Who Pauline Hanson Could Carry with Her into the Senate
WE ALL know about One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, but this election she could bring several other party members with her to power in the Senate.
Their votes could have a dramatic effect on policy, since the far-right party is strongly anti-immigration, sceptical of climate change science and wary of Islamic and Asian influences in Australia.
Ultra-conservative micro-parties have an extra chance in this election since a double dissolution returns 12 Senator per state rather than the usual six per state at a half-Senate election — lowering the quota for election from 14.3 per cent to 7.7 per cent.
Let’s take a look at the other candidates from One Nation who stand a chance of entering the senate.
Pauline Hanson’s seat is confirmed, but One Nation looks set to pick up another in the state, where the party has taken 9.11 per cent of Senate votes so far with 64.45 per cent counted.
The number two candidate is Malcolm Roberts, who wants climate change scepticism taught in schools and says “foreign control” over the issue is “wrecking our country”.
He is a member of the Galileo Movement, whose aim was to see the carbon tax repealed, and says the CSIRO and United Nations climate body the IPCC support corruption over “claimed global warming and climate change”.
Mr Roberts believes “a cabal involving people in the UN and banking sector” are profiteering from the “fabrication” of global warming.
One Nation wants to see renewable energy targets abolished and all support for clean energy removed. It wants a review of the Bureau of Meteorology and a Royal Commission into climate science.
Mr Roberts, who is known for heckling at public meetings and spamming politicians, journalists and scientists with letters about “climate fraud”, will be leading the charge.
Brian Burston is the lead candidate in NSW, where One Nation has four per cent of the vote and ABC election analyst Antony Green has said the party’s chances look “very good”.
Mr Burston, from the Hunter Region, has warned “the caliphate is coming” to Australia and the world and wants a Royal Commission into Islam.
The former deputy mayor of Cessnock told the Daily Telegraph: “Islam is an infringement on our culture; we’re a Christian country, I know we have some Jews as well … but the Muslims, they kneel five times a day and it’s not how we are in this country.”
Mr Burston, an architect who was once sacked from the party executive by Ms Hanson, told the Daily Mail he wasn’t against Muslims, despite describing Islam as a “religion of hate”.
“I’m not saying all Muslims are bad,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of friends who are Muslims and I’ve got a lot of clients who are Muslims.”
He is against Halal certification, calling it an “encroachment into our culture”.
The former Newcastle University lecturer says he “is passionate about Australia’s future in particular our nation’s border security and National Identity”.
One Nation has 3.8 per cent of the vote in Western Australia, so there’s a decent chance here, the only problem is the lead candidate’s issues with the law.
Rod Culleton is appealing against a conviction for larceny in New South Wales on March 2 and will next month face trial in Perth Magistrate’s Court on a stealing charge.
But Mr Culletontold the ABC these issues were irrelevant until the vote count was complete.
“I haven’t been elected yet,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to go.
“Look, I’m the dark horse. I didn’t put my hand up. I was asked to join.”
Mr Culleton, who looks likely to become the first One Nation candidate to pick up a Senate seat, has vowed to campaign for a Royal Commission into the banking sector.
The Australian Constitution says a senator cannot be serving or awaiting a sentence for a crime that carries a prison sentence of 12 months or longer.
If Mr Culleton cannot take his seat, Mrs Hanson will need to select a new candidate. His wife, Ionna, was third on the party’s Senate ticket.
Steven Burgess has a slim chance in the state with 2.86 per cent after 66.33 per cent of votes have been counted.
Mr Burgess warned The Advertiser in May that Adelaide could face the same terror threats as Sydney if Ms Hanson’s party’s “zero Islamic immigration” policy is not taken seriously.
“At this stage (SA) has been well insulated but it will only be a matter of time; once the population increases we will see exactly the problems they’ve had in Sydney, Melbourne and the rest of the world,” he said.
“With the Islamic culture and the effects of Islamic culture in countries where it’s dominant such as female genital mutilation, child brides, the stoning of people who have different beliefs … that culture is not something we can afford to have in Australia.”
Asked if the comments were along party lines, Ms Hanson said she supported them entirely.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of Australians who don’t believe they are safe on the streets anymore,” she said.
While Mr Burgess is behind, he threatened to launch court action after accusing the Australian Electoral Commission of failing to ensure the election was conducted properly.
Mr Burgess said he had been told that some Mt Gambier residents had been denied the opportunity to vote after two polling stations ran out of ballot papers and closed early.
An AEC spokesman would not comment on whether polling stations had closed early due to a shortage of ballot papers.
With 75.23 per cent of the vote counted in Tasmania, lead candidate Kate McCulloch only has an outside chance on 2.52 per cent.
Independent Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie made things harder in the state by ruling out a preference deal with the party, telling ABC local radio that One Nation’s policies were too extreme for her.
Ms McCulloch, who grew up on a sheep and wheat farm and has a background in hospitality, says she would like to see “red tape cut so that these businesses can continue to employ staff so that our youth do not have to start their lives on welfare.”
She said she supported Ms Hanson’s policies wholeheartedly, and that: “Pauline has never given up and neither will I.”
Simon Roylance also has a tiny chance in Victoria with 1.8 per cent of the vote after 61.93 per cent counted.
The 32-year-old is an atypical candidate as a lifelong Labor voter who gave up on major parties and turned to One Nation after meeting Ms Hanson in Bendigo this year.
He told the Herald Sun one of his biggest political bugbears was parliamentary entitlements, and One Nation was the only party that had planned a crackdown.
Mr Roylance, whose wife’s parents are from Macedonia, said he’d had support from the Macedonian community and from Greek and Italian migrant families and had been covered by multicultural media outlets during the campaign.
“I think if you understand our policies and meet Pauline, you’ll realise it’s common sense and not racist at all,” he said.
“I mean, Islam isn’t even a race — it’s basically a political ideology and Muslims are members of our party because they are worried that Islam will take over Australia like it is has done elsewhere.”
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