Pauline Hanson
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Pauline Hanson | |
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![]() In 2006 | |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Oxley | |
In office 2 March 1996 – 3 October 1998 | |
Preceded by | Les Scott |
Succeeded by | Bernie Ripoll |
Personal details | |
Born | Brisbane, Australia | 27 May 1954
Political party | Liberal (1994–96) Independent (1996–97, 2003–07, 2010-present) One Nation (1997–2003) Pauline's United Australia Party (2007–2010) |
Spouse(s) | Walter Zagorski, Mark Hanson |
Residence | Corlette, New South Wales |
Profession | Businesswoman, politician |
Pauline Lee Hanson (née Seccombe; born 27 May 1954[1]) is an Australian politician and former leader of Pauline Hanson's One Nation, a political party with a populist and anti-multiculturalism platform. In 2006, she was named by The Bulletin as one of the 100 most influential Australians of all time.[2]
Early life
Hanson was raised in Woolloongabba, an inner city suburb of Brisbane. Her grandfather was an immigrant from England in 1908. Her father owned a take-away fish and chip shop. Hanson left school at the age of fifteen after completing Year 10 and worked in a variety of unskilled clerical and service jobs. She accumulated several rental properties, becoming independently wealthy. She married twice and has four children. Before entering politics, she owned a fish and chip shop in Ipswich, a city near Brisbane.
Political background
Hanson was an independent local councillor in the City of Ipswich from 1994 until an early election due to administrative changes in 1995. Narrowly losing her seat, she joined the Liberal Party of Australia and was endorsed as the Liberal Party's candidate for the House of Representatives electorate of Oxley (based in Ipswich) for the March 1996 Federal election. Oxley had once been held by Bill Hayden, and at the time was thought of as a Labor stronghold. Hayden's successor, Les Scott, held it with a 12.6% two-party majority, making it the safest Labor seat in Queensland.
Just prior to the election, Hanson made comments to The Queensland Times – a daily newspaper in Ipswich – advocating the abolition of special government assistance for Aborigines above what was available for other Australians. These comments led to her disendorsement by the Liberal Party during the campaign. However, ballot papers had already been printed listing Hanson as the Liberal candidate, and the Australian Electoral Commission had closed nominations for the seat. As a result, Hanson was still listed as the Liberal candidate when votes were cast.
Hanson subsequently won the election easily, defeating Scott with 54% of the two-party vote—a 19.3% swing to the Coalition.[3] her victory was due in large part to Labor's collapse in Queensland; the party lost all but two of its 13 seats in the state. Due to her disendorsement, she entered parliament as an independent.
Maiden speech
On 10 September 1996, Hanson gave her first speech to the House of Representatives, which was widely reported in the media Australia-wide. In her opening lines, Hanson positioned herself "not as a polished politician but as a woman who has had her fair share of life's knocks", and with views based on "commonsense, and my experience as a mother of four children, as a sole parent, and as a businesswoman running a fish and chip shop. I won the seat of Oxley largely on an issue that has resulted in me being called a racist. That issue related to my comment that Aboriginals received more benefits than non-Aboriginals." Hanson then asserted that "mainstream Australians" were subject to "a type of reverse racism ... by those who promote political correctness and those who control the various taxpayer funded 'industries' that flourish in our society servicing Aboriginals, multiculturalists and a host of other minority groups". This theme continued with the assertion that "present governments are encouraging separatism in Australia by providing opportunities, land, moneys and facilities available only to Aboriginals". Among a series of criticisms of Aboriginal land rights, access to welfare and reconciliation, Hanson criticised the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, saying "Anyone with a criminal record can, and does, hold a position with ATSIC". There then followed a short series of statements on family breakdown, youth unemployment, international debt, the Family Law Act, child support, and the privatisation of Qantas and other national enterprises.
The major issue in her speech was an attack on immigration and the Federal Government policy of multiculturalism:
Immigration and multiculturalism are issues that this government is trying to address, but for far too long ordinary Australians have been kept out of any debate by the major parties. I and most Australians want our immigration policy radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism abolished. I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians. Between 1984 and 1995, 40% of all migrants coming into this country were of Asian origin. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate. Of course, I will be called racist but, if I can invite whom I want into my home, then I should have the right to have a say in who comes into my country. A truly multicultural country can never be strong or united. The world is full of failed and tragic examples, ranging from Ireland to Bosnia to Africa and, closer to home, Papua New Guinea. America and Great Britain are currently paying the price. Arthur Calwell was a great Australian and Labor leader, and it is a pity that there are not men of his stature sitting on the opposition benches today. Arthur Calwell said: Japan, India, Burma, Ceylon and every new African nation are fiercely anti-white and anti one another. Do we want or need any of these people here? I am one red-blooded Australian who says no and who speaks for 90% of Australians. I have no hesitation in echoing the words of Arthur Calwell.
