Media union blasts Pauline Hanson’s ‘bitter, unprofessional’ attack on Guardian journalist

The media union has condemned One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s attack on Guardian Australia senior correspondent Sarah Martin, as Anthony Albanese called on journalists to defend public broadcasters SBS and the ABC. After her landmark address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday, Hanson called Martin “trashy” for asking about her daughter Lee Hanson’s employment by a NSW One Nation senator, despite living and working in Tasmania. Martin revealed in February that Lee Hanson has been spearheading the party’s expansion in Tasmania, while receiving a taxpayer-funded salary of about $150,000 a year. Hanson said Martin would be banned from future events because of critical coverage, accusing her of harbouring an “obsession” with Hanson herself and billionaire patron Gina Rinehart. She had previously said she would ban the ABC and the Guardian from attending her events. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email The Media Arts and Entertainment Alliance called the attack “bitter, personal and unprofessional” and warned attempts by One Nation to ban Guardian Australia and the ABC from press conferences an assault on the freedom of the press. “Hanson’s actions stand in stark contrast with her remarks that she welcomes the scrutiny of the media on her party, its people and its politics,” the statement said. “[Martin] is an experienced and professional journalist who was attending her place of work to do her job of holding the powerful to account. …