Hate speech is not Islamic terrorism, and where’s Pauline?

Pauline Hanson is the only political leader who has addressed the problem of Islamic extremism.

In the timeless wisdom of childhood playgrounds, we were taught that ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me’. This simple adage points to a fundamental truth. Physical violence inflicts real harm, while mere words, no matter how offensive, do not equate to acts of brutality.

Yet, in the corridors of power in Canberra, the Albanese Labor government seems to have forgotten this distinction entirely.

Instead of confronting the deadly threat of Islamic terrorism head-on, they are diverting attention to nebulous concepts like ‘hate speech’, lumping in Islamophobia and homophobia as if they pose the same existential danger as the radical ideologies that have claimed innocent lives on Australian soil.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Hate speech is not Islamic terrorism, and where’s Pauline?

Hate speech, while distasteful and divisive, is not Islamic terrorism.

The former might wound feelings or spark debate, but the latter results in bloodshed and shattered families.

At the horrific Bondi massacre, Islamic terrorism led to the senseless deaths of 15 innocent… pic.twitter.com/CDURpcRVvo

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) January 16, 2026