Additionally, Hanson advocated the return of high-tariff protectionism and decried many aspects of economic rationalism.[4]
After her controversial maiden speech, Hanson was, for a period of time, the subject of significant media and political attention. Her political positions were widely debated. Hanson was viewed by some as honest and plain-spoken, as opposed to others who viewed her as a far-right nativist, misinformed, uneducated or racist.[citation needed] Some of Hanson's critics[who?] also derided what they saw as her inarticulate style, while her supporters claimed this same trait as evidence of her credentials as a speaker 'for the people'.[citation needed] On 13 October 1996, asked by Tracey Curro on 60 Minutes if she was xenophobic, she replied, "please explain?".[5] This response became a much-parodied catchphrase within Australian culture.
The reaction of the mainstream political parties was overwhelmingly negative, with parliament passing a resolution (supported by all members except Graeme Campbell) condemning her views on immigration and multiculturalism. However, the Prime Minister at the time, John Howard refused to censure Hanson or speak critically about her, acknowledging that her views were shared by many Australians,[6] commenting that he saw the expression of such views as evidence that the 'pall of political correctness' had been lifted in Australia.
Allegations of racism
Despite repeated denials of the racism charge by Hanson, the public discussion of whether or not Hanson's views were racist quickly became the topic of academic interest in Australia. For example, at the 1997 annual conference of the Australian and New Zealand Communications Association (ANZCA) at La Trobe University, a paper was presented with the title 'Phenomena and Epiphenomena: is Pauline Hanson racist?'.[7] In 1998, Keith Suter argued that Hanson's views were better understood as an angry response to globalisation.[8] By August 1998 perceptions in Asia of Hanson's popularity being related to racism were affecting international relations and prompted Alexander Downer, Minister for Foreign Affairs under John Howard to issue a media release calling on Pauline Hanson, David Oldfield and David Ettridge to "disassociate themselves from the racist slurs being promoted in the Asian media by people claiming to be their closest supporters".[9] In 2000, the University of NSW Press published the book Race, Colour and Identity in Australia and New Zealand,[10] which identified Hanson as a central figure in the 'racism debate' in Australia of the 1990s, noting that senior Australian academics such as Jon Stratton, Ghassan Hage and Andrew Jakubowicz had explored Hanson's significance in an international as well as national context.[11]
In 2004, Hanson appeared on the nationally televised ABC interview show Enough Rope. Archival footage from a 60 Minutes program shot on the streets of Ipswich was used to introduce claims about racism and bigotry in Hanson's views. Hanson challenged interviewer Andrew Denton to show her things that she had said that were racist. Denton instead responded with an example of an abusive letter sent to an Asian girl after Hanson's speeches. The contents of which included a racist tirade "You are nothing but an ungrateful, treacherous, yellow slanty-eyed little Vietnamese whore. You have... We have had enough of your lot with their drug peddling and crime. So piss off now". Hanson was then challenged with derogatory comments about Aboriginals made by her "fellow travellers". Hanson distanced herself from the comments, by countering that several elected candidates of One Nation were "radicals that tagged themselves to me". She also stated that she had limited knowledge of the her autobiography Pauline Nation's 'The Truth' and its contents[12]
In 2006, ten years after her maiden speech, its effects were still being discussed within a racism framework,[13] as well as being included in resources funded by the Queensland Government on 'Combating racism in Queensland'.[14] Also, in December 2006 The Age reported that Greens leader, Senator Bob Brown had labelled Hanson a "bloodsucker" over her suggestion that Africans are bringing AIDS into Australia. She also said she was concerned by the ease with which people were able to gain Australian citizenship, especially Muslims and Africans. She also made claims that "You can't have schools not sing Christmas carols because it upsets others". Liberal Bruce Baird said Hanson had her facts wrong in her suggestions of immigrants bringing disease into Australia. He also said "Ms Hanson will never let the truth get in the way of a good story".[15] In relation to African immigration, Hanson also said: "Do you want to see your daughter or a family member end up with AIDS or anyone for that matter?". In relation to this, the Federation of African Communities Council said that the group's lawyers were lodging a complaint of racial discrimination with the Australian Human Rights Commission.[16] In 2007, Hanson publicly backed Kevin Andrews, then Minister for Immigration under John Howard, in his views about African migrants and crime.[17]
One Nation
In April 1997 Hanson, together with her senior advisor David Oldfield and professional fundraiser David Ettridge, founded Pauline Hanson's One Nation. Many of her branch formation meetings and political rallies across Australia in the next two years would attract protests, occasionally spilling over to violence between Hanson supporters and protestors.[citation needed]
