Category Archives: Pauline Hanson

Scott Morrison grilled on Coalition funding for new dam – politics live

Posted on by

Anthony Albanese asks PM why he’s raising hopes on dam support. Plus Jacqui Lambie raises concerns over Turkish invasion. All the day’s events, live

Because it is only “radicals” who care about the climate, apparently.

#owningtheleft

Labor's declaration of a climate emergency is just a sop to the superglue protestors and radical greens. Labor remains desperate to receive the support of the radical activists despite what they've said since the election. Labor can't be trusted to fight for jobs.

Tony Burke jumps up to congratulate Tony Smith on the integrity award he received today (have a look a few posts down and check out Kenneth Hayne’s speech) and thanks him for some of the difficult decisions he took during the medevac debate (you may remember that Smith stuck to the parliament rules, and ensured the parliament had a vote, and also ordered the solicitor general advice Christian Porter was relying on to shut down the debate, be tabled – which revealed the advice was not iron-clad).

Scott Morrison then gets up to add his congratulations, and a few in Labor respond with “now you think about it” to which Morrison gets very upset and accuses Labor of politicising the moment.

Continue reading...

Federal election 2019: Liberals ‘riddled with rightwing extremists’, Shorten says – politics live

Posted on by

Opposition leader stresses Labor unity as Victorian Libs dump candidate over anti-Islam comments. All the day’s events, live

Not politics, but because we all need some light relief from time to time – Chris Kenny has quit twitter for about the third time.

It really, really is just the day for it.

The Sydney Morning Herald has a breaking story on another Victorian Liberal candidate facing the sack – this time for comments he made about his would-be party room colleague Tim Wilson because he had the temerity to be born gay.

The candidate’s comments came in response to a post by another commentator, Michael Taouk, who said he was not in the Liberal party, calling for the “Liberal grassroots” to “remove preselection from that notorious homosexual Tim Wilson”.

Mr Taouk wrote: “No true Christian can fight on the same side of that man.”

Continue reading...

One Nation’s Steve Dickson resigns over strip club footage

Posted on by

Pauline Hanson calls Senate candidate’s behaviour in leaked al-Jazeera footage broadcast on Nine’s A Current Affair ‘unacceptable’

The One Nation Australian senate candidate Steve Dickson has resigned after footage emerged of him groping dancers and making disparaging comments about a woman in a Washington DC strip club.

Dickson said he was “deeply remorseful for my disrespectful comments towards women” and his wife was standing by him. “I found the footage difficult to watch as my words and actions under intoxication and in that environment, are not a true reflection of myself,” he said in a statement.

Continue reading...

One Nation and Port Arthur conspiracies: a long and dishonourable history

Posted on by

Pauline Hanson publicly denies the 1996 massacre was a set-up, but the believers have consistently found a home in her party

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation has been connected to supporters of the Port Arthur conspiracy theory since before the party was formed in 1997, despite repeated assurances from the Queensland senator that she had never believed the theory.

According to a Queensland political historian, it would take “a lot of good faith” to assume that Hanson has not been aware that those supporting the conspiracy theory had found safe harbour in One Nation over the past 20 years.

Continue reading...

Penny Wong warns racism and hate speech in parliament threaten democracy

Posted on by

Labor senator says those who ‘see political or commercial advantage in heightening cynicism’ are diminishing civic life

Penny Wong will say that “racism is a threat to our democracy” in a speech taking aim at those who see “political or commercial advantage” in increased cynicism towards public institutions.

The Labor senator is set to warn that hate speech and extremist views in parliament and a “lack of unity in response to these” have harmed democracy, pointing the finger in part at the Coalition for its tardy response to condemn One Nation in the 45th parliament.

Continue reading...

Pauline Hanson suggests Port Arthur massacre was a government conspiracy

Posted on by

One Nation leader tells al-Jazeera reporter there are ‘a lot of questions’ about 1996 attack

Pauline Hanson has implied that the 1996 Port Arthur massacre was a government conspiracy, in comments recorded secretly by al-Jazeera.

Hidden camera footage, released by al-Jazeera as part of the undercover operation that revealed One Nation had sought a US$20m (A$28m) donation from the US gun lobby, showed the party’s leader saying she had “a lot of questions” about Port Arthur.

Continue reading...

One Nation’s James Ashby filmed seeking $20m from NRA to weaken Australia’s gun laws

Posted on by

Al-Jazeera journalist posing as gun campaigner films senior party figures in Washington DC soliciting financial support to help One Nation seize the balance of power

Senior One Nation figures James Ashby and Steve Dickson have been caught seeking millions of dollars of political donations from US gun rights group the National Rifle Association in a bid to seize the balance of power and weaken Australia’s gun laws.

The revelations are contained in an al-Jazeera investigation which used hidden cameras and a journalist posing as a grassroots gun campaigner to expose the far-right party’s extraordinary efforts to secure funding in Washington DC in September.

Continue reading...

Citizenship report puts national security reform on back burner – politics live

Posted on by

Joint committee calls for further review of bill stripping terrorists of citizenship, as PM hands down Closing the Gap report and Coalition keeps up medical transfers scare campaign. All the day’s events, live

The attorney-general’s office released the transcript of his interview with Kieran Gilbert on Sky News this morning.

It includes this exchange between Christian Porter, as the first law officer and Gilbert:

Chris Bowen and Mark Butler have held a press conference to blast the government for dumping the big stick.

Labor doesn’t support this policy but the Bowen/Butler argument is the government did, and this is yet another energy policy that has now bitten the dust. The government says it will take the policy to the coming election, and seek a mandate.

Continue reading...