The images from Taormina’s Grand Hotel San Pietro, where rooms start at $2,000 a night, surfaced amid falling One Nation poll numbers and internal controversies.
Critics like Liberal MPs Angus Taylor and Andrew Hastie accused Hanson of hypocrisy for vacationing in luxury while her party senator Malcolm Roberts faced backlash over Putin-praising and antisemitic posts.
Hanson’s office confirmed their long friendship, noted Rinehart’s past gifts like a $2 million plane, and stressed all eligible travel follows disclosure rules; supporters pointed to similar elite ties among rivals.
