澳洲保守智库"公共事务研究所"副主任丹尼尔·怀尔德声称，已故总理鲍勃·霍克会支持保琳·汉森禁止"欢迎国家"和"国家致敬"仪式的主张[1]。这一论断遭到驳斥，批评者基于霍克任期的实际记录指出，这种解读严重歪曲了这位前总理对原住民权利的一贯立场。
霍克在其执政时期展现了对原住民问题的实质承诺。1988年6月12日，霍克在北领地巴鲁加参加原住民会议，承诺两年内实现原住民条约[1]。同年澳洲日演讲中，霍克表示"在澳大利亚没有血统等级制度"[1]。在1988年国家新闻俱乐部演讲中，霍克声称"政府政策《未来基础》是具有巨大意义的里程碑"并将其框架为"国家致敬"[1]。
对于汉森的立场，霍克与其他前总理保持一致的反对态度。1997年，霍克与基廷、惠特兰发表措辞严厉的声明，称汉森的观点为"偏执、无知、简化和破坏性的废话"[1]。1998年，霍克与基廷、惠特兰、弗雷泽联合发声，谴责汉森的观点，称"种族主义是绝对的邪恶"[1]。
A claim by Daniel Wild, deputy director of the conservative think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, that the late Prime Minister Bob Hawke would support Pauline Hanson's proposals to ban Welcome to Country and Acknowledgment of Country ceremonies misrepresents Hawke's actual legacy, according to a commentator with firsthand knowledge of his record [1].
The commentator argues that Hawke's demonstrated commitment to Indigenous rights contradicts such an interpretation [1]. On June 12, 1988, Hawke attended an Indigenous conference in Barunga, Northern Territory, where he pledged to achieve an Indigenous treaty within two years [1]. In a 1988 Australia Day address, Hawke declared that "there is no hierarchy of blood in Australia" [1]. That same year, in a speech to the National Press Club, Hawke described government policy as "a milestone of enormous significance" and framed it as the "Acknowledgment of Country" [1].
Hawke's public opposition to Hanson's views further undermines Wild's assertion [1]. In 1997, Hawke joined former Prime Ministers Paul Keating and Gough Whitlam in issuing a strongly worded statement condemning Hanson's positions as "bigoted, ignorant, simplistic and destructive nonsense" [1]. The following year, Hawke, Keating, Whitlam, and former PM Malcolm Fraser released a joint statement denouncing her views, declaring that "racism is an absolute evil" [1].