In June 1998, One Nation attracted nearly one-quarter of the vote in the Queensland state election and won 11 of 89 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland.[18]
During this period, a host of new right-wing parties emerged in virtually every state in the country, running on platforms which were equally anti-elitist but not entirely as populist as One Nation. Australia First, led by Graeme Campbell, began building considerable support in Newcastle and the southern suburbs of Sydney. The United Australia Party, led by Ellis Wayland, fielded candidates in the 1997 state election in South Australia; the Australian Reform Party, led by the gun lobbyist Ted Drane, was active in rural Victoria and New South Wales; The Australians, led by Tony Pitt, formed out of the defunct Confederate Action Party in Queensland; and Tasmania First fielded candidates in the 1998 state election.[19]
"Death" video
In November 1997 Hanson, under suggestion from Oldfield, recorded a video which was to be screened to One Nation members and supporters in the event of her assassination, following claims that she and her daughter had received anonymous death threats.[20][21] The 12-minute tape started off with the following message:
Fellow Australians, if you are seeing me now, it means I have been murdered. Do not let my passing distract you for even a moment
and then urged that
For the sake of our children and our children's children, you must fight on. Do not let my passing distract you for one moment. We must go forward together as Australians. Our country is at stake
Declining popularity
In 1999, The Australian reported that support for One Nation had fallen from 22% to 5%.[22] One Nation Senate candidate Lenny Spencer blamed the press together with party director David Oldfield for the October 1998 election defeat,[23] while the media reported the redirecting of preferences away from One Nation as the primary reason, with a lack of party unity, poor policy choices and an "inability to work with the media" also responsible.[24]
Hanson lost her seat in Parliament after an electoral redistribution essentially split Oxley in half before the 1998 election. The bulk of her support was drawn into the newly created Division of Blair. The new seat was drawn as a very safe Liberal seat, with a notional majority of 18.7 percent. Hanson opted to contest Blair and won 36% of the primary vote,[25] slightly over 10% more than her nearest rival. However, preferences were enough to elect the Liberal Party candidate, Cameron Thompson.[25] Nationally, One Nation gained 8.99% of the Senate vote[26] and 8.4% of the Representatives vote,[25] but only one MP was elected – Len Harris as a Senator for Queensland. Heather Hill had originally been elected to this position, but the High Court of Australia ruled that, although she was an Australian citizen, she was ineligible for election to sit as a Senator since she had not renounced her British citizenship, which the Court assumed she possessed because she had been born in Britain.[27] Hanson alleged in her 2007 autobiography Pauline Hanson: Untamed & Unashamed that a number of other politicians had dual citizenship yet this did not prevent them from holding positions in Parliament.
At the next Federal election on 10 November 2001, Hanson ran for a Queensland Senate seat but narrowly failed. She has accounted for her declining popularity by blaming Prime Minister John Howard for stealing her policies.[28]
"It has been widely recognised by all, including the media, that John Howard sailed home on One Nation policies. In short, if we were not around, John Howard would not have made the decisions he did."[28]
Other interrelated factors that have contributed to her downfall include her connection with a series of advisors (John Pasquarelli, David Ettridge and David Oldfield), all of whom she has fallen out with; disputes amongst her supporters and a lawsuit over the organisational structure of One Nation.
Hanson claimed in 2003 to have been vilified over campaign funding.[29]
In 2003 she left Queensland, moved to Sylvania Waters, Sydney in New South Wales (NSW) and stood for the NSW Upper House in the 22 March State election. She lost narrowly to Shooters Party candidate John Tingle.
Hanson had also assisted Australian country musician Brian Letton in making a record with Tommy Tecko. In 2006, she commenced a new career selling real estate in Queensland.[30]
She has been parodied and impersonated by drag queen Pauline Pantsdown, who sampled snippets from Hanson's speeches to create a song called "I'm a Backdoor Man". After Hanson successfully pursued legal action against Pantsdown, Pantsdown used the same technique to create the track "I Don't Like It", a 1998 Top 10 single in Australia.
After a civil suit in 1999 that reached the Queensland Court of Appeal in 2000, involving disgruntled former One Nation member Tony Sharples and a finding of fraud when registering One Nation as a political party,[31] Hanson was facing bankruptcy. She made an appeal to supporters to give money to help her through her hard times. Shaun Nelson, formerly a One Nation member of the Queensland parliament, attacked Hanson: "She can afford to live on a $700,000 mansion just outside of Rosewood. The people up here that she's asking to give money to are pensioners and farmers that are doing it tough."[32] Hanson, however, claimed she considered selling her home.
