We desperately need the type of strong leadership shown by Howard, says Jen Brown
In 1997 I marched down Hobart's Davey St with 3000 people to protest against Pauline Hanson's launch of the Tasmanian One Nation Party. From Franklin Square to the Town Hall people chanted in unison "migrants are welcome, racists are not, hey, hey, ho, ho." With proud voices and huge banners, we conducted a peaceful takeover of her launch. There was no violence or anger, just loud chanting.
The police were present but, before they could lock the doors, hundreds of people swamped the town hall with their chant. Pauline and her few supporters were forced to abandon it. No one was arrested or injured and the only thing left harmed was Hanson's pride. I remember feeling exhilarated that night, as I chanted beside people from all over Tasmania. As a young woman whose parents taught me to value others and their culture like they are your own, the concept of Hanson spouting a revival of White Australia in my town was scarier than being arrested. 
If my memory serves me, conservative PM John Howard took convincing to speak out against Hanson's anti- multiculturalism. He said: "She represents a percentage of the population and should not be censured".
When poll results suggested she may eat away at Howard's power, he finally stepped in to flex his leadership muscles.
What Howard did was a powerful and commendable act from a conservative Prime Minister, something I never imagined I would hear myself say about him. He succeeded in passing a bipartisan motion, along with then opposition leader Kim Beazley, against racial discrimination, reaffirming support for a non-discriminatory immigration policy. He publicly suggested Hanson was wrong and was "an empty populist offering a cure worse than the disease".
Howard's motion and his words sent a strong message to Australians that tolerance and respect of all cultures are what this nation is about. Although some of us continued to criticise Howard for his hard-Right policies, it was actually this policy, coupled with his strength as a leader, that would move the political debate away from One Nation. What followed was dwindling media concentration. The Left wing media ridiculed her, reinforcing the message of a tolerant Australia.
It may surprise some to hear Hanson has been in and out of politics ever since those Howard years. Since losing her seat in the 1998 election, she contested state and federal elections as leader of One Nation and Pauline Hanson's United Australia Party, or as an independent.
As the events of the 2016 election unfold, I'm left wondering why so many are surprised to see her again. We knew she was trying and her political history means she obviously feels deeply about running for Parliament. Having run as a candidate in 2016, I realise, more than most, that this is no easy, nor cheap endeavour. Hanson's commitment to the cause cannot be doubted. But why weren't we able to silence her this time? Why did she gain so much of the vote in 2016? In Tasmania her party received about 2 per cent of the Senate vote without her setting foot on the island and virtually no public profile from her candidates.
Much of the issue with her re-election lies in the attention she receives, mostly from mainstream media, but also on social media. As I reflect on the Howard era, I realise the missing link in 2016 is the loss of powerful leadership in Australia. Like or hate Howard, his ability to dominate as a leader meant his word reverberated and even mainstream media were obliged to follow. This is lacking nowadays, with political infighting, and volatile party leadership.
The decline in cultural tolerance in Australia has been in place to some degree since our invasion of Iraq (thanks to Howard). It seems to have been held together loosely until the Rudd, Gillard, Rudd debacle resulting in the Tony Abbott effect. Abbott was an unpopular leader from the start. The downfall of Labor left voters deluded into thinking Abbott could give them the leadership they unknowingly craved. Yet Abbott's short time in power was a disaster for cultural tolerance. To quote Abbott in 2015, in relation to a suggestion to ban the burqa: "Frankly, it's not the sort of attire that I would like to see widespread in our streets." Coupled with the 2015 Liberal leadership spill, Abbott provided Australia with Hanson's 2016 win. He did this through his intolerance, evident by the bid to change section 18c of the Antidiscrimination Act, and his contempt for human rights and international law, shown by his pressure on Gillian Triggs or anyone who questioned his government to resign or stay silent.
Abbott's "we can do what we want, say what we want about others and we don't care what you think" behaviour has set a low bar for leadership.
Australia needs a leader who will earn community and media respect as Howard did.
Jen Brown was a Greens candidate for Denison.