Pauline Hanson’s vision of Australia is slammed by Paul Hogan after she said he embodied it: ‘Living in the past’
Paul Hogan has rejected Pauline Hanson’s attempt to turn him into a poster boy for her push for an Australian ‘monoculture’, calling the idea outdated and unrealistic.
The Crocodile Dundee star responded after the One Nation leader invoked him in a Senate speech this week as a symbol of a traditional Australian identity, arguing the country should adopt a single culture under one ‘umbrella.’
Her remarks reiterated themes from a National Press Club address earlier this month, where she argued Australia should abandon multiculturalism.
‘We cannot be a multicultural society. We are a multiracial society, but we must be monocultural. Australians must live under the one cultural umbrella,’ Hanson said.
She doubled down on Wednesday, framing her proposal as a return to core values.
‘A monoculture is one built on core national principles including a fair go, tolerance, secular democracy, freedom of speech and religion and the rule of law,’ she said.
‘It means accepting our irreverence and larrikinism. Bring back Paul Hogan and Norman Gunston.’
Hogan dismissed the idea that he represents any kind of national template.
Paul Hogan (pictured) said Pauline Hanson was ‘living in the past’ over her monoculture push
Hanson (pictured) said that Hogan was an example of Australia’s culture should be
‘She’s living in the past, obviously,’ he told The Australian Financial Review, insisting he reflects just one version of Australian identity, not a standard others should follow.
‘I’ve always had a very simple rule: what makes a good Australian is wanting to be one,’ he said, adding that it is misguided to expect people to conform to a single look, voice or way of life.
Hanson said she deliberately set out to stir debate.
‘You’d be forgiven for thinking I had slaughtered a sacred cow at the National Press Club last week… It’s exactly what I intended,’ she said.
She added Australians ‘must never be afraid to debate any issue’ and should be willing to ‘challenge long-held assumptions.’
Her push for a ‘monoculture’ has dominated Parliament, with the One Nation leader facing sustained questioning over her remarks.
Speaking outside Parliament House on Thursday, Hanson defended her position again when asked to clarify her vision.
‘We should be proud of our national identity, who we are. If we go into the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games, we fly the Australian flag because we’re all Australians,’ she said.
Hogan as his iconic character Mick ‘Crocodile’ Dundee in the blockbuster movie which made him famous
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected the monoculture agenda, warning it risks fuelling division.
‘Modern Australia is not a monoculture, and it never has been,’ Albanese said.
‘We have had a rich culture, and when we look at the Socceroos, we see examples of that rich culture, people who are proud of their ethnicity, of who they are, but also who are proud Australians.’
He warned the country would go backwards if it became fixated on culture wars.
‘We won’t move forward if we get stuck in these cultural debates that are all aimed at dividing people.’