Action against One Nation Party
In 1998, Tony Abbott established a trust fund called "Australians for Honest Politics Trust" to help bankroll civil court cases against the One Nation Party and its leader Pauline Hanson.[33] Prime Minister John Howard denied any knowledge of existence of such a fund.[34] Abbott was also accused of offering funds to One Nation dissident Terry Sharples to support his court battle against the party. However, Prime Minister Howard defended the honesty of Abbott in this matter.[35]
On 10 July 1998, a writ to block a $500,000 electorial commission payment to Hanson was filed in the Supreme Court of Queensland against the One Nation Party by David Summers and Terry Sharples.[36][37] Both men were former candidates in the Queensland election. Summers also promoted the Easy Tax and Truth in Sentencing policies and held the party portfolio for Tourism.[38] Tony Abbott, a Federal Government Member of Parliament, immediately offered financial assistance to Summers and Sharples. According to an affidavit filed in the action, Abbott offered funds to One Nation's candidate for the seat of Noosa, David Summers, via Sharples to support the court battle against the party. According to Summers, he informed Abbott and Sharples via telephone that while he appreciated the offer, he declined the "financial" assistance as "I did not believe that I had anything to do with the action" as filed by Abbott's Liberal Party connection, Brisbane Barrister and former president of the Queensland Liberal Party, Paul Everingham. After contact with Sydney's Barrister-at-Law, Mark Robertson, Summers was represented by Supreme Court Barrister, Rebecca Treston and a Queen's Counsel from Nicol Robinson Halletts who had him removed from the action.[39]
During the deregistration action in the Queensland Supreme Court, it was alleged that Abbott also offered funds to David Summers. Summers' official statement to the court addressed his withdrawal from the action which was based upon the lawfirm organized by Abbott who filed the action, had never obtained his permission to represent him as a Plaintiff. Summers initially was to be a witness for prosecuting the action. During a round-table at the offices of Minter Ellison solicitors, Summers would not accept any deal with the Abbott / Everingham team to finance the court action, but would remain as a witness about his One Nation investigations. While at that meeting in Brisbane, One Nation locals paid Summers' family a visit at his rural property north of Noosa and the media reported that Summers was "expected to withdraw from the court action after claiming his family had been "threatened".[40] According to radio and television reports Summers wrote to his solicitor saying, "Acts of intimidation have occurred towards my family from a One Nation member today, and I don’t want things to blow up out of proportion".[41][42]
According to the Crime and Misconduct Commission Report of 2004 on the prosecution of Hanson, between July 1998 until early 1999 Abbott had "considerable involvement with the civil litigation" by ongoing communications with Sharples. Sharples believed Abbott had made a promise to pay his legal costs. This assertion was not contested by Abbott. Abbott did help finance, and in many ways promoted, the bringing of litigation to challenge the legality of the registration of the One Nation Party.[43] One Nation's Queensland State Director Peter James proffered an official court statement by David Summers, which addressed that the Liberal Party, through Abbott, had assisted and supported the action initiated by him and Terry Sharples.[44]
In the deregistration litigation, Summers did not testify to Abbott's communications with him and during his campaign for the Seat of Noosa, Summers delegated his preferential votes to Abbott's Liberal Party over the ALP. According to Liberal Party insiders, their State Noosa electorate council argued strongly that Summers "should not receive preference ahead of Labor", but was overruled from the top. Furthermore, the Queensland Premier, Rob Borbidge, stated that he was prepared to work with and "head a minority coalition government with the support of One Nation MPs" if One Nation is elected and held "the balance of power after the election", which they did.[45]
The trio asserted the $500,000 was not going to go to all of the Queensland One Nation candidates, and would be diverted to fill the coffers of the One Nation leadership. Abbott, Summers and Sharples alleged that Hanson's political party was not legally registered, not properly constituted and not run by its members. The writ alleged that the party was owned and operated by Hanson, Oldfield and David Etteridge under an umbrella company Pauline Hanson's One Nation Incorporated.[46]
Prior to the 13 June 1998 election, One Nation's campaign director, Oldfield, was aware of Abbott's communications with Summers regarding Oldfield's "excessive" expenses when he worked for Abbott years earlier. As Summers' investigation of Oldfield intensified, Oldfield disendorsed Summers a week before the election via telephone and facsimile with no party vote or endorsement of the decision. Oldfield's wrath came during an interview with Summers by a Brisbane-based television network. Summers had been investigating allegations of "missing" One Nation funds allegedly being funneled to Vanuatu, a known tax haven in the South Pacific. Summers was also in discussions with Sharples regarding the legal legitimacy of the party's membership list which Summers refused to discuss publicly due to a Supreme Court confidentiality order.[47][48] The "official" party line given by Oldfield for the disendorsement was due to an alleged "antipapal" statement and other political comments attributed to Summers by Sydney Morning Herald journalist, Greg Roberts. The political mudslinging continued by Oldfield who unilaterally disendorsed more than a dozen candidates nationwide.
Summers, an investigative journalist and publisher of Exposure Magazine, publicly rebuked Roberts and his article multiple times as false and challenged Roberts to produce evidence of the statements and that an interview was even conducted. Roberts never produced. Summers went public that he was not behind the action with Tony Abbott to "freeze any party funds"; was never interviewed by Roberts, never "issued any such anti-papal statements", and "does not even believe" the statements that Robert's attributed to him.[49] In the Supreme Court, Summers won his bid, maintaining that the Everingham lawyers never had his permission to represent him and that his name was used illegally to bring the action against the party.[50] In 2005 and 2007, complaints were successfully filed by authors such as Scott Balson and Jim Saleam against Roberts' a reporter for News Limited's The Australian newspaper' for wrongful allegations of "anti-Semitism" with the National Press Council for his unwarranted "smear campaigns".[51][52][53]
It was Sharples' legal action that laid the basis for the prosecution of the One Nation founders, Hanson and Ettridge, which ultimately resulted in Hanson and Ettridge being imprisoned.[54] On 20 August 2003, Hanson and Ettridge started their three year sentence behind bars for electoral fraud.[55] Opposition MP Craig Emerson demanded to know where the money for the trust, reportedly $100,000, had come from, saying that taxpayers had a right to know.[54] Treasurer Peter Costello said of Abbott's actions, "I don't think that the way to resolve political disputes is through the courts. I think the way to resolve it is at the ballot box."[56] The conviction against Hanson was ultimately overturned, leading to criticism of a range of politicians for political interference by the adjudicating justice.
