Facing the might of Canberra’s leading political journalists, Pauline Hanson has demonstrated why she has become Australia’s most popular political leader.

On Wednesday, at Canberra’s National Press Club — a venue many conservative politicians consider inherently hostile — she was calm, clear and certain of what Australia should be: a single-culture, English-speaking nation that celebrates Western civilisation, individual freedom and national sovereignty.

Before she got to the substance of her speech, the One Nation leader opened with a jibe at one of her favourite targets, the media.

“Is Channel 9 here?” she said. “No, Gina’s jet is not broken. I did come cattle class. I just wanted to get that out of the way.”

The comment, which got plenty of laughs, was a reference to a now-infamous encounter at Perth Airport a week ago when a young reporter challenged the senator over a small plane provided by businesswoman Gina Rinehart to the One Nation campaign.

Many politicians fear the media. One Nation is turning media hostility, or scrutiny, depending on your perspective, into a political asset.

During the questions asked after her speech, Senator Hanson argued with reporters from the Guardian and SBS, which she promised to abolish under a plan to replace Australia’s multicultural society with a “monocultural” one.

When the SBS reporter mentioned several times the decision would cut Australian news in 60 languages, Senator Hanson did not try to de-escalate the situation or placate her. “I can understand your question,” she said. “You are going to be without a job.”

Surreal experience

Attacking the media was an important part of the speech. She called for the ABC public broadcaster to become a subscription service in the cities, which are well served by commercial media outlets.

“Remember this: I don’t answer to the media,” she said. “I answer to the Australian people.”

Ironically, one of the first questions from the media table was whether she would conduct daily press conferences at the next election campaign — a sign journalists see her as an important source of news.

Adding to the slightly surreal experience of a political leader attacking her hosts, while the senator was reading her speech a projector screen lowered behind her. Stuck to it was a poster that attacked her position on wage increases and politicians’ salaries, neither of which she has any power over.

Senator Hanson has complained, though, which she repeated on Wednesday, that regulated wage rises are tough on businesses.

Staff from the club ripped down the poster. Host Tom Connell later said: “We had no knowledge of what happened here.”

(The left-wing activist group GetUp! claimed responsibility. The club is preparing to issue a statement, chief executive Maurice Reilly said.)

Robust case

The anonymous protest, hostile questions and Senator Hanson’s unpolished speaking style did not overwhelm what was important about the televised appearance: treated as a serious political figure, Senator Hanson made a robust and internally consistent argument while avoiding rhetorical missteps that critics would have used to ridicule her.

Pressed on her opposition to abortion, she said terminations should not be prohibited when mothers’ lives were at risk.

While advocating for nuclear power, she correctly analysed the Coalition’s commitment at the last election to build seven government-owned power plants was a political mistake. Her more conservative approach is a single reactor on the east coast, potentially funded by business.

She criticised large childcare subsidies and questioned why nursery staff require university qualifications when she raised children without a degree. Pressed about spending cuts, she called for an investigation into the industry.

“I am not going to do policy on the run,” she said, a comment Anthony Albanese could have been pleased with.

The sweet spot

No one has ever confused Senator Hanson for an economist. But she demonstrated an understanding of an important monetary policy principle, which is interest rates must be set free from political pressure to be effective.

In the ideological world many One Nation activists inhabit, including the president of the US, central banks are dangerous and untrustworthy institutions that need political direction. Asked if pressure should be applied to lower official interest rates, Senator Hanson’s answer was not eloquent but reflected the view of many eminent economists.

“The Reserve Bank is totally different to the executive of the government,” she said. “What the government has to do is pull their heads in with their spending.”

By combining reasonable critiques of economic policy with attacks on the media and colourful condemnation of immigration — she described anti-Western Islamism as a “social cancer” — the One Nation leader is hitting the sweet spot of right-wing politics.

The Coalition is afraid, and has good reason to be. Senator Hanson demonstrated on Wednesday why she is such a potent threat to the mainstream parties in an era of fear, anger and resentment.