Pauline Hanson’s by-election candidate for Sussan Ley’s seat compared former Prime Minister Julia Gillard to an “old, unproductive cow” who should be destroyed before suggesting the comments were ironic.
Agricultural businessman David Farley was on Saturday chosen as the One Nation candidate for the May 9 election for Farrer, which Ley held for 25 years.
The race, a critical first test of growing public support for the party and the Liberals under Angus Taylor, was sparked by Ley’s resignation from parliament last month after being ousted as Liberal leader.
Farley, 69, is an irrigator from Narrandera, father of three daughters and grandfather of seven.
As chief executive of the Australian Agricultural Company in 2012, he referenced the then Labor leader when speaking about the destruction of cows using new abattoir technology.
“This plant is designed to process old cows,” Farley said at a business conference, referring to a plant under construction designed to kill old cows to produce cheap meat, adding value for farmers from aging cattle.
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“So, older cows that become non-productive, instead of making the decision to let them die in the paddock or put them on the truck… this gives us the opportunity to take the non-productive animals out and put them through the processing system.
“So it’s designed for old, non-productive cows. Julia Gillard needs to be careful.”
Media reports said the comment was met with sustained laughter from the audience.
Farley claimed at the time that the comments were intended to be “ironic” and had been taken out of context.
He was selected as One Nation’s candidate for Farrer on Saturday, at an announcement event where Hanson and Nationals defector Barnaby Joyce were present.
Gillard faced repeated sexist comments as the country’s first female leader. Joyce famously attended a rally outside Parliament in 2011, when Coalition figures, including then opposition leader Tony Abbott, stood in front of posters bearing Gillard’s image and the slogan “get rid of the witch”.
Hanson defended his candidate on Sunday, telling Guardian Australia in a statement that the comments were “mild” compared to what the farming industry was feeling at the time.
“Get over it. This is a country with serious problems on its hands and journalists want to track down 14-year-old ironic comments?” she said.
“I fully support David Farley and his comments.”
Hanson said the public should reflect on why the comments were made, which were in the context of the then Labor government banning live cattle exports to Indonesia for six months. That decision was later challenged in court by a livestock industry class action lawsuit in 2020 and was declared invalid.
“I would suggest that the feedback was pretty mild compared to what the industry really felt at the time,” Hanson said.
Liberal shadow minister for women Melissa McIntosh called the comments “inappropriate”.
“Mr Farley’s comments about former Prime Minister Gillard were inappropriate. It is up to Mr Farley to clarify those comments,” he told Guardian Australia.
Ley held the southern NSW seat for 25 years, after wresting it from the Nationals when former leader Tim Fisher retired from politics in 2001.
The Liberals have not yet named a candidate, while the Nationals must finalize preselection on Sunday.
The Labor Party is not expected to stand. Hanson said Saturday that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “didn’t want to be shown to be on a downward slope.”
“He knows very well that he will get fewer votes than last time.”
