‘Cuppa catch-up’: Hanson and Abbott kiss and make up in awkward Facebook video
Is this the most awkward kiss and make-up meeting ever, or is Hanson strategically keeping her enemies close?
Pauline Hanson and Tony Abbott have shared a coffee and seemingly buried the hatchet years after the One Nation leader accused Abbott of ‘orchestrating’ her imprisonment.
Hanson met with the former PM and a posted a video of the bizarre encounter onto her social media account.
The pair, seated on a couch, shared cringeworthy banter in the 40 second clip.
"Pauline it's good to catch up with you after all these years," Abbott mused, making no reference to the campaign he led against her years ago.
Hanson went on to thank Abbott for visiting her office and sharing a beverage with her.
"I think it is great, too, and I really appreciate you coming to my office and saying 'hello' and welcoming me to the Parliament," she said.
"And we've had a bit of a chat and we've had a cup of coffee and it's great and I really do appreciate that, Tony."
"Pauline, there are half a million people who voted for you and you'll be a strong voice for their concerns," he said, acknowledging her recent comeback to political power.
Senator Hanson conceded she has a big job ahead - something all MPs have, Mr Abbott added.
"We've got to make the most of what I hope will be a constructive parliament."
It’s a striking shift from the Abbott who famously established a trust fund to bankroll civil cases against One Nation when it posed an electoral threat to the Liberals in the late 1990s.
Abbott's message and tone in the clip seemingly endorsing Pauline and her views.
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Since her return to power in the Senate, Hanson has also met with Malcolm Turnbull.
At the time she stated that Mr Turnbull "took note of everything I said and was very interested in my opinion”, when asked about the outcome of the meeting.
Senator Hanson, who recently pointed the finger at Abbott and John Howard for a "political witch-hunt" against her in a new documentary, noted the pair have had their differences in the past.
"But it's a new start for me in this 45th Parliament and I intend to leave any bitterness behind me for the sake of the country," she wrote with the video.
Coalition backbencher Andrew Laming said Senator Hanson and Mr Abbott should have made up years ago.
"I think it's great... they are communicating and working together," he told reporters.
Senator Hanson had to be respected because she represented the views of nine per cent of Australians, he said.
"Let's be honest if the main parties aren't meeting the needs of the Australian people, people like Pauline Hanson will do that on our behalf," he said.
In July, Hanson went on the record saying she was prepared to work with a colleague in the 45th parliament who she said she "detested" years ago while ruing the day if Tony Abbott ever came to power.
"He has a job to do, I have a job to do. I'm not a vindictive person," she said at the time.
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