Pauline Hanson’s ‘good Muslim’ claim: One Nation Leader lands in hot water after contentious interview

Pauline Hanson has questioned how people can tell her “good Muslims” exist and said “their religion concerns me” during a contentious television interview, which prompted the host to push back on her claims.

The One Nation Leader claimed Australia could either “reap the rewards” of a tough border stance or “suffer”.

“Future generations will, as other countries have, like France and Denmark, England and all these other countries, and Canada,” she said, in the Sky News interview on Monday night.

“I’ve got no time for radical Islam, their religion concerns me because what it says in the Quran — they hate Westerners, and that’s what it’s all about.

“You say ‘oh well, there’s good Muslims out there’ well, I’m sorry, how can you tell me there are good Muslims?”

“If jihad is ever called... and people must understand this.”

Sky News host Sharri Markson interrupted the One Nation leader after the remarks to insist that while radical extremist Islam was an issue — the Muslim community had a place in the diversity of Australia.

“There are a lot of moderate Muslims in Australia who are, as you put it, ‘good Muslims’,” Markson said on Monday night, visibly taken aback from Senator Hanson’s remarks.

“But I think we can agree that radical extremist Islam that doesn’t support Australian values, has no place here.”

Senator Hanson then nodded her head after Markson’s intervention and said “correct”.

Taking to social media on Tuesday afternoon, Senator Hanson shared a video of her full interview and accused the media of mincing her words.

“Some media is trying to claim I went on some kind of ‘tirade’ last night. I guess they aren’t used to hearing a politician tell the truth without worrying about political correctness,” Senator Hanson said.

“The fact is we have to ban the importation of radical Islam that hates western society, freedom of speech and equality before the law.

“Australians only need to look overseas to Europe to find out what happens if you go soft on radical Islam coming into your country.

“Vetting the people who come into the country from terrorist hotspots is almost impossible when they subscribe to an ideology that encourages lying to non-believers.”

It comes as debate brews in Australia over immigration as the Liberals get set to release their long-awaited policy, developed under Sussan Ley before she was deposed by Angus Taylor on Friday.

Details of Ms Ley’s previous unreleased immigration policy had been leaked to the media on Monday.

It outlined a proposal to ban immigrants from terrorist hotspots alongside several Trumpian-like measures to tighten the border.

Mr Taylor and his supporters had cited poor polling results under Ms Ley as a reason to move against her, particularly due to the surge in support for One Nation.

One Nation has maintained a consistent, long-term platform of drastically reducing immigration.

The leader famously wore a burqa into the Senate in 2017 and again in 2025 to raise her views to curb immigration, ban full-face coverings and increase national security.

Senator Hanson had appeared on Sky’s evening program to discuss the potential return of so-called “ISIS brides” who are Australian women — all partners of Islamic State members — in Syria following the Islamist group’s collapse.

The Federal government has denied they’re a part of the repatriation efforts.

Senator Hanson expressed that she was “so furious” about the women potentially returning to Australia.

“They shouldn’t come here. If we’re going to open up the border and let more of them into the country we’re going to suffer. I’ve said that right from the very beginning,” she said.

“Angus Taylor wants to appear as if ‘right, I’m in tune with the Australian people’.

“He will never go far enough, either will the Libs, because the moderates won’t allow him to do it.”

In the wake of contentiously favourable polls for the minor party, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday downplayed One Nation as a lasting political threat.

He accused them of being historically unstable and on the precipice of a disarray between “two very egos” in Senator Hanson and new recruit Barnaby Joyce.

“We’ve seen it before. We saw it in 1996, she was elected and then 1998 she won double digit number of seats in Queensland. No one made it to two years. It all collapsed,” the PM told ABC News Breakfast.

“That has tended to be what has happened. And we’ll wait and see what the relationship is between Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce in a couple of years’ time. Two very big egos put in one melting pot.

“Look, people are quite clearly frustrated and they’re particularly frustrated with issues of government. I think trust has broken down.

“It really is a bit of a mess on the right wing of politics at the moment, and One Nation represent certainty, no solutions, but certainty of identifying problems.”

Mr Albanese raised concern about social media algorithms pushing people toward extremes and contributing to a more “febrile” political debate in Australia.

Veteran radio hock jock Ray Hadley has been among those to speak out against Senator Hanson’s remarks, labelling them “just wrong, really wrong” and insisting she should apologise.