Pauline Hanson has rejected calls to remove One Nation’s Please Explain political cartoons, saying the series will remain online after renewed criticism of animations depicting politicians being run over. The One Nation leader said the cartoons were unrelated to the recent attack on independent MP Helen Haines and accused Labor and Liberal figures of trying to silence criticism.
The renewed scrutiny followed the recirculation of two older animations from 2023 and 2024. In Under the Bus, Hanson is depicted driving a bus over independent senator Lidia Thorpe, who appears beneath its tyres. In The State of Melbourne, former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is shown being struck by a car driven by the cartoon character Bluey, while the ending suggests Prime Minister Anthony Albanese may also be hit.
The videos were published years before Haines was attacked outside her electorate office in Wangaratta on 19 October 2026. The incident has prompted political leaders to urge restraint and condemn violence against elected representatives. Authorities have charged a man over the attack, while the motive has remained under investigation in public updates.
Hanson said on social media that the Please Explain series had “nothing to do with the tragic attack on Helen Haines” and would not be removed. She argued that major-party politicians wanted the cartoons censored because they disliked scrutiny. Those are Hanson’s characterisations; the available reporting does not establish that the cartoons caused or were connected to the attack.
Shadow minister Ted O’Brien criticised the timing of the cartoons in comments to News24, saying he had not watched them but questioning whether they were appropriate in the current climate. The renewed debate also follows backlash over other Please Explain videos, including one that mocked independent senator Jacqui Lambie’s disclosed medical condition. Hanson apologised for that cartoon and said she had asked its creator to change it.
The latest dispute centres on whether the older animations should remain available and how political satire is being judged after a serious attack on an MP. Hanson has said the cartoons will stay. No removal of the older videos was reported in the material reviewed for this article.
