She has been a remarkable survivor in the cutting, remorseless field of politics. Mocked for her incoherence, her lack of erudition, and dismissed as a garden variety racist, Pauline Hanson of the One Nation Party now boasts a degree of popularity that has eclipsed her opponents. As with other countries, Australia is seemingly experimenting with the “I-am-fed-up” school of political representation, making any figure supposedly anti-political most attractive.
It is that degree of appeal that risks wearing off. Hanson, hoping to draw inspiration from foreign sources of resentment (domestic sources are evidently not enough) thought it wise to conduct what she amusingly called a “fact finding” tour of the United Kingdom. Her aim: to learn from the mistakes arising from immigration, notably of the swarthy sort.
The trip was intended less to take in the sights (no loot inspection of the British Museum) as digest the morsels of bile and suspicion offered by such figures as the convict and race baiting Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the name of Tommy Robinson; the grumbling, pampered Holly Valance, formerly of the mercifully terminated Neighbours; and one of Britain’s dimmest and briefest of prime ministers, Liz Truss.
The One Nation senator also made an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a forum for the washed-out right-wing set. Should you have wished to waste your money, or anybody else’s, tickets were in the range between £600 and £10,000. The conference speech, entitled “The Australian Fightback,” was delivered at the InterContinental Hotel’s Arora Ballroom. (Fewer than a quarter of the available seats were filled.) It had all that rambling unsteadiness we have come to expect in such an oration, with the usual barbs. Australia had “gone woke.” Immigration was poorly controlled. The current government had shown an unhealthy interest in environmental policies. London was benighted by its multicultural population, a portent of what would happen to Australia in “about five to 10 years.”
The cognoscenti on right-wing politics see this as an exercise of purposeful polarisation and danger. What the One Nation leader was doing, suggested Imogen Richards of Deakin University in somewhat execrable jargon, is “building international far right alliances and signposting them.” The jargon train – signposted, no doubt – also chuffs along from the White Rose Society, an anti-fascist group focused on such terms as the “attention economy” and Hanson’s hostility “against non-white people.” According to a spokesperson for the group, “We think in reporting on this, it’s important to identify the agenda that the people involved are trying to push and avoid furthering it.”
This doom and gloom analysis of Hanson’s rise fails to appreciate the character of the person and the inherent instability of her leadership. She has shown herself incapable of retaining party members in parliament. Her command of the party’s finances is questionable and has previously caught her out. One Nation’s vetting processes for standing candidates have also been shown to be rather shoddy.
In various superficial ways, Hanson shares a tendency with Nigel Farage of Reform UK, who was most forthcoming with praise of “what you’ve done to get to the top of the [Australian] opinion polls.” Farage has a potentially fatal fondness for money and makes no secret of that fact. He also talks about the ordinary person of the street whose vote he craves. His recent gimmick – resigning as member for the seat of Clacton only to stand in the resulting byelection – is intended to affirm his standing as such a man of the people. Yet this figure of anti-establishment elan has received donations from convict aristocrats and offshore billionaires, some of which he has never declared to the British parliament. To attack the establishment, it does not look too good to be its coddled darling.
Hanson is receiving her own degree of coddling from the rich and powerful. Gina Rinehart, billionaire mining magnate and Australia’s richest figure (success comes easy with a father who looted the earth), has joined the show. Access to her private plane for the One Nation leader is guaranteed. Donations have been coming in. Exactly what every candidate for the people needs.
Rinehart even featured as a recreational adjunct to the Hanson tour. Nothing quite says loving populism than a tour to the Sicily resort town of Taormina, expensive hotel accommodation and a Dolce & Gabbana fashion show. Both were also seen together at CPAC.
Questions put to Hanson about her funding arrangements regarding her Sicily trip have been coolly rebuffed. In a video posted on social media, the senator declared that the trip had not cost taxpayers a single dollar. “Yes I went to Sicily. Yes I went to the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show. What an experience, I was invited.” Having “never been to anything like that,” she thought it opportune to “go and see it.”
While it is churlish to see Hanson as exceptional in this regard (politicians of all stripes frequent the yachts of billionaire tycoons when votes are at stake), it departs from the down-in-the-trenches feeling she otherwise likes to exude. Hanson, in pursuing this needless sojourn of myth mining, has been acting the goose. For voters, that act can only be tolerated for so long.
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Poo Machine’s popularity has nosedived in recent weeks, and hopefully, will continue to do so. The jaunt to the UK is an example of uniting with unsavoury fascists.
If Albanese doesn’t return to answering the existential problems that cause social dis-cohesion here at home in Australia then we, the people, will suffer the ignominy that the PHONey Party have in store for us. Time to act Albo!
Can someone explain to Senator Hansen that it is not a virtue to have accepted large gifts/donations of travel, accommodation etc. To say that her travel has not cost the Australian taxpayer anything is not a vindication but rather shows that she is on the take.
