‘I can’t believe you’: Hanson hits back after Opposition leader calls out Italian fashion show trip

Pauline Hanson has hit back at criticism from the Opposition Leader over her trip to an exclusive fashion show in Italy.

The One Nation Leader attended an exclusive Dolce & Gabbana fashion show in Sicily alongside mining billionaire and Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, earlier this week.

She came under fire after images emerged of her attending the luxury event, prompting Angus Taylor to question why she was overseas rather than focused on issues facing Australians at home.

Responding in a video posted to social media, Hanson defended the trip and rejected the criticism, stating she would not go to an event like that again.

“I can’t believe you, Angus.

“You actually have a go at me and say I should be back in Australia dealing with the cost of living,” she said.

“What an experience! I was invited to go and thought, but I’ve never been to anything like that, it was fabulous, fantastic to see.

“But it’s not something I will ever go to again.”

The retorts come as Taylor told reporters on Thursday that it appeared that Hanson was “living it up” in Italy, criticising her for not dealing with issues within her own party, like Malcolm Roberts praising Russian President Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine.

Photos posted on Instagram and first reported by the Australian Financial Review earlier this week showed Hanson and Rinehart together poolside at the Sicilian Grand Hotel San Pietro.

Read more

Cops under review after taking driver’s keys as he grabbed a coffee

Hanson’s office on Thursday responded to questions about her relationship with Rinehart, saying the pair are friends.

“For a long time now, it’s been a matter of record that Senator Hanson and Mrs Rinehart are friends and that Mrs Rinehart is a strong supporter of One Nation,” a spokesperson for her office said.

“Senator Hanson is grateful for the support from Mrs Rinehart, a successful Australian businesswoman and generous philanthropist.”

Hanson jetted off to London early this month to spend her parliamentary winter break on a “fact-finding mission” and attend the Conservative Political Action Conference.

She has used the time to speak with convicted criminal and Islamophobic agitator Tommy Robinson, who took her around his hometown to confront migrants and question how they entered the country.

Read more

Families welcome Laos warning after ‘kick in the guts’ over methanol poisoning charges

Hanson’s own right-hand man, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce, failed to support Robinson.

“I don’t support so much of what Tommy Robinson does, but I think it’s incredibly important we understand the social dynamic and how that came about,” he told the ABC on Thursday.

“If I had the opportunity to talk to him, I would to work out exactly what was going on in their head.”