'Won't back away': Hanson's partial apology to Indigenous Australians and Albanese

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says she "regrets" comments she made on a podcast describing Indigenous Australians as "the most primitive race on Earth" but said she would continue to speak out about issues she perceives about the community.

"If I've offended people by using that (word), yes, I will apologise for that," Hanson told reporters in Canberra.

Hanson, during an interview with the JJ Podcast a year ago, criticised the study of Indigenous history in schools.

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

"What the hell have they done in this country for, you know, supposedly 60,000 years? They never invented the wheel. There was nothing there. What are we actually holding up? A few, you know, rock paintings?" Hanson said.

"Sorry, they're the most primitive race on Earth, and we're supposed to be holding up and saying what they've achieved. They've achieved nothing."

The comments sparked widespread outrage from politicians of all sides. Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy called on Hanson to apologise, labelling her words "outrageous, completely racist" and divisive.

Greens leader Larissa Waters said the comments were "vile" and whitewashed 60,000 years of "proud" Indigenous history, while Opposition Indigenous Australians spokesperson Julian Leeser said they "belittled" the country.

Speaking separately on News24 before addressing reporters, Hanson did not address whether she would apologise for the comments.

"If we go back to the time of settlement in Australia, they were primitive compared to ... the settlers that came out here from England. But I'm not talking those terms now."

"I regret saying that because I don't want to upset people. That's not my intention. That wasn't my intention, to hurt people."

She said she would continue to speak out about "accountability" — calling for an audit into Indigenous funding — "third world conditions" and abuse.

"Stop telling lies and stop the victimisation all the time," she said.

"We're teaching [kids] Aboriginal languages that no longer is going to give them a job. We're not going to give them any future. We have to be realistic."