Frank Chung, News.com.au, July 4, 2016

Pauline Hanson is back.

After 18 years in the wilderness, the controversial One Nation leader is heading to the Senate, where she will quite possibly hold the balance of power.

You may not agree with her, but you can’t ignore her any longer.

In her previous incarnation, Hanson was all about stopping “Asian” immigration. Today, she has turned her focus to the dangers of Islam, Shariah law and the “racket” of Halal certification.

Here’s a quick guide to One Nation’s four key policies.

Islam

One Nation describes Islam as a “totalitarian political system” masquerading as a religion and is calling for an “inquiry or Royal Commission to determine if Islam is a religion or political ideology”.

Islam, it says, “does not believe in democracy” and “is proving to be seditious against every nation and government on earth”.

Banning the burqa and niqab in public, banning Halal certification, stopping Muslim immigration and installing surveillance cameras in mosques are just some of One Nation’s proposals.

It also wants a ban on any new mosques being built until the inquiry is held, would “investigate welfare payments paid to Muslims who may be in multiple marriages, having multiple children”, and would forbid the swearing in of Muslim MPs under the Koran.

“Australia is now seeing big changes in the suburbs which are predominately Muslim,” One Nation’s policy platform states.

“Some of these suburbs include Lakemba, Auburn, Bankstown, Punchbowl and Villawood in Western Sydney. Tolerance toward other Australians or non-Muslim migrants is no longer the case. Our law courts are disrespected and prisons have become breeding grounds for extremist Muslims to radicalise inmates.”

There will be “no hope for the future” if we do not make the “necessary changes now to stop the advancement of Islam in Australia”, it says.

“Do you want your children and grandchildren to be living under Sharia Law and treated as a second-class citizen with no rights? We don’t!”

Halal

Companies operating in Australia would be banned from paying for Halal certification under One Nation’s policy, and collecting money for Halal certification would be illegal.

Any company that wishes to export products to Muslim countries would have to gain Halal certification from the Australian government.

“Halal certification is a money making racket,” the policy states, describing it as a “tax” that is passed onto the consumer while “funding terrorism” as part of a “$2.5 trillion per annum” global industry.

“Companies in Australia don’t discuss what it costs them, as they have signed nondisclosure agreements,” it says.

“Yet we have been informed that one chicken manufacturer in Australia had to pay $40,000 per processing plant per annum, a milk producer has to pay $7,000 per annum and even a small confectionery manufacturer was quoted $1,800 per annum.

“Other Australian iconic brands and names paying for Halal certification include, Coles and Woolworths … Aldi, Franklins, Kellogg’s Cornflakes and All Bran, MasterFoods, Sara Lee, Nestle, Bega Cheese, Dairy Farmers, Heinz, Colgate, Tassel, Steggles Chicken and Sanitarium’s Weet-Bix.”

One Nation highlights the case from 2010 of Campbell’s Soup Company receiving Halal certification from the Islamic Society of North America, which was involved in financing Palestinian terror group Hamas.

“By buying Halal certified products, it means that you are financially supporting the Islamisation of Australia, including Sharia Law, which opposes our Australian Constitution and democracy,” One Nation says.

Multiculturalism

Here, too, One Nation pulls no punches. “Multiculturalism has failed everywhere,” it says.

“It is negative and divisive, a weight that is drowning our once safe and cohesive society. One Nation will abolish multiculturalism and the Racial Discrimination Act and promote assimilation, nationalism, loyalty and pride in being an Australian.”

The Racial Discrimination Act would be replaced “with a policy of assimilation”.

“[It] will be made clear to all those applying to migrate to Australia that coming to Australia is a privilege that gives them an overriding, unifying commitment to Australia, to its past, current interests and future first and foremost.”

While migrants may come from other countries and cultures, “loyalty to Australia and Australian Nationalism must come first”.

“They must accept the basic structures and principles of Australian heritage, society and culture, the constitution and the rule of law, tolerance and equality, parliamentary democracy, freedom of speech and religion, and English as the national language,” it says.

One Nation would withdraw from United Nations treaties that “conflict with our sovereign rights and laws”, and take back “discretion” to “choose wisely” who comes here.

“With the current terrorist problems this is essential. It is not intended to stereotype any group. Our policy in this regard has nothing to do with race, it is all about protecting our country from a real threat.”

Slightly behind the times, One Nation also proposes “immigration” become the “Department of Customs and Immigration”, responsible for the “protection of our coastline from illegal boat people, invaders, goods (drugs, firearms) and terrorists”.

The Australian Border Force, formed last year in the merger of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service with parts of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, largely fills that role now.

Boat people

One Nation is calling for the 46,000 boat arrivals granted residency under Labor to have their status reviewed.

“Illegal migrants, whether they arrive by boat or air, have not adhered to our immigration criteria and are choosing where they want to live, by gaining entry illegally and claiming refugee status,” it says.

“What we have here is someone coming into your home telling you they like your house better than theirs and they are going to live with you.

“You have to feed, cloth, care, and educate them while looking after their needs. Your children now have to share a room and you have to make the dollars stretch further to provide for them.

“They don’t have to work you are providing for them. If you don’t give them what they want they will complain and you will be forced to answer why you are so inhumane not to have them live in your home, that you worked hard for.”

Asylum seekers “arrive in Indonesia with a passport to enter the country”, but “80 per cent plus destroy passports and identification papers before entering Australia”, it says.

“When we don’t know the true identity of refugees is this not a threat to our stability and possible terrorism. Australia has to take a strong stance and show some leadership.”

One Nation proposes, among other things, that anyone arriving without paperwork be “immediately denied entry and sent back to their last known port before arrival or their homeland”.

It would limit those found to be genuine refugees to temporary protection visas to be reviewed every two years, and refuse family reunion until they are able to apply for Australian citizenship after a minimum of five years.

“Australians must be assured of good character, loyalty to Australia and not an ongoing burden to the taxpayer living on welfare,” it says.