Advertisement

Libs to preference One Nation below Labor: Morrison

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation will be put below Labor on Liberal how-to-vote cards, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says.

Mar 28, 2019, updated Mar 28, 2019
Pauline Hanson has hit out at an undercover sting which showed One Nation officials wanting donations from the NRA. Photo: AP/Rod McGuirk

Pauline Hanson has hit out at an undercover sting which showed One Nation officials wanting donations from the NRA. Photo: AP/Rod McGuirk

The minor party has been rocked by revelations Senator Hanson questioned whether the Port Arthur massacre was a government conspiracy and that One Nation officials talked about getting $20 million in donations from the US gun lobby.

“My recommendation to them which they’re accepting is that One Nation will be put below the Labor Party at the next election by the Liberal Party,” Morrison told reporters in Perth.

It comes as Hanson prepares to front the media over the scandals engulfing her One Nation party.

Hidden camera footage, released by Al Jazeera as part of an undercover operation, showed senator Hanson saying she had “a lot of questions” about Port Arthur.

“An MP said it would actually take a massacre in Tasmania to change the gun laws in Australia,” Hanson told Al Jazeera reporter Rodger Muller.

“Haven’t you heard that? Have a look at it. It was said on the floor of parliament.

“I’ve read a lot and I have read the book on it, Port Arthur. A lot of questions there.”

NSW party leader Mark Latham said the comments didn’t match up with his exchanges with Hanson.

“I had a discussion with her about the making of the Howard gun laws and she didn’t raise any doubts about the veracity of the truth of what happened at Port Arthur,” he told Seven’s Sunrise today.

Another of Al Jazeera’s videos showed Queensland One Nation leader Steve Dickson and Hanson’s chief of staff James Ashby speaking to the undercover reporter about potential donations.

The men claim they were “on the sauce” when the conversation took place.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said being drunk was no excuse and has urged Australians to abandon the conservative minor party.

InDaily in your inbox. The best local news every workday at lunch time.
By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement andPrivacy Policy & Cookie Statement. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

In the Al Jazeera footage, Dickson says One Nation could get the government “by the balls” through holding the balance of power in both houses if they could get millions in funding.

That would allow them to weaken Australia’s gun laws, a point they raised with powerful lobby groups in Washington DC, including the National Rifle Association.

Hanson broke her silence yesterday, saying she was shocked and disgusted with the “hit piece” by Qatari TV network Al Jazeera.

“A Qatari government organisation should not be targeting Australian political parties. This has been referred to ASIO,” she tweeted.

The One Nation leader has been suffering from a tick bite on her face for the past week, but is expected to speak publicly today.

Labor leader Bill Shorten has repeatedly called for the prime minister to back up his condemnation of One Nation by putting them last on Liberal how-to-vote cards.

Morrison has consistently said the Liberals will wait until final nominations before deciding on its preferences.

Ashby said the pair spoke only with undercover Al Jazeera reporter Muller about the potential $US20 million in donations.

Muller posed as the head of fake lobby group Guns Rights Australia and initiated the One Nation meetings with the NRA.

Ashby accused Muller, who is Australian, of being a “Middle Eastern spy”.

-AAP

 

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InDaily.
All rights reserved.