Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has compared One Nation, the Liberal Party and the Nationals to different flavours of Neapolitan ice cream that are all attempting to become “vanilla”, as debate intensifies over Pauline Hanson’s call for an Australian “monoculture”.
The dispute began after Senator Hanson used her first address to the National Press Club to advocate for a single national culture. The proposal has generated criticism and confusion, with several One Nation representatives struggling to provide a clear definition of what the term would mean in practice.
The controversy has also placed pressure on the Liberal and National parties to clarify their positions on multiculturalism, particularly as the Coalition competes with One Nation for conservative voters.
Many Liberal MPs, including representatives of electorates with large migrant communities, have continued to support Australia’s multicultural identity. At the same time, some have called for tougher character and security requirements within the migration system.
Liberal leader Angus Taylor, who had previously indicated that cooperation with One Nation could be possible, recently delivered a strong warning against the minor party. He said a One Nation election victory could bring an “eternity of pain” for Australia.
Speaking on Sunday, Mr Clare described the monoculture proposal as “ridiculous” and argued that the Liberal Party should be more willing to defend its own record of supporting multicultural Australia.
He said the party had a proud multicultural history but now appeared reluctant to use the word “multiculturalism”, which he suggested demonstrated political desperation.
Mr Clare then compared the three conservative parties to Neapolitan ice cream, which traditionally contains chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavours.
He said the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation represented the three right-wing parties in Australian politics, but claimed they were increasingly becoming politically indistinguishable.
“The problem is they all want to be vanilla,” Mr Clare said.
When questioned about whether his comments were intended to suggest the parties supported a “whites-only” approach, Mr Clare initially said the question should be directed to One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce. However, he later clarified that he was not referring to race.
Instead, he argued that the three parties shared similar economic and workplace policies, including proposals that Labor claims could make it easier for businesses to dismiss employees and place downward pressure on wages.
Mr Clare, whose wife is Vietnamese-Australian, also defended the contribution of migrants to Australian society. He said the country had become stronger because of immigration over the past four or five decades.
He compared Australia to a fruit salad while describing multiculturalism to primary school students, saying individual fruits were enjoyable but became better when brought together.
Mr Clare also described Mr Joyce as a good person who believed in multiculturalism. However, Mr Joyce later rejected that description and said he did not personally believe in multiculturalism.
The New England MP said he instead supported a shared Australian culture with clear social and legal boundaries that should apply to everyone, regardless of their family background or country of origin.
Mr Joyce said Australians of Vietnamese, Chinese, African or other heritage should be able to retain their backgrounds, but everyone living in the country must operate within common national “guardrails”.
He argued that individual behaviour affects the rights, freedoms and safety of others and said Australia needed stronger standards to protect its social cohesion.
During the discussion, Mr Joyce criticised literal and fundamentalist interpretations of religious texts, referring to both the Koran and the Bible.
He also questioned whether Australia’s existing immigration character tests were effective, pointing to the two alleged attackers involved in the Bondi Beach terror incident. According to Mr Joyce, one had arrived in Australia during the Howard government, while the other was born in the country.
Liberal MP Dan Tehan later said his party remained committed to multiculturalism, provided it operated alongside Australian values.
Mr Tehan referred to the East Timorese community within his electorate, saying its members were Australians who followed Australian values while continuing to celebrate and preserve their cultural heritage.
He said this balance represented the Coalition’s preferred approach to multiculturalism and accused the Labor government of failing to place sufficient emphasis on shared Australian values.
The exchange highlights the growing political contest between the Coalition and One Nation for support on the right, while multiculturalism, immigration and national identity emerge as increasingly significant issues in Australia’s political debate.
