy is to deport 75,000 people who have arrived illegally or overstayed their visas.Australia’s geography and strict offshore processing regime mean unlawful arrivals are far fewer than in the UK, which faces illegal crossings of the English Channel.Hanson’s daughter, Lee, addressed the White Australia remarks on Sky News on Sunday night, saying her mother had been misunderstood.“Under no way, shape, or form did she say she wished the White Australia policy hadn’t of been changed,” she said.“She may not be the most eloquent person in the world, but that is also a positive about her too because she’s not necessarily the polished politician that speaks the talking points as everybody else. She is authentic but, yes, it was misunderstood, that’s for sure.”Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said the One Nation leader was establishing a pattern of claiming she had been misrepresented.“She very clearly said that the problem started after we got rid of the White Australia policy, and she also backed in mass deportation,” Plibersek said on Monday, appearing alongside Joyce on Sunrise.“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 wasn’t me’.”Asked on Monday about Hanson’s call for mass deportations, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese slammed the One Nation leader for speaking badly about Australia during her international visit.“I find it astonishing that Pauline Hanson has travelled overseas in order to denigrate and talk down Australia,” Albanese said at a press conference in Darwin.“What we need to do as public representatives is take our responsibility seriously. We live in the best country on earth, and we are the envy of the world for the society that we have built together … When I’m overseas, I talk Australia up,” he said.Australian National Imams Council spokesman Bilal Rauf accused Hanson of importing divisive ideas that dehumanise minority groups.“Rhetoric about ‘mass deportations’ is deeply disturbing and damaging to social cohesion,” Rauf said.“It encourages suspicion, exclusion and hostility towards Australians from migrant and minority backgrounds, many of whom are citizens who have lived, worked and contributed here for generations.“Senator Hanson’s remarks must be understood in the context of a long history of attacks on Muslims, multiculturalism and other communities. They reflect a desperate, but misguided, need for relevance and attention on her part.”Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter. From our partners