Abbott conceded that the political threat One Nation posed to the Howard Government was "a very big factor" in his decision to pursue the legal attack, but he also claimed to be acting "in Australia's national interest". Howard also defended Abbott's actions saying "It's the job of the Liberal Party to politically attack other parties – there's nothing wrong with that."[54]
Fraud conviction and acquittal
On 20 August 2003, in a separate and this time criminal case, a jury in the District Court of Queensland convicted Hanson and Ettridge of electoral fraud. Both of them were sentenced to three years imprisonment for falsely claiming that 500 members of the 'Pauline Hanson Support Movement' were members of the political organisation 'Pauline Hanson's One Nation', in order to register that organisation in Queensland as a political party and apply for electoral funding. Because the registration was found to be unlawful, Hanson's receipt of electoral funding worth A$498,637 resulted in two further convictions for dishonestly obtaining property – each with three-year sentences, to run concurrently with the first. Hanson's initial reaction to the verdict was – "Rubbish, I'm not guilty. It's a joke."[57]
Prime Minister John Howard said it was "a very long, unconditional sentence" and Bronwyn Bishop MHR said Hanson was a political prisoner, comparing her conviction with Robert Mugabe's treatment of Zimbabwean opponents.[58]
On 6 November 2003 (delivering judgment the day after hearing the appeal), the Queensland Court of Appeal quashed all of Hanson and Ettridge's convictions. Hanson and Ettridge were immediately released from jail.[59] The Court's unanimous decision was that the evidence did not support a conclusion beyond reasonable doubt that the people on the list were not members of the 'Pauline Hanson's One Nation' party and that Hanson and Ettridge knew this when the application to register the party was submitted. Accordingly, the convictions regarding registration were quashed. The convictions regarding funding, which depended on the same facts, were also quashed. However, in order to reach this decision the court had to suppose that the three founding members of One Nation – Hanson, Ettridge and Oldfield – had misinterpreted the party's constitution when they had claimed, in earlier public statements, to be the only members of the party.[60] Chief Justice Paul de Jersey, with whom the other two judges agreed overall, suggested that, if Hanson, Ettridge and especially the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had used better lawyers from the start, the whole matter might not have taken so long, up to the appeal hearing, or even have been avoided altogether. Court of Appeal President Margaret McMurdo rebuked many politicians, including Prime Minister John Howard and Bronwyn Bishop MHR. Their observations, she said, demonstrated at least "a lack of understanding of the Rule of Law" and "an attempt to influence the judicial appellate process and to interfere with the independence of the judiciary for cynical political motives," although she praised other leading Coalition politicians for accepting the District Court's decision.[61]
At this time, media criticism was directed at political interference by leading federal Liberal politician Tony Abbott, who had arranged for the lawyers who instituted the earlier, Sharples action to act on a largely pro bono basis.[62] Investigations by the ABC's Four Corners programme showed that Abbott had financed this action in an effort to derail the One Nation party.[63]
Return to politics
In 2003 Hanson was a candidate for the NSW State Election running for a seat in the Upper House. Pauline didn't win the seat. In January 2004, Hanson announced that she did not intend to return to politics.[64] but then stood as an independent candidate for one of Queensland's seats in the Senate in the 2004 Australian federal election. She declared, "I don't want all the hangers on. I don't want the advisers and everyone else. I want it to be this time Pauline Hanson." She was ultimately unsuccessful, receiving only 31.77% of the required quota of primary votes,[65] and did not pick up enough additional support through preferences. However, she attracted more votes than the One Nation party (4.54% compared to 3.14%)[65] and, unlike her former party, recovered her deposit from the Australian Electoral Commission and secured $150,000 of public electoral funding.[66]
On 24 May 2007 Hanson launched Pauline's United Australia Party.[67] Under that banner, Hanson again contested one of Queensland's seats in the Senate in the 2007 Federal election, when she received over 4% of total votes.[68] The party invokes the partial namesake of the historic United Australia Party.[69] Speaking on her return to politics, she stated: "I have had all the major political parties attack me, been kicked out of my own party and ended up in prison, but I don't give up."[70] In October 2007, Hanson launched her campaign song, entitled "Australian Way of Life.", which included the line: "Welcome everyone, no matter where you come from."[71]
Hanson contested the electoral district of Beaudesert as an independent at the 2009 Queensland state election.[72] After an election campaign dominated by discussion over hoax photographs, she was placed third behind the Liberal National Party's Aidan McLindon and Labor's Brett McCreadie. There were conflicting media reports as to whether she had said she would not consider running again.[73][74]
On 15 February 2010, Hanson announced that she planned to deregister Pauline's United Australia Party, sell her Queensland house and move to the United Kingdom.[75][76][77][78] The announcement was warmly welcomed by Nick Griffin, leader of the far-right British National Party (BNP).[79]
On 23 July 2010, while at an event promoting her new career as a motivational speaker, Hanson expressed interest in returning to the political stage as a Liberal candidate if an invitation were to be offered by the leader Tony Abbott in the 2010 election.[80] No such offer was forthcoming.
