Pauline Hanson is the Donald Trump of Australia

How an anti-immigrant outsider with a flair for the dramatic became the yuge-est thing Down Under.

Edited by Brendan Spiegel | Photo by Philip Myers from Anna Broinowski's film "Pauline Hanson: Please Explain!"

In September 1996, a 42-year-old woman with striking green eyes and short, powerfully puffy red hair stood nervously behind a podium, gathering herself before addressing Australia’s House of Representatives for the first time. Pauline Hanson, a twice-divorced mother of four, had come a long way. For nearly a decade she’d run a humble fish-and-chip shop in Ipswich – historically an industry-rich suburb of Brisbane. She grew up there, alongside six siblings, in a working-class home. Over much of her time as a small business owner, the country was mired in a dreadful recession, fueling great discontent for the left-wing-controlled government. But unlike other demoralized Aussies, Hanson, who’d only attended school until the age of fifteen, took action, earning a seat in her local city council in 1994. That development opened the door to a victorious candidacy for a seat in the H…