Full Story Newsroom edition: unpacking Pauline Hanson’s burqa stunt
Nov 27, 2025
Lenore Taylor, Editor of Guardian Australia, joins Mike Ticher, the head of their newsroom, and Josephine Tovey, the national news editor, to unravel Pauline Hanson’s controversial burqa stunt in parliament. They explore the dynamics of political attention-seeking and its influence on media coverage. The discussion highlights the impact of such stunts on community sentiment, particularly regarding Muslim Australians. The panel also examines the ethical complexities of reporting and the dangers of normalizing fringe views in political discourse.
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Stunts Are Attention, Not Policy
- Pauline Hanson uses stunts primarily to gain attention rather than to advance serious policy change.
- Lenore Taylor warns stunts succeed because attention is political currency even if offensive.
Attention Is Political Currency
- Attention has become the core commodity in modern politics, mirroring tactics seen in the US and UK.
- Mike Ticher links Hanson's tactics to a global trend where negative attention still advances political profiles.
Stunts Tap Into Growing Anti-Immigrant Sentiment
- Hanson appeals to a small but active cohort and taps into rising anti-immigration and anti-Muslim sentiment.
- Josephine Tovey stresses those attitudes have real-world harms for visibly Muslim people.