Pauline Hanson warns Australia will be ‘on its knees’ over China if the country doesn’t fix two things now
Pauline Hanson has warned Australia is unprepared for a major regional conflict and the country will be plunged into chaos if China invades Taiwan.
The One Nation leader told the Senate on Monday decades of declining manufacturing and growing reliance on overseas imports has left Australia exposed.
Hanson said current economic pressures would pale in comparison to the shock of a conflict involving China and Taiwan.
‘Be prepared for what’s going to happen,’ she said.
‘China has said they are going to invade Taiwan. If you think this is the start of it, it’s not. It’s going to get worse than that.’
As of 2025, manufacturing accounted for just 5.1 per cent of Australia’s GDP, with the industry in terminal decline over the last few decades.
Last year, Australia had the lowest ranking for manufacturing out of all 37 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Hanson warned Australia imported about $300billion worth of goods from China, and said any disruption would cripple supply chains.
Pauline Hanson (pictured) said Autsralia would be ‘on its knees’ if China invaded Taiwan
‘We will be on our knees,’ she said.
‘Start going after our own fuel here in this nation. Be self‑sufficient. Start up our industries and manufacturing.’
Her remarks followed an explosive speech from Greens Senator Sarah Hanson‑Young who lashed out at the Albanese government’s response to the Middle East conflict.
She accused the Coalition, Labor and One Nation of backing what she repeatedly described as an ‘illegal war’ led by Donald Trump.
‘There is no bigger cheerleader for Donald Trump in this country than Pauline Hanson and One Nation,’ Senator Hanson‑Young said.
She argued Australians were already paying higher prices because politicians had blindly followed the United States into conflict.
‘This war should never have been backed by Australia,’ Hanson-Young said.
‘Australians don’t want this war, they don’t support Donald Trump, and they certainly shouldn’t be paying the price.’
Hanson said that Australia needed to become more self reliant with its fuel supplies (file)
Inflation is currently at 3.7 per cent while the cash rate is at 4.1 per cent, with the Middle East conflict putting pressure on global fuel supply, and driving up prices at the bowser to more than $3-a-litre for diesel.
Hanson rejected claims One Nation supported war and said no senator wanted to see Australian troops deployed overseas.
‘I don’t want to see war. I don’t want to see our people out there fighting,’ she said.
‘But we’ve been dealt this hand and we have to deal with it the best we can.’
She blamed energy and climate policies backed by Labor and the Greens for rising power prices and the closure of domestic industries.
‘The resources are in this nation, but they’ve been shut down,’ she said.
‘Forty‑seven thousand small businesses have gone under because of your electricity prices.’
Hanson also pointed to pressure on farmers from fuel and fertiliser shortages.
Pauline Hanson said Australia’s reliance on $300billion of goods from China made it exposed
‘They are on their knees,’ she said.
‘If the farming sector goes down, the whole community goes down.’
Liberal Senate Leader Michaelia Cash, who moved the motion to suspend standing orders, accused the Albanese government of failing to act on fuel security.
‘This government has been warned time and time again about fuel security, and it has chosen to ignore those warnings,’ Cash said.
‘Australians are paying more than $3 a litre, essential services are under threat, and small businesses are at breaking point.’
She said the government’s response had amounted to little more than talk.
‘Meetings do not lower prices at the bowser,’ she said.
‘Press conferences do not keep trucks on the road, bins emptied, or carers able to reach vulnerable Australians.’
Cash urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to immediately cut fuel excise and prioritise support for essential industries.
‘This is not ideology. This is about keeping the country running,’ she said.
‘The government must act now, because every day it delays, Australians pay more, services shut down, and the consequences grow more severe.’
Albanese met with state and territory leaders at National Cabinet on Monday and announced the fuel excise would be halved for three months.