The "Rattnergate" scandal following the NSW State Election - 2011
In March 2011, Hanson ran as an independent candidate for the New South Wales Legislative Council in the 2011 state election,[81] but was not elected, receiving 2.41% of the primary statewide vote but losing on preferences.[82][83][84] Following the election, Hanson alleged that that "dodgy staff" employed by the NSW Electoral Commission put 1200 votes for her in a pile of blank ballots, and she claimed that she had a forwarded NSW Electoral Commission internal email as evidence of this.[85] Hanson then commenced legal proceedings to challenge the outcome of the election in the NSW Supreme Court, which sat as the Court of Disputed Returns.[86] From the onset of proceedings, the NSW Electoral Commissioner maintained the view that that Hanson's claims lacked substance.[87] The man who alerted Hanson to the alleged emails, who identified himself as "Michael Rattner", failed to appear in court on June 8, 2011[88] and he was was subsequently arrested in Sydney and exposed as a fraud. "Michael Rattner" was revealed to be Sean Castle, a history teacher who posed as a journalist to obtain embargoed progressive poll results.[89] Castle admitted faking the email exchange between Electoral Commission staff, which was central to Hanson's claim that 1,200 votes for her were not counted.[90] The name used by Castle in the emails, “Michael Rattner”, was a direct reference to Mickey Mouse.[91] Castle apologised to the court and was granted protection from prosecution before being compelled to answer questions relating to the fraudulent email.[92] However, the judge ordered that Hanson's legal costs of more than $150,000 be paid by the State of NSW - a move which further outraged Greens Party MP, Jeremy Buckingham, who would have been replaced by Hanson had her challenge been successful. Raising the issue as to if Hanson's legal action should have gone ahead at all given the nature of the evidence, Buckingham stated that "This lack of judgment shows that she's unfit for public office."[93]
Dancing with the Stars
In late 2004 during her election campaign, Hanson competed in the Australian Reality TV show Dancing with the Stars on the Seven Network. In the show a number of Australian celebrities compete against one another in ballroom dancing. Hanson and her partner Salvatore Vecchio made it to the final, advancing due to audience support in SMS voting, but lost to former Home and Away star Bec Cartwright.
The Celebrity Apprentice Australia
Pauline was part of the 2011 cast of The Celebrity Apprentice Australia. She was on the show until the second last challenge.
Autobiography and books published
- Not long after her election to Parliament, Pauline Hanson published and launched a book called The Truth. In this book there were claims of Aboriginal cannibalism. There was mention of Aboriginal women eating their babies and tribes cannibalising their members. Hanson had stated to the media that the reason for these claims of cannibalism was to "demonstrate the savagery of Aboriginal society". David Ettridge, the One Nation party director, explained that the book's claims were intended to correct 'misconceptions' about Aboriginal history. These 'misconceptions' were said to be relevant to Aboriginal welfare funds. He also said that "the suggestion that we should be feeling some concern for modern day Aborigines for suffering in the past is balanced a bit by the alternative view of whether you can feel sympathy for people who eat their babies".[94] There were also claims that by 2050 Australia will have a president of Chinese-Indian background called Poona Li Hung and she would be part machine.[95] In 2004, Hanson stated that the book was "written by some other people who actually put my name to it" and that while she held the copyright over The Truth, she was unaware that much of the material was being published under her name.[96]
References
- ^ "Senators and Members, by Date of Birth". Parliament of Australia, Parliamentary Library. Retrieved 10 March 2009.
- ^ Steffens, Miriam (26 June 2006). "Australia & New Zealand". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ "Minor Party Preferences. Antony Green Election Guide. Federal Election 2004. Australian Broadcasting Corporation". ABC. 9 February 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ Maiden Speech Pauline Hanson
- ^ "60 Minutes: The Hanson Phenomenon". Retrieved 25 January 2012.
- ^ "Pauline Hanson pulls the plug as One Nation president". ABC. 14 January 2002. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
- ^ "Phenomena and Epiphenomena: is Pauline Hanson racist?". Espace.library.uq.edu.au. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ "Australia, the media and the politics of anger". Wacc.org.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ foreignminister.gov.au Hanson Must Disassociate Herself From Racist Slurs
- ^ Race, colour, and identity in ... – Google Books. Books.google.com.au. 2000-04. ISBN 978-0-86840-538-4. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
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(help) - ^ The Racism Debate. Books.google.com.au. 2000-04. ISBN 978-0-86840-538-4. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
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(help) - ^ "Pauline Hanson on Enough Rope". Abc.net.au. 20 September 2004. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ 10 years after Pauline Hanson's maiden speech, still lessons to be learned[dead link]
- ^ "Combating racism in Queensland". Multiculturalaustralia.edu.au. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ The Age Hanson a 'bloodsucker': Brown
- ^ ABC news Hanson supports African refugee reduction
- ^ Heywood, Lachlan (5 October 2007). "Pauline Hanson backs Kevin Andrews on migrants". News.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ [http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/1997-98/98rn49.htm
- ^ Mike Steketee described all five of these parties as "new right-wing parties" in May 1997. See:
- Steketee, Mike (3 May 1997). "Messiahs of the right". The Weekend Australian. p. 22.
- ^ ENOUGH ROPE with Andrew Denton – episode 60: Pauline Hanson (20 September 2004)
- ^ "Trials of Being a David" Truth in Media, 5 December 1997
- ^ Emerson, Scott (24 March 1999). "One Nation loses its heartland". The Australian. p. 6.
