Culture

Pauline Hanson Wants To Fix The NBN Because Kids “Keep Getting Beaten By Gamers From Overseas”

One Nation wants to take up the plight of Australian noobs.

by Osman Faruqi  14 October 2016
Pauline Hanson

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The National Broadband Network (NBN) had the capacity to be a truly transformative piece of national infrastructure. It could have re-shaped our economy, the way we live and work and the delivery of key services. Sadly, it’s lurched from disaster to disaster.

It’s been subject to huge political controversy and just last month it emerged that the company rolling out the NBN was abandoning its plan to use Optus’ cable network… after paying $800 million for it.

The NBN Explained: A Huge Chat With Former NBN Board Member Simon Hackett

But thankfully there’s a special parliamentary committee with oversight for the NBN, to make sure the project stays on track. Because there’s no group of people better at spending money efficiently and smartly than politicians.

The Joint Standing Committee on the National Broadband Network was formed this week and is made up of Coalition, Labor and minor party politicians. Pauline Hanson ran for a position on the committee, because in between hating halal food and being a men’s rights activist she’s really into the internet apparently, but lost out to Stirling Griff from the Nick Xenophon Team. Luckily enough, a Nationals senator just happened to resign immediately after the ballot and offer his place up to Hanson.

Good to see the Coalition government looking out for Pauline!

Why exactly is Hanson so keen to be on the NBN committee? On her Facebook page she talked about the lack of access faced by regional Australians when it comes to getting online and asked people to send through their personal stories.

But it turns out there’s another reason why Hanson wants to fix the state of Australia’s internet. Gaming. Yep, One Nation is going in to bat for online gamers struggling to win their League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive matches due to sluggish internet connections.

“Kids from the bush tell me because their speeds are so bad they keep getting beaten by gamers from overseas – Unacceptable,” Hanson posted on Twitter this afternoon.

As someone who grew up in regional Australia and was completely addicted to Counter-Strike I can confirm that slow internet made it very hard play properly, even though it’s often an excuse regularly used by bad players to justify why they keep losing. It’s good that parliament will finally be investigating the challenges faced by online gamers across the country, but we really shouldn’t be leaving it up to One Nation.

Already she’s trying to make it about foreigners! See how she specifically attacks “gamers from overseas”? Having slow internet impacts your gaming abilities regardless of where your opponents are based. And since the NBN is about fixing Australia’s domestic internet issues, not our overseas connections, it’s unlikely to do much about games involving overseas competitors.

Gamers, before you start showering Hanson with praise remember two things: You can’t blame your ping for losing and halal snack packs make the best late-night gaming food. Pauline Hanson isn’t the answer to Australia’s internet woes.