Pauline Hanson declared Mother of the Year
One Nation senator Pauline Hanson has been declared Mother of the Year, despite not knowing she was nominated for the award.
Hanson, who is a mother of four children and a stepdaughter, was chosen by the Christian organisation Family Voice as a “worthy recipient, given her commitment to family and the community and indeed Australia as a member of federal parliament”.
The politician ad grandmother of six said she was "very honoured" to receive the award, and said she is looking forward to spending time with her family on Mother's Day after working hard on the campaign trail.
“You’re never over being a mother until the day that you die,” she said. “The children may be adults but they come to you for guidance and advice and support they need throughout their lives.”
Pauline said the award came as a great shock, as the 67-year-old had no idea she was in the running.
“I had no idea, I didn’t even know I was nominated,” she said. “Until they contacted my office and said they had this competition and they wanted you to nominate and they told me there was overwhelming support for me."
“It’s out of the box. As a politician people look at you for the policies and what you stand so this is something completely different. Very few politicians get awards of this sort outside of their political career. So it’s a great honour.”
Last year's winner of the coveted award was Sydney woman Leila Abdallah, who lost three of her children after a drunk and drugged driver hit them on a street in Sydney‘s west.
NSW director of Family Voice Australia Greg Bondar said the criteria for nominees was to “exemplify in her life and conduct the power of a mother’s inner strength to deal with the successes and challenges in life”.
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