- ^ Penberthy, David (17 October 1998). "Outcasts asunder". The Advertiser. p. 58.
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(help) - ^ Scott, Leisa (5 October 1998). "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to / ONE NATION". The Australian. p. 3.
- ^ a b c "Federal Elections 1998 (Research Paper 9 1998–99)". Aph.gov.au. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ "(Research Paper 8 1998–99)". Aph.gov.au. 27 September 2001. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ Sue v Hill [1999] HCA 30 [1]. The High Court found that, at least since 1986, Britain had counted as a 'foreign power' within the meaning of the Australian federal constitution, section 44(i)[2].
- ^ a b "It's porridge for Pauline". The Age. 20 August 2003. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
- ^ Strutt, Sam (27 December 2007). "Hanson will party on Back under a new name in new year". Herald Sun. p. 13.
- ^ "Hanson to sell houses – National". www.smh.com.au. 28 February 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ Sharples v O'Shea & Hanson [2000] QCA 23 [3].
- ^ "AM Archive – Hanson faces bankruptcy". Abc.net.au. 23 March 2000. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ "Howard knew of slush fund to target Hanson". News Online. Sydney Morning Herald. 27 August 2003.
- ^ "Abbot denies lying over anti-Hanson fund". News Online. Lateline (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 27 August 2003.
- ^ "Honest Tony's too up front, says PM". News Online. Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 2003.
- ^ "6318/98 SHARPLES & another -V- O'SHEA & others". Supreme Court of Queensland. The State of Queensland (Queensland Courts). 31 August 1998.
- ^ "6318/98 SHARPLES & another -V- O'SHEA & others". Supreme Court of Queensland. The State of Queensland (Queensland Courts). 7 October 1998.
- ^ "1998 Queensland State Portfolios". News Online. GWB. 13 June 1998.
- ^ "6318/98 SHARPLES & another -V- O'SHEA & others". Supreme Court of Queensland. The State of Queensland (Queensland Courts). 7 October 1998.
- ^ ""Liberal" law firm quits One Nation "funds" case". news. 8 August 1998.
- ^ "Former One Nation candidate withdraws from deregistration proceedings against the party; claims party officials have threatened his family". news. news Parliament of Australia. 30 July 1998.
- ^ "1998 Summers One Nation Party Queensland Australia Deregistration Court Action – news video". news. news One Nation Intimidation & Deregistration(Queensland Court). 14 August 1998.
- ^ "Crime and Misconduct Commission" (PDF). news. news Queensland Government. 2004-January.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Between the One Nation lines". news. news Global Web Builders. 15 August 1998.
- ^ "Kennett hits Hanson, Borbidge hedges bets". news. news The Age. 5 June 1998.
- ^ "Hanson's $500,000 blocked". News Online. The Age. 14 July 1998.
- ^ "Party Bagging, Letters to Editor Exposure Magazine Vol 5 no 4 1998 page 7". News Online. Exposure Magazine. 1 September 1998.
- ^ "Editorial Exposure Magazine Vol 5 no 4 1998 pgs 4 & 5". News Online. Exposure Magazine. 1 September 1998.
- ^ "Editorial & Letters Exposure Magazine Vol 5 no 3 1998 Pgs 4–7". News Online. Exposure Magazine. 1 July 1998.
- ^ "Freezing of Funds – Letter Exposure Magazine Vol 5 no 6 1999 Pg 9". News Online. Exposure Magazine. 1 February 1999.
- ^ "Press Council Complaint Against The Australian: Fraudulent 'Anti-Nazi' Smear Merchant Greg Roberts". News Online. Jim Saleam. 9 August 2005.
- ^ "Scott Balson's complaint Against Greg Roberts". News Online. Scott Balson. 29 October 2007.
- ^ "Greg Roberts of The Australian newspaper is working on a new smear of Australia First and other patriotic people". News Online. Sydney Committee, Australia First Party. 23 December 2005.
- ^ a b "Watchdog rethinks Liberal links to Abbott's slush fund". News Online. Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 2003.
- ^ Marks, Kathy (21 August 2003). "Hanson is jailed for electoral fraud". The Independent. London.
- ^ "Truth Overboard Again Says ALP". News Online. Australian Politics. 26 August 2003.
- ^ Hanson and Ettridge jailed for three years (Sydney Morning Herald, 20 August 2003. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ Both quoted in the Queensland Court of Appeal's 2003 judgment, cited below.
- ^ "Hanson release causes upheaval in Qld". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ R v Hanson; R v Ettridge [2003] QCA 488 [4]. This decision did not specifically follow the Sharples case, where the trial judge's finding of such fraud had not been overturned in the appeal by Hanson and Ettridge. That case was distinguished as a civil suit – in administrative law, as to the validity of the decision by Electoral Commissioner O'Shea to register the party – in which proof had been only on the balance of probabilities.
- ^ The Queensland Court of Appeal was similarly composed in the 2000 and 2003 cases. In order of seniority: (2000) de Jersey CJ, McMurdo P and Helman J; (2003) de Jersey CJ, McMurdo P and Davies JA.
