Source : Perth Now news
Pauline Hanson is adamant she is not too old for parliament as the One Nation leader turns 72.
Speaking on radio on Monday, just days after turning 72, the senator said she would only retire if her health declined.
“I’ll let the people know this. I’ve already told my staff, if I become like a (former US president) Joe Biden, just tap me on the shoulder and give me the heel to move on,” Senator Hanson told 2GB radio.
“It will come down to my health. I’ve got nothing wrong with me. I take no medication, nothing. I’ve got more energy in me than a lot of these other people.”
Without saying who, Senator Hanson claimed another member of parliament should retire because of their age.
“My staff are flat out keeping up with me from eight o’clock in the morning till 10, 11 o’clock at night. I can still run down the halls of parliament in my heels when I have to get to the chamber, so don’t underestimate me,” she said.
The Queensland senator’s reference to the former US president is unsurprising given Senator Hanson’s admiration for former rival Donald Trump.
Senator Hanson praised Donald Trump’s policies during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference held at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in November last year.
Senator Hanson described Mr Trump as a “re-energised, strong and patriotic leader who has the best interests of his people at heart”.
“I hate to say it, but the Australian Labor Party will never make Australia great again despite a desperate need to turn our country around,” she told the conference.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, you can’t blame those migrants who want to come to Australia, you can only blame the government.
“And this is an Australian government that does not care about the welfare of its own people.”
Support for Senator Hanson’s One Nation party is soaring on voter backlash to the federal budget, and the party has overtaken Labor for the first time.
The latest AFR/Redbridge Group/Accent Research poll shows One Nation’s primary vote increased by four percentage points to 31 per cent over the past month, while Labor’s primary support fell by three percentage points to 28 per cent.
Meanwhile the Coalition’s primary vote dropped from 22 per cent to 20 per cent.
RedBridge Group director Kos Samaras said the two-party system most Australians grew up with was “gone”.
“The real contest, unless something changes by 2028, now runs between Labor and One Nation, and the Coalition is a spectator in the stands … eating doughnuts,” he said.
