Senator Jacqui Lambie of Tasmania has fiercely criticized One Nation’s vaccine discrimination bill and its leader, Pauline Hanson.
The One Nation Party, or One Nation in short, was founded by Pauline Hanson in 1997 as a right-wing populist party. The party has been criticized for its policies and platform for being xenophobic and racist.
Party leader, Senator Pauline Hanson, introduced her COVID-19 Vaccination Status (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill 2021 into the Senate on October 21, 2021.
Senator Jacqui Lambie, Leader of the Jacqui Lambie Network, criticized the idea that people who are unvaccinated are discriminated against, saying that people have choices, and those choices have consequences.
“You have a choice, and I support that choice. But you don’t get to decide how the rest of Australia responds to that choice.”
Senator Jacqui Lambie
Lambie also accused One Nation with using the bill to raise funds for the party.
“The problem is politicians like Senator Hanson and Senator (Malcolm) Roberts are using people’s fear to boost their own election campaigns, and they are using fear to make money, and that’s what this is about from One Nation.”
Senator Jacqui Lambie
Despite five government senators crossing the floor, the Senate rejected the bill.