ONE Nation leader Pauline Hanson shared the story of her upbringing, business experience, political clashes and time in prison during a Swan Chamber of Commerce Hour of Power event that drew one of the largest crowds in the series’ history.

More than 200 people attended the event at Crooked Spire Coffee Midland, where organisers said the focus was on leadership rather than politics.

It was a detour from the Swan Chamber’s regular Hour of Power talks with an extended time limit for one of the nation’s most controversial figures.

Before the event began, Swan Chamber president Mike Matich said Ms Hanson was a polarising figure and the chamber previously debated whether to invite her.

“The Swan Chamber, we don’t endorse any political views,” he said.

“This is not an endorsement of Pauline, but this is someone who has garnered a lot of attention.”

The event followed a One Nation fundraising sundowner at the same venue the previous evening, which attracted protesters who marched along Victoria Street.

During a 30-minute address and question-and-answer session, Ms Hanson spoke extensively about her early life and the challenges she faced before entering politics.

Born in Brisbane, Ms Hanson told the audience she was one of seven children and grew up above her parents’ cafe, where she began working at age 12.

She described her father as a hardworking small business owner who worked long hours and made many of the products sold through the family business himself.

“He worked 106 hours a week for 25 years,” she said.

Ms Hanson said the experience instilled a strong work ethic and an appreciation for small business.

After leaving school at 15, she worked clerical jobs while helping in the family business at night.

She married young, had her first child at 17 and later helped establish a potato chip processing business with her parents but later sold it.

Following the breakdown of her first marriage, Ms Hanson worked in hospitality on the Gold Coast before meeting her second husband and helping establish a plumbing business in Ipswich.

She told the audience she experienced domestic violence during that relationship and eventually found herself raising children as a single mother.

Seeking a way to support her family, Ms Hanson purchased a rundown fish and chip shop and spent years building it into a successful small business.

“I worked that business six days a week, by myself,” she said.

The business would later become an unlikely tourist attraction after her election to federal parliament in 1996, with Ms Hanson recalling visitors stopping by simply to see the shop owned by the newly elected MP.

Ms Hanson said her political beginnings were in local government after becoming frustrated with what she saw as waste and poor accountability within council operations.

She recounted questioning council spending decisions and advocating for greater scrutiny of how public funds were used.

She then contested the federal seat of Oxley, initially as a Liberal candidate before being disendorsed following controversy surrounding comments she had made about immigration and equality.

Rather than withdraw, Ms Hanson ran as an independent and won the seat.

Reflecting on her arrival in Canberra, Ms Hanson said her maiden speech to parliament became one of the defining moments of her career.

She told attendees she had rejected an earlier draft prepared by an adviser because it did not reflect her own views.

“I’m the member for Oxley, not you, this is my maiden speech,” she said.

Ms Hanson said she rewrote much of the speech herself, drawing on her own experiences and concerns about Australia’s future.

She also addressed one of the most controversial elements of that speech, her warning that Australia risked being “swamped by Asians”, a phrase that attracted widespread criticism and remains closely associated with her political career.

Ms Hanson said she was “not anti-Asian” and argued the comment had been based on immigration projections she had been given at the time.

“These people have given so much to this country, have become Australians, embraced me and what I stand for,” she said.

Asked by Echo News whether her vision for Australia’s future included a multicultural Australia, Ms Hanson said Australia was “multiracial” but people should identify primarily as Australians rather than by ethnic background.

“We are multiracial, from people with different racial backgrounds, but at the end of the day, we must be Australians,” she said.

“I don’t want to see Vietnamese Australian, Chinese Australian, whatever, we are Australians.”

The comments drew applause from the audience.

While Ms Hanson repeatedly referred to migrants embracing the “Australian way of life”, she did not further define what that phrase meant during the discussion.

The most emotional moments of the event came when she reflected on her imprisonment in 2003 after being convicted of electoral fraud offences.

Ms Hanson served 11 weeks in prison before the convictions were overturned on appeal.

She said she was “absolutely devastated” by the guilty verdict.

“It was a very hard time for me and it was a very hard time for my children,” she said.

Ms Hanson became visibly emotional while recalling how her son remained outside the prison because he wanted to stay close to her.

“Don’t keep living in the past,” she said.

“Acknowledge what’s happened and move on with your life.”

Throughout the event Ms Hanson repeatedly returned to the theme of leadership, encouraging attendees to remain focused on their goals despite criticism and setbacks.

She said leaders needed conviction and a willingness to withstand public attacks.

“Put yourself up on a pedestal,” she said.

“The only one that can pull you down is yourself.”

Asked how she had coped with decades of criticism and controversy, Ms Hanson said she remained focused on what she wanted to achieve rather than other people’s opinions.

Attendants approached Echo News following the event and expressed a varied view of the proceedings.

The event drew mixed reception from the Midland business crowd with some appreciating the candour of the visit while others remained opposed to Ms Hanson’s views and previous remarks on race and policy.