One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has warned Australia could see more people like British far-right activist Tommy Robinson if division and resentment continue to grow.
His comments come after One Nation leader Pauline Hanson met with Robinson during a controversial European trip.
“I don’t want that, I really don’t,” Joyce told Sky News.
“There’s friction and division in England that we don’t want here in Australia.
“Because there’s resentment building up, you’re getting the Tommy Robinsons and you’re going to get the Tommy Robinsons in Australia if you end up in the same situation as England.
“We had the first iteration of that in Bondi … we saw it and thought that’s not happening.”
Hanson has faced criticism over her interview with Robinson, during which she discussed immigration and Australia’s former White Australia policy.
At the time, she said Australia’s problems began when the Whitlam government “opened up and got rid of the White Australian policy then they started bringing in the different migrants”.
Hanson has since said she “never ever advocated” for the policy and does not “believe in it”, but has defended her decision to speak with Robinson.
Joyce has since been doing damage control, defending the One Nation leader, repeatedly saying Hanson does “not support the White Australia policy”.
However, he also said Australia was experiencing a “build up of ethnic cabals” and compared parts of England to areas “looking like Bangladesh (or) Pakistan”.
Despite those comments, Joyce repeatedly said the White Australia policy “was brought in by Labor”.
During the interview with Robinson, Hanson also suggested some migrants came to Australia “purely for the welfare system.”
Senior minister Tanya Plibersek criticised both politicians during an appearance on Sunrise on Monday.
Plibersek said Hanson would “say anything” before walking back her claims when challenged.
“It’s like watching a toddler do something wrong in front of you, and then turn around to you and say, no, no, never did it. It wasn’t me,” she said.
Joyce and Plibersek also clashed over immigration during their weekly appearance on the program.
While Plibersek agreed that people living illegally in Australia should be deported, Joyce used the comment to claim “the Labor Party has joined One Nation”.
“It used to be Liberal Party but now it’s Labor Party as well. Great,” Joyce said.
Plibersek pushed back, saying the two parties’ agreement on deporting people who are in Australia illegally did not mean Labor had adopted One Nation’s broader views.
“If you are here illegally, you should be deported, no questions asked,” she said.
“As soon as we find them and when we find them, we should deport them straight away.
“And that’s what we are doing.”
Hanson began travelling back to Australia on Monday after her controversial European trip.
Image: Sunrise
