Iron ore billionaire Rinehart, a major donor to the center-right Liberal Party, has repeatedly called for Australia’s conservative politicians to
embrace Trump-style politics.
In a statement made after the last federal election, in which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party won resoundingly, Rinehart called for people to “stay and fight for understanding of the changes Australia needs,” and to look more closely at the “common sense and truth” in the US.
Earlier this week, Rinehart called for stricter limits on who can be let into the country. “Our immigration procedures must only allow immigrants who have been thoroughly checked – including their phones, iPads, laptops and social media,” she
said in a speech.
“I think Pauline Hanson is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gina Rinehart,” Albanese’s treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said in response to questions about the plane. “And we know this because whenever Pauline Hanson’s asked to vote in the interests of Australian workers, she instead votes in the interests of Gina Rinehart.”
Hanson’s longtime anti-immigration party has seen a
recent surge in popularity. In a
January Newspoll, One Nation usurped the main center-right opposition for the first time.
Hanson was suspended from the senate last year after appearing in the chamber in a burqa, which she wants to ban in Australia. One Nation has been largely confined to the senate, as the preferential voting system makes it tough for minor parties to win seats in the lower house, where government is decided.
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