Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australia's political landscape has changed for the better. Everyone is going to have to learn their way around it. That especially includes the ABC. Their behaviour towards One Nation has been reprehensible, unprofessional and completely un-objective in direct contravention of their charter. This was illustrated very clearly by Patricia Karvelas in the aftermath of our win in Farrer. She directly implied that One Nation wasn't a legitimate political party and that it would be dangerous to legitimise us. Too late, PK, the people have spoken. It's the Australian people who decide who is legitimate, not you.

In Farrer and in South Australia, the people have chosen to back the One Nation party, which listens to them. It's time the ABC started listening, too. Let me remind the ABC—you are funded by taxpayers to the tune of around $1.3 billion, with a significant increase this year for a failing media outlet, which deliberately keeps secret the high salaries of failing presenters and executives. Forty per cent of taxpayers in Farrer voted for One Nation, and they didn't need the ABC's permission. The arrogance and the entitlement of the ABC is obvious. They whine about my ban on them because they cannot handle the consequences of their own actions. As far as I'm concerned, it's the ABC which is illegitimate. They're the pot calling the kettle black. I would only fund the ABC in rural and regional areas. The rest of it can go to the people for their support, by the way of subscriptions, and business, by the way of advertising. It may be the only way to ensure true accountability from an organisation which always avoids it, and doing so would save the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.