Albanese says Hanson should not 'talk Australia down' overseas

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has publicly rebuked Senator Pauline Hanson, stating she should not be "talking Australia down" while overseas. Hanson is currently on a tour of Europe, attending conservative political events and holidaying with benefactor Gina Rinehart. She recently appeared on a podcast with far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

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When I have the opportunity to represent Australia overseas, I talk Australia up. I don’t talk Australia down. I go as someone who’s proud to represent our nation and proud to talk about what we are as a nation.

During a visit to Tiwi Island, Albanese contrasted Hanson's actions with his own approach to representing Australia abroad. "When I have the opportunity to represent Australia overseas, I talk Australia up," he said. "I go as someone who’s proud to represent our nation and proud to talk about what we are as a nation."

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There’s nowhere you’d rather be than Australia, and I think that it is up to our representatives, no matter where they stand in the parliament, when they’re overseas, to talk Australia up, not talk Australia down.

Albanese stressed that all representatives, regardless of their political standing, have a responsibility to promote Australia positively when traveling internationally. He described Australia as an "extraordinary nation" that the world envies, highlighting the collective creation of a society that others desire.

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We have we have created in this country an extraordinary nation, and it is something that the world is envious of because of what we’ve created here, and that is why, in my view, it is the responsibility of people when they travel overseas to talk Australia up and to be proud of who we are and what we have created as a nation.

In a separate development, Independent Schools Australia, a peak body for private schools, is initiating a campaign to boost government funding. The campaign targets key Labor and Teal seats with digital advertising and billboards, arguing that government policy needs to acknowledge the growing number of parents choosing and contributing to private education. The group contends that these families, who are also taxpayers, face financial pressures and deserve recognition for their choices.

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Independent school families have been stereotyped for too long. They are parents and taxpayers making careful decisions about their children’s education, often under real financial pressure. They deserve to be seen, they deserve to be heard, and they deserve policy settings that recognise the choices they are already making.