Anthony Albanese has linked comments by Pauline Hanson about Muslims to a heightened risk of violence as one of his cabinet ministers warned Liberals against chasing One Nation on immigration, saying \u201cyou can\u2019t out-racist Pauline Hanson\u201d.<\/p>\n
Police are investigating a series of threats received by Lakemba Mosque<\/a> in Sydney as the holy month of Ramadan begins \u2013 including a call to kill worshippers \u2013 which came days after Hanson said there were no \u201cgood Muslims\u201d.<\/p>\n Amid mounting criticism of the comments, the prime minister was asked if there was a link between Hanson\u2019s comments and threats of violence.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course there is, because it legitimises it, it mainstreams it,\u201d he told ABC radio.<\/p>\n \u201cPauline Hanson is a divisive figure. She\u2019s made a political career out of seeking to divide Australians against each other. And what we need is more unity, not more division.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the country needed optimism and a serious, positive policy agenda and \u201cPauline Hanson does not do that\u201d.<\/p>\n The education minister, Jason Clare, called the comments \u201cdisgusting but not surprising\u201d.<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI guess my message to the Liberal party is: don\u2019t follow Pauline Hanson down this racist rabbit hole, because you can\u2019t out\u2011racist Pauline Hanson, and if you do, you\u2019re only going to end up hurting yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n Hanson was on Sky News on Monday night discussing the thwarted attempts by Australian women and children stuck in Syria to return home<\/a>. She accused the group of hating westerners, saying: \u201cYou say, \u2018Well, there\u2019s good Muslims out there.\u2019 How can you tell me there are good Muslims?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Later, Hanson qualified some of the comments, offering a conditional apology if she \u201coffended anyone out there that doesn\u2019t believe in sharia law, or multiple marriages, or wants to bring \u2018Isis brides\u2019 in, or people from Gaza that believe in a caliphate\u201d.<\/p>\n Hanson\u2019s comments have been roundly criticised, with even Hanson\u2019s One Nation colleague Barnaby Joyce refusing to endorse them<\/a> on Wednesday.<\/p>\n She also claimed people did not want to visit Lakemba, in Sydney\u2019s south west, claiming \u201cyou feel unwanted\u201d.<\/p>\n As many as 5,000 people are expected to attend the mosque each night during Ramadan, swelling to 50,000 on the final day of Eid. NSW police officers are patrolling the site.<\/p>\n