Regrets, Hanson’s got a few, but she’s also chalking up wins

September 15, 2026 — 1:00pm

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Over three decades in public life, there’s one word that Pauline Hanson has struggled with more than any other: sorry.

Refusing to apologise has been integral to Hanson’s brand as a political “outsider” – never mind that three decades in politics tends to qualify you for insider status – but the leader of a party that wants to win government can’t get away with what a lone senator can. The stakes are higher.

On Tuesday, we saw evidence of how Hanson is evolving as a party leader. She almost managed to be sorry, offering “regret” if people were offended by her describing Indigenous Australians as the “most primitive race” on a podcast last year.

And she offered a qualifier during a testing interview with News24’s Kieran Gilbert: “If we go back to the time of settlement in Australia, they were primitive compared to the settlers that came out here from England … I’m not talking those terms now.”

Moments later in the corridors of the press gallery, cameras and microphones jammed under her nose, Hanson was asked about her criticism of Anthony Albanese’s mother Maryanne living in public housing for the duration of her life.

Again, the One Nation leader offered a........

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