- ^ "Hanson to sue Abbott? – OpinionWebDiaryArchive2003". www.smh.com.au. 27 August 2003. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ "Tony Abbott's dirty Hanson trick – and he lied about it, of course – OpinionWebDiaryArchive2003". www.smh.com.au. 22 August 2003. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ "Hanson rules out return to politics – http". //www.theage.com.au. 16 January 2004. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
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- ^ a b Australian Electoral Commission (9 November 2005). "First Preferences by Candidate – Queensland". Retrieved 7 August 2007.
- ^ "Top payout for running". The Northern Times. 15 October 2004. p. 12.
- ^ Now Pauline's for a united Australia (Sydney Morning Herald, 24 May 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ "Senate State First Preferences By Group". Results.aec.gov.au. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ "Current List of Political Parties". Aec.gov.au. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ Hanson flying below radar for one last shot at Senate (The Age, 20 November 2007).
- ^ Hanson launches campaign song (The Age, 5 October 2007)
- ^ Hanson election bid will have voters groaning: Bligh (ABC, 25 February 2009).
- ^ I'll quit politics, says Hanson (Sydney Morning Herald, 22 March 2009).
- ^ Hanson defeated, blames hoax photos: The Advertiser.
- ^ Pauline Hanson says goodbye to Australia (Woman's Day, 15 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ I won't call Australia home: Hanson plans to emigrate (Sydney Morning Herald, 15 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ Right-wing Australian politician Pauline Hanson to move to Britain (Telegraph (UK), 15 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ Buyers intrigued by Pauline's paradise (Brisbane Times, 15 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ British far-right leader welcomes Hanson (Sydney Morning Herald, 17 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
- ^ "Pauline Hanson considering a return to politics... if Tony Abbott asks her to". News.com.au. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- ^ Nicholls, Sean (8 March 2011). "Pauline Hanson running in NSW election". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
- ^ "Hanson fails to win seat in NSW". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
- ^ NSW 2011 Legislative Council results: ABC
- ^ "Pauline Hanson misses out on NSW seat in distribution of preferences". The Australian. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
- ^ News, AAP (5 May 2011). "Hanson cries sabotage over 'hidden' votes". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
{{cite news}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ News, AAP (4 May 2011). "Hanson to challenge NSW vote count". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
{{cite news}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ Bennett, Adam (17 May 2011). "Commissioner backs staff in Hanson row". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Wallace, Rick (8 June 2011). "Key witness for Pauline Hanson a no-show". news.com.au. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Knott, Matthew (10 June 2012). "Rattnergate revelation: Hanson's mole was a fraud". crikey.com.au. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Ralston, Nick (11 June 2011). "Hanson 'witness': I faked name". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Wallace, Rick (23 June 2011). "Hanson hoaxer speaks out: and the trail leads to... Mickey Mouse". crikey.com.au. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Wallace, Rick (14 June 2011). "Pauline Hanson fraudster Sean Castle admits deception". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Godfrey, Miles (25 June 2011). "Taxpayers hit for Hanson's failed election challenge". brisbanetimes.com.au. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Murdoch University The International Prohibition Of Racist Organisations: An Australian Perspective
- ^ Books Google Subjectivity By Nick Mansfield, The Subject and Technology Page 161
- ^ Enough Rope with Andrew Denton 20 September 2004 interview with Hanson
- ^ "Radio National Breakfast – 29 March 2007 – Pauline Hanson". Abc.net.au. 29 March 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ "Libraries Australia – Untamed & unashamed : time to explain / Pauline Hanson". Nla.gov.au. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
Further reading
- Scott Balson (2000), Inside One Nation. The inside story on a people's party born to fail, Interactive Presentations, Mt Crosby News (Queensland), ISBN 0-9577415-2-9
- Helen J Dodd (1997), Pauline. The Hanson Phenomenon, Boolarong Press, Moorooka (Queensland), ISBN 0-646-33217-1
- David Ettridge (2004), Consider Your Verdict, New Holland Publishers, Frenchs Forest (New South Wales) ISBN 1-74110-232-4
- Bligh Grant (ed.) (1997), Pauline Hanson. One Nation and Australian Politics, University of New England Press, Armidale (NSW), ISBN 1-875821-38-4
- Pauline Hanson (2007), Untamed and Unashamed — Pauline Hanson's autobiography, Jo-Jo Publishing, Docklands (Victoria) ISBN 978-0-9802836-2-4
- James Jupp (1998), 'Populism in the land of Oz,' in Meanjin, Vol.57, No.4, pp. 740–747
- Margo Kingston (1999), Off the Rails. The Pauline Hanson Trip, Allen and Unwin, St Leonards (NSW) ISBN 1-86508-159-0
- Michael Leach, Geoffrey Stokes, Ian Ward (eds.) (2000), The Rise and Fall of One Nation, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia (Queensland) ISBN 0-7022-3136-3
- George J Merritt (1997), Pauline Hanson. The Truth, St George Publications, Parkholme (South Australia), ISBN 0-646-32012-2
- John Pasquarelli (1998), The Pauline Hanson Story by the Man Who Knows, New Holland Publishers, Frenchs Forest (NSW), ISBN 1-86436-341-X
External links
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