A senior Liberal has told Pauline Hanson to “go to hell” over her call for a monocultural Australia, deepening divisions on the right as the Coalition grapples with how to respond to One Nation’s pitch on national identity and multiculturalism.
ACT Liberal leader Mark Parton, whose wife Luisa is Colombian, said Hanson had no right to tell Australians what language they should speak in their own homes.
“What rubbish is that? What is that? I’m married to a beautiful Colombian woman, and as such, mine is a genuinely bilingual household,” Parton said in a video posted to Instagram, before speaking briefly in Spanish.
“She can go to hell, like honestly, she’s not going to tell us what language we speak in our home.”
Parton’s intervention comes as federal Liberal MPs seek to draw a clearer distinction between the Coalition and One Nation after Opposition Leader Angus Taylor faced criticism for declining to say whether he supported multiculturalism or Hanson’s call for a “monocultural” Australia.
Taylor later issued a statement backing multiculturalism “where everyone respects our laws, shares our values and contributes to the fabric of our country”, while arguing Labor’s approach held “different people to different standards because of their cultural background”.
Liberal MPs have privately raised fears over Taylor’s political judgment, while some have publicly rallied behind multiculturalism, with South Australian senator Andrew McLachlan urging his party leader to “embrace the reality of modern Australia” if he wanted to lead the nation.
Hanson ignited the debate during a speech to the National Press Club of Australia, calling for Australia to become “monocultural”.
She said one in four Australians spoke a language other than English at home, calling into question how the country can achieve social cohesion if people don’t speak the same language.
“Only a fool would ignore the growing language problem which is a function of immigration,” she said.
She later said the Australian men’s national soccer team, the Socceroos, embodied that vision because players from different backgrounds represented “one nation under one flag” under the same rules.
Parton said One Nation was a “whingeing, grievance echo chamber” with no serious policy solutions.
“I’m dismayed with the conversation that’s occurring in this country,” he told this masthead. “I want to hear from more Paul Hogans. I want to see more sensible Australians loudly calling out the holes in the One Nation story.
“I can understand the grievances that have led to the rise of populist parties in many parts of the world, and we must deal with that. But, honestly, if One Nation is the answer, you’re asking the wrong question.”
The Liberals have not held office in the territory since 2001.
A former talkback radio host, Parton became ACT Liberal leader last November, and secured the second-highest personal vote of any MLA at the 2024 election, behind Labor’s Chief Minister Andrew Barr.
Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie, perhaps the most vocal critic of Hanson within the Coalition, said on Monday multiculturalism had become a “loaded political term” but warned against Hanson’s brand of monoculture.
“We can’t Balkanise or split into tribes … but you know, nostalgia is not helpful. We’re here now. How do we come together, live peacefully with our neighbours when we disagree and build our prosperity and security into the future? That’s the question,” he said.
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Rob Harris is the national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Canberra. He is a former Europe correspondent.Connect via email.
