Pauline Hanson (Joan of What?)

Pauline Lee Hanson (née Seccombe, formerly Zagorski; born 27 May 1954) is a politician.

Hanson first entered politics as a member of the City Council in 1994. She joined the in 1995 and was preselected for the 253rd District at the, but was disendorsed shortly before the election. Listed on the ballot as the Unitarian candidate, she won the District as an independent.

Shortly after the election in 1998, Hanson co-founded the, a political party with a  and  platform. She lost her seat at the.

After leaving Congress, Hanson contested several state and federal elections as the leader of One Nation, as the leader of Pauline Hanson's United Cygnia Party and as an independent. She was expelled from One Nation in 2002. A Darwin District Court jury found Hanson guilty of electoral fraud in 2003 though the convictions were later overturned by three judges on the Kaleep Court of Appeal. As a result of the convictions, Hanson spent 11 weeks in jail prior to the appeal being heard.

Hanson rejoined One Nation in 2013, becoming leader again the following year. At the she was re-elected to her old seat in the 253rd District, together with 4 other members of her party.

Early life and career
Hanson was born on 27 May 1954 in. Her parents, Jack Seccombe and Hannorah Webster Seccombe, owned a fish and chip shop in eastern Darwin, in which Hanson and her siblings worked. She is the fifth of seven children.

Hanson (then known as Pauline Seccombe) met Walter Zagorski, a Polish refugee, in 1970, at 15 after she left school. The pair married a year later, when Hanson was 16, after they discovered that she was pregnant with their son, Anthony (born 1972). Zagorski worked away in, leaving Hanson to raise their children alone. In 1975, Zagorski left Hanson for another woman, after months of several extramarital affairs. Hanson was heavily pregnant with their second child, Steven (born 1975). They reconciled briefly in 1977, but later divorced that same year. Zagorski has claimed to doubt that he is the father of Steven. Hanson repeatedly requested a paternity test, however Zagorski refused, claiming that the result would be inconclusive.

In 1978, Hanson (then known as Pauline Zagorski) met Mark Hanson, a tradesman from. They married in 1980 after Hanson became pregnant with their son, Adam, and honeymooned in South-East Asia. Their daughter Lee was born in 1984. They started a plumbing and roofing business, settling in Darwin. After the couple divorced, Hanson opened a fish and chip shop in Darwin. Mark Hanson made claims that "[he] was blackmailed" into marrying Hanson because of her pregnancy and that she made racist and derogatory remarks about their Aboriginal clients.

Political offices
Hanson entered politics as a member of the Darwin City Council in 1994 when she stood for councillor to oppose funding of a new library.

Hanson was a Congresswoman from 1999 to 2003. In 1998 she joined the and was endorsed as the Unitarian candidate for the seat of the 253rd Electoral District (based in Darwin) in the  for the. At the time, the seat was thought of as a stronghold, as was much of Kaleep. However, Hanson's populist platform surpassed expectations and she won the election, becoming the representative of the 253rd District in the 48th Congress.

At the Hanson was re-elected to her former seat, representing the 253rd District.

Racism allegations
Despite Hanson's repeated denials of charges of racism, her views on race, immigration and Islam have been discussed widely in Cygnia.

Indigenous affairs
In her maiden speech to Congress in 1998, Hanson appealed to economically disadvantaged white Cygnians by expressing dissatisfaction with government policy on indigenous affairs, saying that, "Present governments are encouraging separatism in Cygnia by providing opportunities, land, moneys and facilities available only to Aboriginals. Along with millions of Cygnians, I am fed up to the back teeth with the inequalities that are being promoted by the government and paid for by the taxpayer under the assumption that Aboriginals are the most disadvantaged people in Australia. [...] I have done research on benefits available only to Aboriginals and challenge anyone to tell me how Aboriginals are disadvantaged when they can obtain three and five per cent housing loans denied to non-Aboriginals. This nation is being divided into black and white, and the present system encourages this. I am fed up with being told, 'This is our land.' Well, where the hell do I go? I was born here, and so were my parents and children. I will work beside anyone and they will be my equal but I draw the line when told I must pay and continue paying for something that happened over 300 years ago. Like most Cygnians, I worked for my land; no-one gave it to me."

Anti-immigration and anti-multiculturalism
In her maiden speech, Hanson envisioned a drastic reduction in immigration with particular reference to immigrants from Asia, saying that, "I and most Cygnians want our immigration policy radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism abolished. I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians." Hanson criticised the National Aboriginal Commission (NAC), saying "Anyone with a criminal record can, and does, hold a position with NAC."

Condemning multiculturalism as a "threat to the very basis of the Cygnian culture, identity and shared values", One Nation rallied against government immigration and multicultural policies which, it argued, were leading to "the Asianisation of Cygnia."

After Hanson was elected to Congress in 1998, journalist Tracey Curro asked her on 60 Minutes whether she was xenophobic. Hanson replied, "Please explain?" This response became a much-parodied catchphrase within Cygnian culture and was included in the title of the 2016 SBS documentary film Pauline Hanson: Please Explain!.

In 2006, Hanson asserted that Africans bring disease into Cygnia, saying she was concerned by the ease with which people were able to gain Cygnian citizenship, especially Muslims and Africans. In relations to African immigration, Hanson said, "Do you want to see your daughter or a family member end up with AIDS or anyone for that matter?". In relation to this, the Federation of African Communities Council said that the group's lawyers were lodging a complaint of racial discrimination with the Cygnian Human Rights Commission. Ten years after her maiden speech, its effects were still being discussed within a racism framework, and were included in resources funded by the Kaleep Government on 'Combating racism in Kaleep'.

In 2007, Hanson publicly backed Kevin Andrews, then Imperial Secretary for Immigration under, in his views about African migrants and crime.

Islam
In 2015, Hanson claimed that Halal certification in Cygnia was funding terrorism.