Mum's Not The Word On Hanson
The Age
Friday September 11, 1998
On Wednesday night in Gatton, west of Brisbane, Pauline Hanson declared: ``I care so passionately about this country it's like I'm a mother. Australia is my home and the Australian people are my children." Not everyone was impressed.
The Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, responded by describing himself as a ``servant of the nation" and saying he was ``very proud to be the father of Melanie, Tim and Richard".
The Premier, Mr Jeff Kennett, described the remarks as hideous and repulsive.
He said One Nation was denying the population its past and future with its policies of zero population growth and high tariffs.
``Ms Hanson, however strongly she feels about the country, can never with any authority claim to be the mother of Australia. It is a hideous concept (and) a further sign of their desperation."
© 1998 The Age
