Pauline Hanson on Insiders.

During the wideranging interview on ABC’s Insiders, the Queensland Senator said Australians wanted a leader like the “strong” Russian president, who she respects a great deal.

“He is very patriotic towards his country, the people love him, he is doing so well for the country,” he said.

“So many Australians here want that leadership here in Australia. They want a leader here to stand up for the people and fight for this nation.

Pushed on how that view tallied with Russia’s involvement in shooting down the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine, killing 298 people including 38 Australians, Hanson said the downing of the flight was disgusting but queried the proof of Putin’s influence.

“Did he push the button?” she asked.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull responded to Ms Hanson’s comments during a press conference in Queensland on Sunday.

“Vladimir Putin’s Russia should not be an object of admiration in any respect,” he said.

“It should withdraw from the territory it’s occupied in the Ukraine and it should provide the information that we know they have on the identity of the people who shot down the MH17 airliner and in doing so murdered 38 Australians.”

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten also hit out at the comments, tweeting: “37 Australians died on MH17. Putin should not be admired by anyone.”

During the interview, Ms Hanson sensationally indicated a lack of trust in government-supported immunisation, using the anti-vaccination line that no one cared about her children more than their parents, and urged people to “do their own research”.

Pauline Hanson has previously spoken of links between vaccinations and autism. Picture: Mark CallejaSource:News Corp Australia

She said the government was “blackmailing” people — an apparent reference to the policy of withholding welfare payments from parents who don’t have their children fully immunised.

“Don’t do that to people. That’s a dictatorship,” she said.

“I hear from so many parents. Where are their rights?”

Labor health spokeswoman Catherine King hit back on Twitter, saying she was appalled to hear Hanson’s comments. “They aren’t just wrong — they are dangerous. [Government] needs to condemn,” she wrote.

The Senator also outed herself as pro-penalty rate cuts, revealing she believed reductions in Sunday penalty rates decided by the Fair Work Commission would help small businesses.

The Fair Work Commission has ruled that Sunday penalty rates for workers in retail, hospitality and fast food should be dropped to bring them closer to Saturday pay levels.

Asked how she felt about the low-paid people who voted for her taking a cut after this decision, Senator Hanson said: “They are getting their wage.”

She believed the wages cut would give small business owners a helping hand, making it more likely they would open on a weekend, give staff more hours and possibly employ new people.

“If you look at penalty rates and why it was brought in, because people had a fulltime job through the week and they worked weekends,” she said. “You went out to dinner on a weekend, that was something special. Now it’s become a way of life.”

— with AAP