'I don't like it': A comparative analysis of emotions in the political rhetoric of Pauline Hanson from 1996-1998 and 2016-2018

In Australian politics and popular culture, few politicians have ever been considered as controversial as Pauline Hanson. From 60 Minutes to Pauline Pantsdown, from The House of Representatives to Dancing With the Stars and The Celebrity Apprentice, Hanson has barely left the public imagination since her explosive entrance into politics in the 1996 federal election. Hanson's successful 2016 election to the Senate has once again brought her firmly into the spotlight and raised questions of how Hanson succeeded a second time. While Hanson has been discredited on both the political left and right as the 'ignorant' and 'racist' voice of a minority, our most outcast members of the Government can show us surprising cultural truths. This thesis explores how Pauline Hanson's political discourse has changed over the last 18 years and the role that emotions play in her speeches. Through a content and an applied thematic analysis of Hanson's Parliamentary speeches from 1996-1998 and 2016-2018, this thesis will highlight the mirroring of emotional regimes of the radical populist right in the Australian political sphere.