Senator Malcolm Roberts has claimed One Nation wants to deport at least 200,000 people from Australia, repeatedly using the far-right concept of 'remigration' in podcast interviews and speeches to niche platforms. The figure far exceeds the party's published policy of deporting 75,000 illegal migrants.
Roberts' deportation targets exceed party policy
In two recent podcasts, Roberts said One Nation would deport 100,000 temporary residents and 100,000 international students. After those removals, he stated he wanted to 'start working on the higher numbers of people we need to get rid of.' One Nation's policy website pledges to 'deport 75,000 illegal migrants,' specifically visa overstayers, illegal workers, and unlawful non-residents, and to end student visa loopholes.
In a November 2025 interview with the 2 Worlds Collide podcast, Roberts said: 'We would also deport immediately anybody who's here illegally, and that's 100,000 people now … on contravention of their resident visas. That's 100,000 we would deport, remigrate. Call it what you want. Get rid of them straight away.' He added: 'Then we've got about an estimated 100,000 international students who are here illegally. They've either graduated and not gone home or they've breached their legal visa. So we would send them home.'
Use of 'remigration' draws criticism
Roberts repeated those sentiments in a June interview with podcaster Brodie Buchal, saying: 'We have 100,000 people here on temporary resident visas illegally. We would deport them, remigrate them, send them home. We've got 100,000 students who are here illegally, and we suspect it's much, much more. Send them home.' He added: 'We'd tighten the entry requirements, remigrate, deport, and then start working on the higher numbers of people we need to get rid of.'
The term 'remigration' has become a buzzword for the global far right. The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism describes it as 'a white supremacist policy concept that calls for the forced removal of immigrants, refugees, and their descendants — including legal residents and citizens — based on race, ethnicity, culture, being perceived as “non-white,” or a failure to “assimilate.”' Dr Kurt Sengul, a research fellow at Macquarie University, called remigration 'an extreme and dangerous' position rooted in ethnic cleansing and white supremacy.
One Nation's immigration stance under scrutiny
One Nation's hardline immigration policy has faced renewed scrutiny after Pauline Hanson's appearance on Channel Seven's Spotlight program, where she met Rupert Lowe, leader of hard-right party Restore Britain. Lowe gave her a pamphlet titled 'mass deportations,' and Hanson replied they were 'on the same page.' When asked if she thought mass deportation was a good idea, she said: 'I love it.' However, One Nation has consistently declined to detail how it would enact such a policy.
Abul Rizvi, former deputy secretary of the immigration department, said deporting such numbers would be 'eyewateringly expensive' and could result in massive errors. He noted that only about 2,000 people were apprehended, detained, and deported from Australia last year, with another 6,000 voluntarily leaving. 'It would cost a fortune and unless you did it carefully, it would result in massive errors and all sorts of problems,' Rizvi said.
One Nation was contacted for comment regarding Roberts' understanding of the term and clarification of its deportation policy.
