Category Archives: One Nation

Faruqi v Hanson: One Nation leader’s barrister says tweet ‘not nice’ but not racist as court hears closing arguments

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Mehreen Faruqi’s lawyer tells court it is ‘unlikely’ Pauline Hanson did not know Greens senator is Muslim

Pauline Hanson’s controversial tweet to fellow senator Mehreen Faruqi telling her to “piss off back to Pakistan” was “not nice” or “polite” but was not racist, her lawyer has told the federal court.

Faruqi has brought a racial discrimination case against Hanson in the federal court, alleging she was subjected to racial vilification, abuse and discrimination after Hanson tweeted in response to Faruqi critiquing colonisation on the day Queen Elizabeth II died.

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Pauline Hanson wins appeal against $250,000 defamation finding awarded to Brian Burston

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Burston, a one-time senator for One Nation, was ordered to pay his former leader’s legal costs for the initial defamation case and appeal

Pauline Hanson has had a legal victory after overturning $250,000 in defamation damages awarded after she made claims about the conduct of a former New South Wales senator in her One Nation party.

Hanson was ordered to pay damages in October after the federal court said her comments on Nine’s Today program in March 2019 were “seriously damaging” to Brian Burston’s reputation.

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Pauline Hanson threatens to release anti-voice essay if shut out from official referendum pamphlet

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Exclusive: One Nation leader wants her input to be included for the no side as concern grows among some politicians their views may be left out

Pauline Hanson has threatened to send her own 2,000-word anti-voice essay to Australian voters unless a parliamentary committee includes her contributions in the official referendum pamphlet for the no side.

The so-called “progressive no” views of left-wing senator Lidia Thorpe may also end up excluded from the no essay, which will be authorised by a committee dominated by Coalition and conservative politicians.

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Mehreen Faruqi to sue Pauline Hanson over offensive tweet

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Greens senator says she is ‘drawing a line in the sand’ after One Nation leader told her to ‘piss off back to Pakistan’

Mehreen Faruqi will launch federal court action against Pauline Hanson under the Racial Discrimination Act, after the One Nation founder told the Greens senator to “piss off back to Pakistan” in an ugly social media clash following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Faruqi wants Hanson to make a $150,000 donation to charity and to publish a new tweet saying she had used offensive language. The New South Wales senator said she chose to escalate legal action over the September 2022 tweet after a complaint through the Human Rights Commission was terminated.

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One Nation video mocking NDIS condemned as ‘vile’ by disability advocates

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People with Disability Australia and Advocacy for Inclusion have called for Hanson to withdraw the video and apologise

A One Nation video mocking the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which includes offensive depictions of people with a disability, has been condemned, with advocates calling for party leader Pauline Hanson to remove the video and apologise.

The clip, which was posted on Friday, is from the YouTube series Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain, and describes the NDIS as a “scam” and a “rort”.

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Labor is not going to work with Mark Latham, new NSW premier Chris Minns says

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Minns will call on the next Liberal leader to make the same commitment, as vote counting continues after state election

New South Wales’ Labor government will not work with One Nation leader Mark Latham at all, and will begin a process that could again ban independent MP Gareth Ward from parliament.

With vote counting all but ensuring the new premier, Chris Minns, will rule in minority, attention has turned to how the new NSW parliament will manage the re-elected pair.

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Mark Latham refuses to apologise for homophobic tweet

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NSW environment minister says ‘there’s no place’ for Latham’s behaviour, while MP Alex Greenwich says he is ‘clearly unfit for office’

Mark Latham is thumbing his nose at calls to apologise for a homophobic comment he posted and later deleted about Sydney MP Alex Greenwich.

The tweet posted earlier this week has caused community outrage, and drawn severe condemnation from commentators across the political spectrum.

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Pauline Hanson calls on Mark Latham to apologise for ‘disgusting’ homophobic tweet

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Independent Alex Greenwich does ‘not intend to engage’ with One Nation MP’s comment aimed at him, but others spring to his defence

The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, has called on Mark Latham to apologise for comments about the sexuality of fellow state MP Alex Greenwich that left the New South Wales environment minister, Penny Sharpe, “physically sickened”.

Latham, the NSW One Nation leader, made the comments on Twitter on Thursday morning in response to an article in which Greenwich called Latham “a disgusting human being”. The article was about LGBTQ+ protesters being targeted outside an event Latham spoke at earlier this month.

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NSW election trends: a decisive Labor win, uneven swings and a large crossbench

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Progressive shift in upper house possible while vote for minor parties and independents reaches record levels in election more definitive than expected

The New South Wales state election result was a resounding defeat for the Liberal-National Coalition government, and a clear victory for Labor. Yet this victory occurred in an environment of an increasing minor party and independent vote, and the largest crossbench in modern NSW history.

In some ways there were a lot of parallels with last year’s federal election result. A slim parliamentary majority alongside a large crossbench, with the outgoing government badly defeated. But this Labor victory was bigger than last year’s federal election result, and Labor managed to pick up a number of regional seats in addition to gains in urban areas.

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Mark Latham to push for nuclear plants and ‘parental rights’ if made NSW kingmaker

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Exclusive: Labor and Greens concerned One Nation could gain at least one additional seat in 25 March election

Mark Latham will seek to overturn a longstanding ban on nuclear power technologies, strengthen “parental rights” and protect Christians from vilification if One Nation picks up enough seats to make him a kingmaker after the New South Wales election.

