Pauline Hanson Criticised Over Domestic Violence Remarks

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has come under renewed criticism after comments from a podcast recorded in November 2025 resurfaced, in which she described paid family and domestic violence leave as "ridiculous" and suggested police were being diverted from dealing with "real crime."

Unearthed Podcast Sparks Fresh Backlash

The remarks, made during an appearance on the Broken Fathers podcast and first reported by Nine newspapers, re-emerged after Hanson defended earlier comments describing domestic violence as a "two-way street."

The senator has rejected criticism, accusing the media and the Labor government of misrepresenting her views.

Criticism of Family Violence Policies

Speaking on the podcast, which focuses on fathers' experiences in family law disputes, Hanson criticised Australia's family violence framework and argued that changes to family law had increasingly favoured women.

She said the system had become "broken" because it was "suppressing the males all the time" and claimed reforms had been driven by "woke" politicians and women's advocacy groups.

"I do think it is broken because we've got too many woke people in parliament now, and it's pushing women's rights," Hanson said.

"But with ... women's rights, you've got to have women's responsibilities."

Hanson also criticised the introduction of 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave, calling the entitlement "ridiculous" and describing it as a "holiday."

The leave entitlement was introduced during the Albanese government's first term. Since 2024, victim-survivors leaving violent relationships have also been eligible to receive up to A$5,000 in tailored financial assistance.

Police and Family Violence Claims

During the 70-minute interview, Hanson argued that domestic violence cases were consuming most police resources, claiming officers were spending about 75% of their time responding to such incidents.

She said this was preventing police from tackling what she described as "real crime" and argued the current approach should be scaled back.

Hanson also said police had become frustrated with the reporting requirements associated with domestic violence cases.

Union Response

The Australian Council of Trade Unions condemned Hanson's comments, particularly her characterisation of paid domestic violence leave.

ACTU president Michele O'Neil described the remarks as "shockingly out of touch" and called them "reckless and dangerous."

O'Neil said paid family and domestic violence leave was introduced after unions campaigned on behalf of victim-survivors who said they needed time to leave abusive relationships without sacrificing their income.

She rejected Hanson's description of the leave as a holiday, saying those accessing it faced difficult and often dangerous circumstances while seeking safety.

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24 July 2026

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