One should be polite, but, the takerbludger filthyfraudy dumbasdroppings backwardbogbrain irritableirrational fraudfake femaninevenomload of eternal galactic poxery ever to mount a broom is beyond decency, restraint, even standard manners, a slut for money, pose, attention, ridicule too. We should ALL be ashamed of her overseas bilious blurts.
Looted the earth? And the common wealth!
But you have to give it to Liz Truss!
When Hanson was whingeing along in her usual atyle declaring that we need to get rid of all these people. The grab l saw did not identify who.
“Scoop them all up and drop them on an island” says the next Australian PM
Truss replied “didn’t we already do that?”
Probably went over the orange dunce’s head.
Thanks Lyndal
Can someone also explain to Senator Hanson that she was elected by the people of Queensland as a Senator for the state of Queensland, to serve the interests of the people of Queensland.
It may have slipped her mind.
And there’s this cowardly behaviour from the red witch. This will, hopefully, all come back and bite her when she scuttles back into the country (hiding on one of Gina’s jets no doubt).
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/hanson-is-sweating-her-five-star-euro-summer-more-than-she-s-willing-to-let-on-20260719-p60gjc.html
Uhm …..A small correction ….. Pawlean was ”elected” to make her own to make herself personally rich. There was never any interest in working for the electorate.
Time to give her another airing on a major television network with an open audience prepared to ask questions, any questions, because any questions for Pawlean are too difficult”
Uhm …..A small correction ….. Pawlean was ”elected” to make her own to make herself personally rich. There was never any interest in working for the electorate.
Time to give her another airing on a major television network with an open audience prepared to ask questions, any questions, because any questions for Pawlean are too difficult”
NEC,
You forgot to mention that nasty brain parasite Ashby using the not too bright Pawlean to leech bucket loads of cash for himself. He’s as greedy, if not more so, than Rortthesystem Hanson.
A troika of Gooses – Poorlean, Barnyard & Malcolm (with sidekick Farley).
In the ‘regions’ gooses were for shootin & eatin.
Simple – we’ve looked after the ‘regions’ for 240 years.
It’s easy take ya pick, make ya selection no-one else’s there
In 1860 y’all were identified for the purpose of tax – stiff
Itinerant gold diggers would be dealt with by dragooned convicts
Beware of pigtails & camel drivers they’ll fuck ya chooks
Return to Blighty to be killed in the west for the Monarch
Move to cities and into hock for development
If ya stay regional you’ll be ignored
Leave it all for big farmers who’ll be gifted for fleece & food
When they’re successful we’ll export most of it leaving crumbs
Then we’ll let in the big miners and let ’em rip
When farmers & miners win we’ll give ’em more gifts
We’ll bring in yanks to incorporate and make all things mega
The yanks will of course need plenty of gifts
Don’t be critical of immigrants to cities we need critical mass for tax
We’re so busy with all that, nothing else in the regions matters
So, in the regions it’s historical trifurcation:
The little guys hate all pollies, so Poorleens grievance suits, especially whilst getting pissed at the pub, then when returned in luved gas-guzzlers to a barely serviced or serviceable home of pre-1950s
The big farmers and miners love Poorlean especially as she aligns with Wagina who’ll ensure PM Poorlean will loosen the rules and purse strings hugely for them.
Then there’s the others with guns who hate anyone that wants to take their guns. They want to blow them to smithereens. They’d even forgo shooting gooses just so Poorleen becomes PM.
Nothing else matters.
@ Clakka: That is an unfortunately accurate assessment of how regional voters have been both ignored and exploited by city governments, both Sydney & the Canberra Bubble.
The NOtional$ have a long term plan for turning New England into a genuine, original, authentic 19th century rural slum region to cover up their lack of achievements for the electorate during the past 60+ years.
Now multiply that strategy for all regional electorates across Australia and understand that kow-towing to the Sydney LIARBRAL$ set has been the most important function for NOtional$ politicians since 1936.
However, change is coming; the PHONeys struck a chord against the unwanted, unwashed COALition in the feral seat of Farrer, successfully defeating (this time) an excellent Independent candidate Michelle Milthorpe. Whether Farley remains in the PHONeys has yet to be seen. Beetrooter appears to be having doubts, or has he been double crossed by the Red Ranga in favour of a family dynasty, and what does James Ashby, the Peter Slipper nemesis have planned to protect his sinecure??
Meanwhile 4/8 NSW electorates west of the Range have elected hard working Independents who have demonstrated what a hard working politician is supposed to look like ….. the difference to the present surrounding representatives of the NOtional$ is being discussed at the sale yards.
Regional INDEPENDENTS get things done for their communities.
What do PHONeys and NOtional$ do??