Barnaby Joyce warns sabotage of Pauline Hanson's speech exposes a major security risk: 'What if it was a bomb?'

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 02:08, 18 June 2026 | Updated: 02:09, 18 June 2026 One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has condemned a protest that disrupted Pauline Hanson's speech to the National Press Club, claiming it could pose serious security risks. As Senator Hanson addressed the club for the first time in her career on Wednesday, she was interrupted by activists unfurling a banner behind her. The poster read: 'I opposed a pay rise for workers, while I took a $100,000 pay rise.' Joyce spoke to Karl Stefanovic on his podcast on Wednesday, shortly after the speech, and said the incident went beyond a simple political stunt.  'Wow, that is so dangerous when you think about it,' he told The Karl Stefanovic Show. 'They got in there. They managed to rig up a sign and then have the capacity to lower it. Okay. Haha. Very funny. What if it was a bomb? 'How did they get there? How did that happen? There's going to be a huge backside-kicking exercise that follows that, because people will seriously want to know,' he said. 'If you have the capacity to do that, the first thing that goes through your head is what if that was the Prime Minister's show and down came a bomb.' A banner attached to a projector screen unfurled during Pauline Hanson's speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday Barnaby Joyce, pictured, said the interruption could mean future security risks The One Nation MP said politicians will now have to take further precautions. 'The baddies will see that and go, 'That's interesting, that's how you do it,'' Joyce told Stefanovic.   'It requires some level of access ... How would you know how to lower the screen? You'd have to know where the control was. You'd have to know how to do it.' Left-wing campaign group GetUp! claimed responsibility for the protest, which involved installing a separate drop-down screen inside the venue. The National Press Club described the incident as a serious breach and confirmed it had referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police (AFP). 'The organisation GetUp! is claiming credit for the stunt. The GetUp! representative at the address was David Sharaz,' the club said in a statement. It added two individuals entered the building without permission on Tuesday afternoon and set up the equipment, which was triggered remotely during the speech. 'It is evident that a further person present during the address activated a remote device to trigger the unfurling of the coiled banner,' the club said.  David Sharaz, pictured, attended the event and left following the stunt  'David Sharaz was seen filming the incident on his phone and, after the banner had lowered, left abruptly.' Sharaz, the husband of Brittany Higgins, has been referred to the AFP. The Daily Mail approached David Sharaz for comment. The NPC stressed no staff or contractors were involved in the incident. 'No Club personnel or Club contractors had any involvement in this matter,' the statement said. Despite the disruption, Joyce praised Hanson for keeping her composure, saying he was 'really impressed'. 'She stayed the course and got to the end of her speech,' he said. 'I thought, wow - that could have come off the rails, and it didn't. It was really, really good. 'Even some of the left-leaning journalists around me were putting their heads in their hands.'  The NPC said sorry to Hanson and signalled it may pursue legal action, including seeking compensation for damage to its media wall and equipment. 'The Club sincerely apologises to Senator Hanson for the incident,' the statement said. The AFP investigation is ongoing. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. 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.