Angus Taylor blasts Pauline Hanson's 'monoculture' push as he calls on One Nation to explain its policy

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 02:57, 19 June 2026 | Updated: 02:58, 19 June 2026 Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has challenged Pauline Hanson's speech at the National Press Club, warning her remarks risk dividing Australians by race. Hanson said during her remarks in Canberra on Wednesday that Australia cannot be multicultural and must exist as a 'monocultural society'. A day later, One Nation MP David Farley said migrants needed to be Australians first and put their ethnicity or creed second. 'They can be an Australian migrant, or an Australian-Italian, Australian-Greek, or an Australian-African,' he told ABC Radio on Thursday. 'They're not African-Australians, they're Australians first.' But Taylor said One Nation needed to clarify the call for a 'monoculture' while speaking in Narellan, within his Hume electorate. 'I judge people on their character and their conduct. That's how the Liberal and National Parties approach things,' he said.  'If she [Hanson] wants to judge people based on the colour of their skin or their race, One Nation needs to explain that. They need to explain that.' Angus Taylor (pictured) accused Pauline Hanson and One Nation of dividing people by race Rejecting Hanson's suggestion of abolishing multiculturalism, Taylor promoted a stricter immigration system centred on shared national values rather than identity. 'Migration in this country has been too high, and the standards have been too low and that must change,' he said.  'What we favour is a values-based immigration policy where people who come to this country adopt our core values, and that is regardless of race or religion or where they come from.' Asked whether he had concerns about cultural diversity, Taylor said no but added that integration, particularly language, is essential. 'No, but everyone who comes to this country should learn English,' Taylor told reporters.  'It's our national language, and they should learn English.' Taylor also criticised Hanson's speech as lacking in substance, accusing One Nation of offering slogans instead of viable policy.  'We hear a lot of stuff, but where's the credible plan? I understand people are angry. I really get this. But what we need in a response to that is a credible plan, and we didn't get that yesterday,' he said. Hanson (pictured) revealed on Tuesday that she hadn't spoken to Angus Taylor since 2019  Meanwhile, Hanson revealed this week that she has not communicated with Taylor since before the Covid pandemic.  'I haven't spoken to Angus since 2019,' she told Sydney radio 2GB host Ben Fordham on Tuesday. Fordham said he had suggested Taylor reach out to her, and that the Liberal leader had indicated that he would.  'Yeah, well, he hasn't. He hasn't reached out at all. No, he hasn't,' Hanson said. The clash comes as One Nation continues to outpoll the Coalition federally.  A Sky News Pulse YouGov survey this week puts One Nation in front of both Labor and the Coalition on the primary vote with 28 per cent, just ahead of Labor on 26 per cent.  The Coalition trails on 21 per cent, with the Greens on 13 per cent and independents and other minor parties at 12 per cent. Despite trailing on the primary vote, Labor still leads 52-48 against both the Coalition and One Nation on a two-party preferred basis, down from its 2025 election result of 55 per cent against the Coalition's 45 per cent.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.