Pauline Hanson's admiration for Vladimir Putin remains undiminished, with the Senator shrugging off criticism of Russia's alleged role in the death of 38 Australians on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by commenting that "everyone has done something".
Doubling down on her praise of the Russian president from earlier in the week, Senator Hanson also appeared to draw a moral equivalence between the actions of Australian leaders and those of Mr Putin, whose administration has been linked to the deaths of journalists and political opponents.
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MH17: Hanson excuses Putin
The One Nation leader and colleague Malcolm Robert express their admiration for the Russian president despite the downing of MH17.
Under questioning from bewildered Labor senator Sam Dastyari, who had appeared as a guest on One Nation's 'weekly catch up' Facebook broadcast, Senator Hanson said she liked Mr Putin "as a person who stands up for his country and he fights for his country…as a strong leader for his country."
"…[On MH17] You are picking out something, do you think that everything that our prime ministers have done has been in the best interests?
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"You know everyone has done something.
"I am not saying I support him for what he has done there, but overall, as a person, who is strong and stands up for his country [I do support him]."
Senator Dastyari referred to Mr Putin as a "murderous tyrant", while Senator Hanson's colleague Malcolm Roberts also professed his admiration for the Russian leader.
"Sam, when you look at what the IMF did to Russia, crippled it in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Putin is standing up to them and that is showing that he protects his people," he said.
International investigators concluded Russian-backed separatists shot down the Malaysian Airlines flight with a surface to air missile in July 2014, killing all 298 passengers and crew. Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott famously threatened to "shirtfront" Mr Putin following the incident, saying Australians had been "murdered".
US President Donald Trump has also spoken of his respect for Mr Putin's leadership style.
When asked during a Fox News interview whether Mr Putin was "a killer", Mr Trump responded "there are a lot of killers… what, do you think our country's so innocent?"
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