Pauline Hanson has taken a swipe at Neil Perry after the celebrity chef vowed to leave Australia if she ever became Prime Minister.
Perry made the comments during a street interview with Empact News in Sydney’s Double Bay, where locals were asked about Hanson’s political surge and her ‘Fire the Liar’ fundraising campaign, which has reportedly amassed $4 million.
Perry, 68 – the Sydney-born chef behind restaurants Rockpool, Spice Temple and Margaret – said: ‘The entire time she’s been in politics, I’ve been sad.’
Asked whether Hanson could realistically be elected PM, Perry said it was possible: ‘Look what’s going on in America – how could you be shocked by anything that goes on in the world today?’
But he made clear he wouldn’t stick around to see Hanson in the top job.
‘If she is, I won’t be living in Australia,’ he said.
Perry noted that frustration over the Albanese government’s changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing in the Federal Budget were fuelling discontent.
‘You know, I think what happened in the Budget and what happened to business owners and people who’ve made investments, a lot of that’s just been thrown out the window,’ Perry said.
Neil Perry (pictured) said he would leave Australia if Hanson became Prime Minister
A Resolve poll showed Hanson (pictured) in first as preferred Prime Minister over Albanese
‘It doesn’t mean we have to turn into what the rest of the world’s turned into.’
In response to the comment, Hanson gave a simple two-word response.
‘Neil who?’ she told Daily Mail.
The chef’s comments come as Hanson’s political support soars.
A survey by the Resolve Political Monitor released Sunday found that 33 per cent of respondents want the One Nation leader as prime minister, ahead of Anthony Albanese on 29 per cent and Liberal leader Angus Taylor on 16 per cent, with 22 per cent undecided.
In the primary vote, One Nation leads with 29 per cent, followed by Labor on 28 per cent, while the Coalition trails at a record low of 20 per cent.
Labor’s tally is its weakest since February 2025.
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said the poll showed the Albanese government must prove ‘things are changing’ as Australians face mounting cost-of-living pressures.
Neil Perry (pictured) is one of Australia’s most influential and celebrated chefs
Would Australia be better off with Pauline Hanson as Prime Minister or should celebrities speak out more?
‘I think people are really frustrated and we’ve got to demonstrate that things are changing. And that takes a while,’ Plibersek told Sunrise on Monday.
‘We’ve just got to keep working to make sure that those tax cuts that we want to deliver right now get to people.’
The Daily Mail contacted Perry for comment.
