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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Josh Butler and Benita Kolovos

‘Won’t happen’: One Nation Victoria leader’s comments raise questions about Hanson’s mass deportations policy

One Nation leader senator Pauline Hanson (left) with the party’s new leader for the Victorian state election, Warren Pickering (right) in Melbourne on Monday.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (left) with the party’s new leader for the Victorian state election, Warren Pickering (right), in Melbourne on Monday. Photograph: Jay Kogler/AAP

One Nation’s Victorian leader has previously said mass deportations in Australia are “not a reality” and “won’t happen”, in newly unearthed comments which raise further questions about Pauline Hanson’s signature policy to deport 75,000 people she says have overstayed visas.

Warren Pickering, on Monday unveiled as the party’s leader for Victoria’s November state election, also previously conceded in niche podcast interviews that the party ran so-called “ghost candidates” who didn’t actively campaign in order to harvest more Senate votes.

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