The office of Australian politician Pauline Hanson has released an email from a Channel Seven producer that appears to dispute the network's account of how her recent trip to the United Kingdom was arranged. The email was published on social media by Hanson's team after Seven's 7News Spotlight program aired a special featuring the One Nation leader.
The hour-long special, which aired on Sunday, depicted Hanson on a "fact-finding mission" in the UK, including a recorded podcast with far-right figure Tommy Robinson. The program stated that Hanson had "invited us along" to join her trip.
However, Hanson's chief of staff, James Ashby, has described the program as a "stitch-up," asserting that the Seven Network originated the concept for the trip. According to Ashby, the network organized her meeting with Robinson, and this was not part of the initial plan but was scheduled after discussions with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage did not materialize.
On Monday, Hanson's office shared an email from Spotlight senior producer Luke Mortimer. The correspondence outlined plans for a one-hour investigation into immigration, proposing a visit to Britain with Hanson and veteran reporter Liam Bartlett.
"We want to do a full-hour show on Australia's recent years of record-breaking net migration..." the email read. "I don't think we need to read the tea leaves too closely to see uncontrolled immigration is shaping up as next year's defining issue... Ms Hanson, yourself and the rest of One Nation [are] out in front of this issue, putting uncontrolled immigration front and centre this year."
The email further suggested that the UK Labour government's stance had been "forced" by the anti-immigration party Reform UK to address high immigration figures. It indicated Seven's interest in having Nigel Farage invite Hanson to Britain to showcase his views on Australia's future if current immigration policies continued.
"The show, ideally, will further enlighten our viewers to the scale of the issue we are facing and what we might face if we don't take back control of who comes to our country," Mortimer wrote.
The producer also mentioned potential travel arrangements for Hanson and himself to the UK and listed several locations Seven hoped to visit, including Birmingham and Bournemouth. He described scenes of migrants crossing the English Channel and seaside towns being used as camps for asylum seekers.
Mortimer's email repeatedly referred to "uncontrolled immigration" and stated that the program's basis would be "fact-based" and illustrate the strain on infrastructure. While Hanson did not end up meeting Farage, her trip included meetings with former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe and Tommy Robinson.
Hanson posted the email alongside a photo of herself, Mortimer, and Bartlett, questioning whether the broadcast program accurately reflected the initial proposal from the Spotlight producer.