Pauline Hanson Calls Paid Domestic Violence Leave “Ridiculous,” Suggests Family Law Favors Women

Pauline Hanson has described paid leave for those experiencing family and domestic violence as “ridiculous”, and suggested the issue is taking police away from “real crime”, calling for the family law system to be “wound back”.

In an unearthed interview, the One Nation leader said the advancements of women’s rights in the family law system over the decades had become “broken” because they favoured women and were now “suppressing the males all the time”.

The comments, made on the Broken Fathers podcast in November 2025, and first reported by the Nine newspapers, resurfaced as Hanson hit back at the criticism over her suggestion that domestic violence is a “two-way street”.

The senator has responded to the backlash by accusing the media and the Labor party of “twisting” her words.

In the podcast, which focuses on the perspectives of fathers during family court matters, Hanson said she saw the introduction of 10 days of domestic violence leave as “ridiculous”, labelling it a “holiday”.

“Ten days a year, they brought that in, so everyone’s, you know, claiming domestic violence and everything like that,” she said.

“It’s ridiculous.”

Ten days of paid family violence leave was introduced during the Albanese government’s first term. Under a program introduced in 2024, victim-survivors can access up to $5,000 in individualised financial support if they are leaving a violent relationship.

During the 70-minute podcast, Hanson repeatedly referred to the system as “broken” and in need of an overhaul, pointing to “feminist” and women’s groups pushing their agenda to favour mothers in family violence situations.

“I do think it is broken because we’ve got too many woke people in parliament now, and it’s pushing women’s rights,” Hanson said.

“But with … women’s rights, you’ve got to have women’s responsibilities.”

The 72-year-old senator, who has been in the political spotlight over the past three decades, also suggested the majority of police work was being dominated by family violence incidents while “real crime” was being overlooked.

“Do you know that domestic violence takes up about 75% of police officers’ time now?” the senator said.

“And that’s all they’re dealing with. And the police have had a gutful of it.

“They’re sick and tired of it because of the reports that they have to make, and that’s why we’re not dealing with real crime out there. The whole thing needs to be wound back.”

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) condemned Hanson’s comments on paid family and domestic violence leave as “shockingly out of touch”.

The ACTU president, Michele O’Neil, described Hanson’s remarks as “reckless and dangerous” and said people who use the leave “are not on a holiday, far from it”.

“Unions campaigned and won paid family and domestic violence leave because survivors told us they needed the time, so they didn’t have to choose between going to work to put food on the table or being able to make the break to safety,” O’Neil said.

Hanson’s previously unreported comments came to light after the senator was asked about her message to men who hurt their intimate partners.

“It is wrong but it’s also a two-way street. I’m not saying that it’s just men, women can lose their cool as well. Society is under so much pressure … Everyone is under so much pressure and it’s really hard,” Hanson told 4BC radio on Wednesday.

“Domestic violence is a scourge but look … I’ve been through it myself in my life. And I just feel if you’re not in a house where you feel safe … then you shouldn’t put up with it. If these women are getting abused by men out there, then don’t put up with it.”

After strong criticism from a number of anti-family violence groups, Hanson posted the comments in full, claiming “there is a concerted effort by some in the media to constantly take my comments out of context”.

“Some within rival media decided to use only a few quotes and made out that I downplayed domestic violence. That’s untrue, hence why it’s important that people hear the whole interview,” she said on social media.

Hanson’s chief of staff, James Ashby, explained to Sky News commentator, Peta Credlin, on Wednesday night his boss was trying to show “there is an element of domestic violence that comes not just from men”.

“Domestic violence is not acceptable, whether it be from a man or a woman, and she also said if you feel threatened in any way, shape, or form, get out of it,” Ashby said.

In a statement on Thursday, the sex discrimination commissioner, Anna Cody, condemned the comments as “harmful, wrong, and dangerous”.

“Domestic violence is never the responsibility of the person experiencing it,” she said.

“Violence is a choice – and blame rests entirely with the person who commits it.”

In 2019, the One Nation senator secured a controversial inquiry into the family court system, which women’s groups warned could become a platform for men’s rights activists who believed the court system was biased against fathers.

At the time, she claimed women were fabricating family violence complaints to keep their children. The claim is a prominent grievance among men’s rights groups but has been widely discredited in multiple studies.

In 2017, Hanson had told the Senate her sons had domestic violence claims made against them “that were not warranted” and said broadly “I feel for the men out there that are going through this, because it’s unjustified”.