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Former Australian prime minister John Howard has defended controversial right-wing politician Pauline Hanson, claiming she was misunderstood.
Howard said media had focused unfairly on the anti-immigration stance of Hanson, who famously warned Australia was "in danger of being swamped by Asians" and enjoyed strong support in the 1990s.
"I think the media trivialised and therefore did a disservice to our long-term national interest in suggesting that Pauline Hanson was all about racism and nothing else," Howard said during a university lecture on Tuesday.
"Sure, there were some remarks she made that were quite objectionable, especially her suggestion that our country was being flooded with Asians."
The former One Nation leader spent two years in federal parliament from 1996 to 1998 and was briefly jailed in 2003 for fraudulently spending electoral funds before the judgement was overturned.
In 2007, she ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the federal senate, calling for an end to immigration by Muslims and claiming African newcomers spread disease.
"I think she displayed a misunderstanding of the extent of, as a group, Aboriginal disadvantage in this country," Howard said.
"But I think there was a lot more to what was occurring then and I think many in the media failed to understand that she was articulating a sense of dispossession and a sense of being left behind felt by a section of the Australian community, and a sense that the values of this country were being changed without the country being consulted."
Hanson has kept a low public profile since unsuccessfully standing as a candidate in the Queensland state election last March.
Howard also said former governor-general Peter Hollingworth, who resigned in 2003 following criticism over his handling of child abuse cases while Archbishop of Brisbane, had been harshly treated by media.
The right-leaning Howard, who was in office for 11 years until late 2007, refused to condemn Hanson while in power and also drew criticism for his tough immigration policies.Former Australian prime minister John Howard has defended controversial right-wing politician Pauline Hanson, claiming she was misunderstood.
Howard said media had focused unfairly on the anti-immigration stance of Hanson, who famously warned Australia was "in danger of being swamped by Asians" and enjoyed strong support in the 1990s.
"I think the media trivialised and therefore did a disservice to our long-term national interest in suggesting that Pauline Hanson was all about racism and nothing else," Howard said during a university lecture on Tuesday.
"Sure, there were some remarks she made that were quite objectionable, especially her suggestion that our country was being flooded with Asians."
The former One Nation leader spent two years in federal parliament from 1996 to 1998 and was briefly jailed in 2003 for fraudulently spending electoral funds before the judgement was overturned.
In 2007, she ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the federal senate, calling for an end to immigration by Muslims and claiming African newcomers spread disease.
"I think she displayed a misunderstanding of the extent of, as a group, Aboriginal disadvantage in this country," Howard said.
"But I think there was a lot more to what was occurring then and I think many in the media failed to understand that she was articulating a sense of dispossession and a sense of being left behind felt by a section of the Australian community, and a sense that the values of this country were being changed without the country being consulted."
Hanson has kept a low public profile since unsuccessfully standing as a candidate in the Queensland state election last March.
Howard also said former governor-general Peter Hollingworth, who resigned in 2003 following criticism over his handling of child abuse cases while Archbishop of Brisbane, had been harshly treated by media.
The right-leaning Howard, who was in office for 11 years until late 2007, refused to condemn Hanson while in power and also drew criticism for his tough immigration policies.
