Pauline Hanson is my mother. This is the untold story of how I saved her from the clutches of suicide – and, as I become a politician too, the one issue where we vehemently DISAGREE

Pauline Hanson’s hands are trembling and her stomach in knots as she feels the walls slowly closing in around her – her every move closely monitored by troubled prison guards who are worried she may try to take her own life.

Little do they know, the One Nation party leader fears this too.

It is August 2003, and the one-time fish-and-chip shop owner has just been wrongly sentenced to three years in jail for electoral fraud – a ruling that would ultimately be overturned on appeal, though not before she has spent 11 weeks locked up in Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre.

Even now, two decades on, the firebrand Queensland senator believes that first night behind bars could very all have been her last… were it not for her then-young daughter, and now One Nation senatorial candidate, Lee Hanson.

‘I’ll never forget the night they took me to prison,’ the country’s most recognisable politician tells Daily Mail Australia.

‘I was in the prison hospital ward… and I didn’t know what was going to happen. 

‘Then I turned on the TV and saw my daughter, Lee, who was just 19 at the time.

‘The way she spoke on that TV that night, I just sat there listened to her: the way she held her head high, and how she defended me and said she was proud of her mother.

‘She was devastated, of course, but the way she stood by me in the light of all that had happened…it is the proudest moment of my entire life, and something I’ve never forgotten. It will stay with me always.’

It’s a moment that Lee Hanson says she will never forget either – an enduring memory as painful for her now as it was more than 22 years.

‘I was in New Zealand when I found out that Mum had been sent to prison,’ the now 41-year-old mum-of-two recalls.

‘I wasn’t going to go because of the court case, but it was my first time overseas and Mum insisted, she said, “Go. Don’t be stupid. Nothing’s going to happen to me, it’s whole bunch of rubbish.” And so, I went. 

‘I remember getting the call and being told Mum had been sent to prison – I was absolutely devastated I wasn’t there with her and that I couldn’t do anything for Mum or my family.

‘So I did want I could – a live-cross on the news. I tried to be strong for Mum but ended up breaking down in tears in the middle of it because I was just in shock and disbelief.

‘I later learned that Mum was on suicide watch at the time because of how much the prison sentence had impacted her and she was at that ultimate low point in her life.

‘And I managed to talk to her, even if it was through the TV, and let her know I’d always be by her side no matter what.

‘Sorry,’ she says, her voice quivering. ‘I’m getting all upset just thinking about it.’

As difficult as it is to dwell on the memory, it’s a private moment Senator Hanson is open to sharing for the first time because, she says, she believes it underscores the daughter’s courage and loyalty as she makes her first tilt at in public office.

Hansons hoping to make political history 

In little more than a week, Senator Hanson hopes Lee will join her in making Australian political history as the first mother and daughter in history to have served together in country’s federal upper house.

After years of actively avoiding the cut and thrust of the world of politics, Lee has joined her mother’s One Nation party, announcing last month she was running as a Senate candidate in her home state of Tasmania. 

The former real estate agent and human resources executive is campaigning on the same core values that has made her mother a mainstay of conservative politics and hopes to take votes away from sitting senator Jacqui Lambie and her party.

Senator Hanson says her daughter’s decision to stand for office has been a long time coming, having wrestled for much of her life with growing up in her famous mother’s shadow. 

‘It was actually only very recently that Lee came to me and said, “Mum, this is something I’m interested in doing”,’ the elder Hanson says.

‘For a long time, she resisted it and didn’t have any desire to follow me into politics at all – for years she wasn’t interested in that world at all.

‘I even spoke to her before the last election [in 2022], and she wasn’t ready, because she felt her two sons were too young, and she didn’t want to be away from the children.

‘Having seen everything I had been through – both the highs and the lows – she has always struggled with idea of political life. 

‘She would always say, “Mum, I’m not you – I don’t know if I can do it.” 

‘And I’d say, “Don’t underestimate yourself, honey. You’re not me. You’re not Pauline Hanson, but no one wants you to be – they want you to be your own person and find your own path in life”.

‘It just so happens that, in the end, that path has led her into politics after all.’

Racism, death threats and coming full circle

All parents are naturally protective of their children, but Pauline Hanson admits she still feels pangs of guilt about the difficulties her high profile – and often controversial policy stances – caused for her daughter throughout her childhood and adolescence. 

But for Lee, it’s the only life she has ever known. 

She was just 12-years-old when her mother stormed to prominence  in September 1996 as the newly elected member for Oxley in western Brisbane.

She attracted widespread criticism that she was a racist by warning in her maiden speech that Australia was at risk of being ‘swamped by Asians’. 

‘Growing up with me as a mother was extremely hard on Lee,’ Senator Hanson says.

Born in 1984, Lee is Hanson’s fourth child and only daughter, and has an older brother, Adam, and two older half brothers, Tony and Steven.  

‘As a single mother and a politician, it was impossible to juggle everything and I ended up having to put the kids into boarding school because I just couldn’t do my job and have my children at home at the same time,’ Senator Hanson says. 

‘Lee absolutely hated it – it was particularly difficult for her: She got constantly teased about she was my daughter and even had threats made against her life [in 1997] and the federal police had to get her out of Ipswich [where she was going to school].

‘And then with my prison time, that was another blow to her, for her to have to come see me in those surrounds; she’s had to deal with a hell of a lot.’

Despite her challenging childhood, Lee insists she has never felt embarrassed or ashamed of her mother’s outspoken political views – though, she admits she has struggled at times with the way she has been publicly portrayed. 

