By Jacob Shteyman in Canberra
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has apologised for a cartoon posted to her social media channels, which mocked a Senate colleague over a serious health condition.
After previously telling independent Senator Jacqui Lambie to “lighten up” over the video, Senator Hanson backtracked on Tuesday, conceding it “wasn’t as tastefully done as it could have been”.
The question of poor taste related to the cartoon’s reference to a vaginal and bladder prolapse Senator Lambie had suffered from earlier in 2026.
The condition stems from Senator Lambie’s service in the Australian military.
“Get over it, okay? It is actually satirical,” Senator Hanson said on Monday, when asked about the cartoon.
But by Tuesday, Senator Hanson had changed her tune.
She said she had not actually seen the video before it was published and was not aware of its content.
“I have spoken to the creator of that video. I’ve asked him to actually change it, and I respect people’s views and opinions out there, and it wasn’t as tastefully done as it could have been, and I do apologise for that,” she told News24.
It’s not the first controversy caused by the cartoon series, which was created by Mark Nicholson, a candidate for One Nation in the Victorian election in November.
Previously, Senator Hanson has defended the cartoon series for labelling Liberal MP and former SAS soldier Andrew Hastie a “traitor”.
But she said she will take a closer look over the content of the cartoons in future.
“It does bear my name, and I’ve got to take responsibility for that,” she said.
Senator Hanson’s about-face comes after independent MP Helen Haines was seriously injured in an alleged targeted attack in the Victorian town of Wangaratta on Monday.
The One Nation leader said she was shocked by the attack and laid the blame for the deterioration in political discourse at the feet of state premiers and the prime minister for failing to stop protest marches, as well as schools and universities for “brainwashing” students.
Independent MP Zali Steggall – a close friend and political ally of Ms Haines – said she was left speechless by Senator Hanson’s claims.
“Those cartoons are despicable. They are revolting,” she told News24.
“This is a politician who has spread hate and division, who has led people in our communities to feel unsafe and targeted, from Asian Australians to Muslim Australians, and the rhetoric we just heard, I’m just quite shocked at that positioning.”
News all day, every day at CityNewsQBN.com.au.
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