Populism and the far-right in contemporary Australia: a critical discourse analysis of Pauline Hanson’s senate speeches in the 45th parliament

The purpose of this thesis is to critically explore the communicative, discursive and performative dimensions of Australian far-right populist politician Pauline Hanson’s political communication in the 45th Parliament of Australia (2016-2019). As suggested by Feldman and Jackson, ‘to holistically understand the contemporary far-right, we need to ‘be taking seriously their deliberately crafted slogans, symbols, and themes’ (2015, p. 8). In line with this imperative, the thesis addresses the strategic nature of Hanson’s political communication within the highly mediatised context of Australian politics, an approach which is still under explored within the literature. As such, the thesis is concerned with the why and how of Pauline Hanson’s political communication. Moreover, it interrogates the implications of Hanson’s rhetoric for racialised and marginalised communities, the (re)production of racism and discrimination, and the maintenance of white supremacy within the Australian racial state. In this sense, it is concerned with both the form and content of Hanson’s contemporary political communication. Methodologically, it draws on the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine the micro-politics of Pauline Hanson’s Senate speeches, speeches she purposefully enacted to achieve her political goals. Consistent with the principles of Critical Discourse Analysis, this thesis is interdisciplinary, sitting broadly at the intersection of Communication and Media Studies, Political Communication Studies, and Critical Discourse Studies. Adopting a thesis by publication approach, this research establishes the background and context of this research project, sets out a methodological defence and then uses five discrete sole-authored publications to form the analytical body of the thesis. It concludes that the communicative and performative strategies and tactics of the contemporary far-right are necessary to understand as they are one of the principal means Hanson used to help her achieve her political goals.