‘I know it sounds silly, but Mum’s just Mum, right?’ she tells Daily Mail Australia.

‘The woman I know is loving and caring – I love my mum and I’ve never seen this false perception that has been portrayed of her as the racist or whatever. That’s not the woman I know.

‘And it’s a struggle because, when it’s someone you love and care about. you don’t want anyone to think negatively or poorly off them if that is not who they are.

‘It’s really hard not to take it personally and get defensive… but it’s taught me a lot about what sort of person I want to be and how I want to live my life.

‘I don’t want to be one of those people who has pre-conceived opinions or judges others before they’ve done their research and understand where they’re coming from.

‘I want to be a better person and approach life in a way that gives people a go, the same way I’ve always wanted people to give Mum a go.

‘And I think that kind of seen me come full circle: from growing up saying it was a definite ‘no’, that I didn’t do what Mum does because I’d seen what she’s been through, to where I am at now. 

‘You know, being a mother myself, my mindset has really changed … where I feel now I actually have duty to stand up and fight our children and their future.’

Hitting the roof in the Hanson household

They say an apple never falls far from the tree – but Pauline Hanson jokingly insists Lee has all of her virtues and none of her vices.

Like any proud parent, she sees only the best in her beloved girl. 

‘I’m love my daughter and I’m continually amazed by her, mostly because I don’t see myself in her at all – but in a good way!’ she laughs.

‘Lee’s very different to me. I’m very strong in my views and will go out and express them in a strong way.

‘Lee is more consultative the way she goes about things – not that I don’t consult people! It’s hard to explain really.’

Typically, Lee knows just what her mother means.

‘Mum’s certainly more… polarising,’ she laughs. ‘Mum is very blunt and very direct – even with me.

‘She cracks me up because she’s always so direct and straight forward. 

‘She’ll ring me and I’ll be like, “What are you up to?” And she’ll say, “Oh, I’m up on the roof cleaning the gutters.”

‘I’ll be like, “What the bloody hell are you doing on the roof – you’re 70 years of age, woman!”

‘And she’ll say, “Stop being so bloody stupid, Lee. The gutters need cleaning and I’m quite capable so I’m not going to get someone to come and clean them for me; don’t be stupid!”

‘Whereas I probably have a softer delivery style to Mum,’ she adds, still laughing.

‘And I hope by doing that, I can actually cut through the false perceptions of who Mum is and who One Nation truly represents, and show people that we genuinely care and, in a practical, common-sense way, want to help Australians.’

One Nation – and one topic they disagree on 

Running through One Nation’s list of policies with Pauline and Lee Hanson ahead of the election, it’s quickly apparent mother and daughter are united on most fronts…

But even they admit they don’t see eye to eye on absolutely everything.

‘We think the same, basically, about a lot of things,’ Senator Hanson says.

‘But Lee has just raised a couple of things over the years that I don’t agree with at all. 

‘The main thing we disagree on is that I believe that, when you run business, you have the right to advertise for whether you want hire a male or female to work for you – if it’s your business so you should be able to choose.

‘Lee will say, “Mum, you can’t do that.” But I’ll say, “Business owners know who they want to hire and what will work best for their businesses – so why waste everyone’s time?’

‘When I had the fish and chip shop, I needed someone to come in and help for a few hours once a week – and I wanted them to be female, I didn’t want to hire a man, that wasn’t going to work for me.

‘But Lee said, “Mum, you can’t do that. You need to advertise for both males and females.”

‘I said, “I’m paying the wages. I know who I want so why should I have males turn up and applying for the job when I don’t want a male? Why put people through that? Why put me through that?”

‘I’m sorry, I’ve got very strong views on this, whereas Lee has a difference of opinion on that.’

Indeed, Lee agrees to disagree.

‘We don’t actually butt heads, Mum’s always been really good my whole life about stuff like this,’ she says.

‘But when we do have a difference in opinion about issues and topics, Mum will be keen to talk about it and we’ll have a challenging conversation and both listen to each other. We don’t always come to a consensus and that’s okay. 

‘And this is one of those issues where we just don’t see eye to eye – I can see where Mum is coming from, but in my opinion, you should not disadvantage someone or make assumptions based on their gender.

‘Sure, there are certain jobs that can be gender-specific but my view is don’t assume, because I’ve seen too many instances where people have been proven wrong and the best person for the job isn’t the one they first thought they would be.’

Mum’s the word on final pitch for parliament 

Disagreements, though, prove to be few and far between, with both Pauline and Lee Hanson adamant the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and rising real estate prices remained the most important issues affecting everyday Australians.

They are topics they hope they can soon work on tackling together in the Australian Senate before the elder Hanson recontests her own seat at the next federal election in 2028. 

‘To be honest, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be in politics,’ Senator Hanson confides. 

‘I will definitely see my term out, and I will stand at the next election, but it’d be nice to have that opportunity to actually work with my daughter in parliament as a team before I retire.

‘I am very proud of Lee. Always have been. She’s my only daughter, and I just find that, apart from mother-daughter, we’re great friends as well – and I know she will be a great senator.

‘She’s a caring, loving person and this is not just going to be a job for her it. She’ll take it on with passion and gusto and really represent the people of Tasmania.’

And she’ll do it, Senator Hanson insists, with the same courage and loyalty she offered her all those years ago, when she was at her lowest ebb in that prison ward in 2003.  

‘What would I ultimately say to people about Lee?’ she says. 

‘I’d say, “You underestimated me… Do not underestimate my daughter. She’s one lady who will always stand up for what she believes – and stand by the people who need her when times get tough – trust me, I know from personal experience”.’

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