Pauline Hanson has delivered a callous swipe at Invasion Day protesters, telling the tens of thousands of people who stormed Australian cities on Wednesday to “get over it”.
Protesters hit major cities on Australia Day in their bid to change the date of the national holiday, as messages of survival and mourning flooded social media.
January 26 – the day the British claimed Australia as their own – has become known as ‘Survival Day’ by Indigenous Australians and their supporters, who view the day as a day of mourning.
In a video posted to her 432,000 followers on Facebook on Wednesday, the One Nation leader told disadvantaged Australians to “stop being victims”.
The video began with Ms Hanson wishing people a happy Australia Day, before descending into a political tirade directed towards the protesters.
“I hear so often those people who have a go at us. [They say] the land was invaded – and all the rest of it,” she said.
“You know what, get over it, move on. Stop making yourselves victims. It’s not about victimhood. Everyone has a choice in life – you actually move on with your life and get over the problems that have happened in the past – we’re talking about over 200 years ago.
“You choose what you want your future to be. You’ve got that many people out there wanting to give you a hand up – a helping hand.
“If you give a person a fish, you feed them for a day. If you teach them how to fish, you feed them for a lifetime and that’s what we need to do with the people that are called disadvantaxjmtzywged in this nation.”
Protesters in their tens of thousands gathered in Australian cities on Wednesday as the push to change the date grew louder.
Massive crowds congregated in Sydney for the protests, with crowds also protesting in Adelaide and Brisbane.
A speaker at the Sydney event told the crowd that it was time to change the date of Australia Day.
“I pay my respects to all First Nations here, to all of us feeling proud to be here today but yet sad in knowing why we have to stand here,” they said.
“Why do we have to promote our invasion to make sure Australia sees us, to make sure our murders stop, the raping of our women, the stealing of our children, the poisoning of our land and rivers, the denunciation of our languages. It’s disgusting.”
Although protests were cancelled in Melbourne due to Covid, that didn’t stop some from wanting to make a statement – with unknown protesters pouring red paint over a Captain Cook monument in an act of vandalism in St Kilda.
The statue was found defaced in Catani Gardens, St Kilda in the early hours of the morning.
In her video, which has so far collected around 15,000 views, Ms Hanson spoke about the country’s entitlement, while telling those who didn’t support the day to not take a public holiday.
“Whether you were born here or you are holding your citizenship ceremony today and pledging your loyalty to our great nation, Australia Day is a time to celebrate everything that is great about our country,” she said.
“If you don’t like Australia Day, don’t take the public holiday.”
