Senator defends Hastie, criticizes One Nation ‘traitor’ cartoons
In an adjournment speech in the Senate, Lambie said she had received a stream of abuse following her public defense of Hastie, who was repeatedly labeled a “traitor” in a One Nation cartoon series, according to a Guardian Australia live blog.
“One Nation whips up the anger and they tell people who to blame. That’s the populist trick … It’s a trick Australia, and we’ve got to wake up to it,” Lambie said in remarks reported by The Guardian. “Because every time a populist leader, like Trump or Farage, get any power, the lives of working people don’t get better. They get worse.”
Lambie singled out Hanson’s position on Iran, saying her support for Trump’s approach risked drawing Australian soldiers back into conflict. “You’d put [Australian soldiers] back in another American forever war? [Hanson] is not only dangerous, she’s delusional!” Lambie said.
The senator framed the criticism in bipartisan terms, arguing the dispute was not about left versus right. “And it’s not about right or left, it’s about respect and finding solutions, and not operating from a place of fear – whatever side you’re on,” she said.
Lambie also took aim at the personal stakes she said populist leaders face, arguing they retreat to comfortable retirements while their supporters bear the consequences. “Senator Hanson will be fine in her retirement, as will Nigel and Donald in theirs, because once again they are feathering their own nests,” she said. “Australia can choose not to follow the ugly politics of populism, we can do better because we bloody are better.”
Lambie closed by urging Australians to reject what she called “the ugly politics of populism,” arguing that working people suffer when populist leaders gain power.