One Nation senator Pauline Hanson has expressed relief today after discovering her call for autistic children to be removed from classrooms was met with widespread outrage.

“I thought I was losing my touch,” she said. “Comments about race just don’t get that kind of reaction anymore, so it’s reassuring to know people still get fired up about children with disabilities.”

Experts have described Hanson as “the ultimate barometer” for Australian opinion.

“Nothing gives a more accurate read on what people really care about,” one political forecaster said. “The leaked tapes about the party plane have been quickly forgotten about, but I predict she’s onto a real winner with the disabled children.”