Charting the volatile political journey of newly elected Senator Pauline Hanson from 1996 to 2016, Pauline Hanson: Please Explain! shows the impact that the former fish and chip shop lady had on multicultural Australia – as it seems she’s now set to have a similar impact, all over again.
Attacking multiculturalism, native title, political correctness, Aboriginal welfare and foreign aid, Hanson seemed to set a new cultural zeitgeist for the country Prime Minister Keating had once positioned as “part of Asia”.
Now, after 18 years in the political wilderness, Hanson is a newly elected Senator – and riding the populist wave once more. Her volatile journey in the political spotlight mirrors Australia’s own - to the divided landscape we live in today. Hanson rose from pariah to celebrity on Dancing with the Stars; Australia meanwhile lived through the Cronulla Riots, Stop the Boats, and growing anti-Muslim sentiment today.
