Pauline Hanson’s safety under scrutiny after GetUp’s National Press Club stunt

Pauline Hanson’s personal safety is under renewed scrutiny following this week’s security breach at the National Press Club and amid claims repeated requests for increased federal police protection have been ignored.

Members of left-wing activist group GetUp are under investigation by ACT policing after they managed to smuggle a “drop down screen” into the NPC’s Canberra building, that was then lowered onto the stage as the One Nation leader spoke on Wednesday.

Senator Hanson’s colleagues say the incident has underscored security concerns for their high-profile leader who is now one of the most recognisable public figures in the country.

The Nightly can reveal Senator Hanson’s Chief of Staff James Ashby has also raised the need for greater Australian Federal Police protection for the outspoken politician directly with senior members of the Albanese government.

In messages sent to a Cabinet Minister in early May, Mr Ashby detailed his concerns that “something terrible could soon occur” and warned “it only takes one crazy person” to physically harm his boss.

Those fears were reportedly confirmed on the eve of the Farrer by-election in New South Wales, where One Nation figures claim a man armed with several knives was detained by police outside Pauline Hanson’s hotel in Albury.

The Nightly has confirmed that Australia’s security agencies, including ASIO, the AFP and Home Affairs, regularly assess risks posed to public figures, and make independent decisions on protection measures. An AFP spokesperson has told The Nightly that the organisation does not comment on individual threat assessments or protection measures.

However inside AFP ranks there are concerns about the growing threats faced by Senator Hanson, with one veteran figure connected to the Close Personal Protection (CPP) team telling The Nightly that the One Nation leader should be assigned a permanent police detail.

“She should be rated as a ‘high’ from everything we’ve seen and be given a full CCP detail. It is extraordinary how often she is approached out in public – and with groups like GetUp now funding activists, I cannot see why she is not rated ‘high’.”

“If Pauline Hanson is only receiving a CPP team on an ‘events based’ assessment then that is not adequate – several Cabinet ministers have had CPP teams for years”.

A plane tracking website recently created by GetUp, that details where Senator Hanson travels when she is on board her private aircraft, has also raised safety concerns inside One Nation ranks.

Mr Ashby says he has approached numerous companies in Australia which provide commercial aircraft transponder data to third parties, to request that details about Senator Hanson’s plane movements not be made public.

In formal correspondence to the aviation companies, Mr Ashby warns: “like other high profile Australian politicians, (Senator Hanson’s) personal security is sometimes tested by members of the public and those with extreme ideologies”.

“The public’s ability to track this aircraft leaves her and those onboard the aircraft vulnerable (to) security threats and I’m hoping you can assist in removing the aircraft from your app”.

Last year the AFP confirmed reports of violent threats, including death threats, against federal politicians have been on the rise, almost doubling from 555 in 2021-22 to 951 reports in 2024-25.

According to the AFP data, nearly three violent or menacing threats against federal politicians are being reported to police daily, with rates almost doubling in two years.