Senator Pauline Hanson's One Nation has removed its controversial immigration policy from the party's website, less than 24 hours after a statement supporting Donald Trump's Iran stance was also taken down. The policy, outlined in a June address to the National Press Club, proposed cutting 750,000 temporary visas. One Nation had previously promised to cap visas at 130,000 a year, which the column said would have led to net negative migration. The column said it was led to believe the policy had been taken down temporarily as the party updated its website; a One Nation spokesman accused Labor and the Liberals of searching the site for policy ideas.
The immigration policy page was reported missing on Sunday, less than 24 hours after the Sydney Morning Herald revealed Hanson's statement on Trump had been scrubbed. Barnaby Joyce argued the 130,000 figure had always referred to net overseas migration, not a cap on visas.
The spokesman said: "It's flattering to see Labor and the Liberals trawling through One Nation's website looking for policy ideas, given neither has any good ideas of their own. Labor should get back to running the country into the ground and raising taxes, and the Liberals should just wait for our next policy announcement before trying to steal it."
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The removal signals possible policy reconsideration or attempt to distance from controversial positions ahead of state and federal elections.
- Follows earlier removal of Trump support statement, suggesting broader strategic repositioning after US midterms.
- The policy attracted significant scrutiny; its disappearance could affect One Nation's credibility on a core issue.
Background
One Nation, led by Pauline Hanson, advocates for reduced immigration. In June, Hanson proposed a 750,000 cut to temporary visas and a permanent visa cap of 130,000, which critics said would shrink the population. Barnaby Joyce, formerly of the Nationals and now aligned with One Nation, had claimed the figure was net overseas migration, not a visa cap.
What to Watch
- Whether One Nation republishes the policy, modifies it, or abandons it entirely.
- Reactions from Labor, the Liberals, and other minor parties.
- Impact on One Nation's electoral prospects, particularly in Queensland and Western Australia.
Checked
11 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedOne Nation’s immigration policy disappeared from its website.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “One Nation’s controversial immigration policy, which Hanson outlined in her June address to the National Press Club, has disappeared from the website altogether.”
- SupportedThe policy disappeared less than 24 hours after a statement supporting Donald Trump’s Iran stance was scrubbed from the website.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Barely 24 hours had passed since this masthead revealed Senator Pauline Hanson’s statement in support of Donald Trump’s “strength on Iran” had been scrubbed from the One Nation website before we got wind of another vanishing act.”
- SupportedHanson outlined the immigration policy in a June address to the National Press Club.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “One Nation’s controversial immigration policy, which Hanson outlined in her June address to the National Press Club, has disappeared from the website altogether.”
- SupportedThe policy proposed cutting 750,000 of Australia’s 3 million temporary visas.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “No mention of the proposed 750,000 cut to Australia’s 3 million temporary visas.”
- SupportedOne Nation had promised to cap visas at 130,000 a year.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Regular readers will no doubt recall the questions raised by One Nation’s promises to “cap visas” at 130,000 a year, which would’ve led to net negative migration.”
- SupportedThe column said that cap would have led to net negative migration.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “One Nation’s promises to “cap visas” at 130,000 a year, which would’ve led to net negative migration.”
- SupportedThe column was led to believe the policy had been taken down temporarily while the party updated its website.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “we were led to believe there was nothing to see here, and the policy had only been taken down temporarily as the party updates its website.”
- SupportedA One Nation spokesman said: “It's flattering to see Labor and the Liberals trawling through One Nation's website looking for policy ideas, given neither has any good ideas of their own.”Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: ““It’s flattering to see Labor and the Liberals trawling through One Nation’s website looking for policy ideas, given neither has any good ideas of their own,””
- SupportedThe spokesman continued: “Labor should get back to running the country into the ground and raising taxes, and the Liberals should just wait for our next policy announcement before trying to steal it.”Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: ““Labor should get back to running the country into the ground and raising taxes, and the Liberals should just wait for our next policy announcement before trying to steal it.””
- SupportedThe immigration policy page was reported missing on Sunday.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “When we asked what was going on at One Nation HQ on Sunday, we were led to believe there was nothing to see here, and the policy had only been taken down temporarily”
- SupportedBarnaby Joyce argued the 130,000 figure had always referred to net overseas migration, rather than the visa cap.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Joyce argued that figure was always net overseas migration.”