The former federal Labor leader is attempting to grow his party’s upper house presence from two to four at the 25 March poll, capitalising on voter disillusionment and a loophole that has allowed him to resign and re-run at the top of the ticket.

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One Nation on track to have its first MP in Victorian parliament

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Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell expected to enter upper house, where Labor needs six crossbench votes to pass legislation

Victoria is set to elect its first One Nation MP, who will sit on an upper house crossbench that will likely be dominated by progressive parties, including up to four Greens.

The Victorian Electoral Commission will distribute preferences in the eight upper house regions on Wednesday. ABC election analyst Antony Green has said it is looking likely that One Nation’s Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell will beat Labor’s James McWhinney for the final seat in Northern Victoria.

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One Nation senators and David Pocock granted second adviser amid backlash over crossbench staff cuts

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More senators and MPs due to meet Anthony Albanese next week after crossbenchers warned cuts could slow Labor’s legislative agenda

One Nation senators and independent David Pocock have been granted an extra adviser each, as the Albanese government softens cuts to crossbench staff.

But the decision to give Pauline Hanson, Malcolm Roberts and Pocock six staff each instead of the slated five is unlikely to stem demands from independent MPs in the lower house that they need more staff too.

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‘Slap in the face’: independents furious at PM’s decision to cut advisory staff from four to one

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Anthony Albanese’s move to reduce crossbench staffers to pre-Coalition levels met with outrage

Furious independent MPs and senators have accused the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, of an “attack on democracy” after he decided to slash their staff allocation in one of his first dealings with the newly expanded crossbench.

One Nation has threatened to reject all government legislation as their “default position”, while crucial Senate vote David Pocock called the decision “extremely damaging” to the relationship with the crossbench. The Greens also claimed they have been given an effective staff cut, allocated the same number of staff as the last parliament despite their representatives growing from 10 to 16.

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Defamation trial hears ‘malicious’ text message Pauline Hanson sent former senator’s wife

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Brian Burston, who represented One Nation from 2016 to 2018, is suing his former leader for what he says were accusations of sexual harassment against him

Pauline Hanson sent a “spiteful” and “malicious” text message to the wife of former One Nation senator Brian Burston claiming that he considered her to be an “old bag” and was “infatuated” with one of his staff members, a court has heard.

A defamation trial brought by Burston against Hanson began in the federal court on Monday over a series of what he argues are allegations of sexual harassment made against him on social media, in interviews and in a text to his wife, Rosalyn.

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Clive Palmer’s massive advertising spend fails to translate into election success for United Australia party

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UAP vote increases slightly to around 4.7% but was exceeded by the One Nation vote

Clive Palmer’s mammoth campaign spend of close to $100m has failed to deliver his party results, with its primary vote failing to reach 5% across the country.

In both regional and metropolitan areas, the United Australia vote increased slightly to about 4.7%, and was strongest in Queensland where it polled close to 6%.

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How Clive Palmer’s deep pockets are building a yellow, slick road straight through One Nation’s heartland

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Analysis: UAP has bought every available billboard space, and has signs on dusty dirt roads in the middle of nowhere

Take a wrong turn on the back roads through central Queensland, about 40km from Banana (population 354), and the road turns to gravel. A few clicks further on, over a couple of cattle grids, there’s a bright yellow United Australia party sign – but not another driver to see it for miles.

This particular spot is close to smack bang in the middle of the 133,000 sq km electorate of Flynn.

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Emails reveal One Nation’s last-minute scramble to find candidates

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When Rob Sinclair tried to nominate for One Nation in his local electorate they pleaded for him to run in other states

One Nation was still scrambling to find people to run for this month’s federal election just hours before the close of nominations, telling one prospective candidate to leave the electorate he was running in “blank” on his form while the party desperately tried to fill seats.

The Guardian can also reveal that several of the candidates chosen to run for the party live in other states from the seat they’re standing in, including a husband and wife couple selected to run in separate seats in New South Wales and Victoria.

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LNP preferences could be ‘deciding factor’ for One Nation in Queensland

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Opponents say preference decision is a strategic move that could alienate moderate voters within the party

The Liberal National party’s decision to direct Queensland voters to place One Nation second on their Senate ballots could be “the deciding factor” that sees Pauline Hanson re-elected, experts say.

It is a strategic move which political opponents have seized on as one which could alienate moderate voters within the party and see a backlash against Liberals in marginal seats.

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One Nation directs preferences to Labor in five seats targeting ‘left-leaning Liberals’

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Pauline Hanson says move is in retaliation for Liberals’ decision to preference Jacqui Lambie Network in Tasmania

One Nation has divided its support between the major parties on how-to-vote cards, directing supporters to preference Labor in at least five seats while helping the Coalition in the north Queensland seat of Leichhardt and Braddon in Tasmania.

The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, revealed the plan on Thursday, confirming retaliation against select moderate MPs for the Liberals’ decision to preference the minor party behind the Jacqui Lambie Network in Tasmania.

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George Christensen changes the dynamic for an already intense Senate race in Queensland

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Analysis: Plenty of high-profile candidates are chasing rightwing votes, but only one will likely get a Senate seat

Campbell Newman’s face is hard to miss. The most conspicuous figure in Queensland politics in a generation – the Liberal National party’s only state premier in more than 25 years – is, as the billboards say, back.

The message to commuters who recognise his mug is simple: “New party, same man.”

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