This on-line paper is now archived for perpetuity in the
National Library
of Australia
Saturday, 25th October 1997
Associated links:
Search entire news archive by day |
Search entire news archive by text |
Definitive Lifestyle Guide to over 5000 Australian webs |
Global Web Builders Gold |
The Kid's Locker Room |
World Wide Websters |
Pauline Hanson's One Nation yesterday announced that it would field candidates in all 89 state parliament seats at the next Queensland state election.
All three major parties in Queensland were taken by surprise by the announcement by David Ettridge, Pauline Hanson's one Nation national director. Ettridge said that the decision had been made about three weeks ago before the survey by AC Neilsen/McNair showed that One Nation had about 20% of the vote in Queensland.
The move has got the ALP's opposition leader in Queensland up in a tither with Peter Beattie parroting the demands of Kim Beazley that the Liberal and National parties put One Nation last on their How to Vote cards.
Ettridge said yesterday, "We kept our decision quite because we had registration processes underway with the Queensland Electoral Commission, and that has now been done.
"It would have been a bit of an awkward situation to have our supporters support us federally and have to vote for someone else at a state level.
"We are very encouraged by the Courier-Mail poll, which we believe underestimates our support.
"We're ready for the Queensland elections now."
Pauline Hanson is expected to play a prominent role in the lead up to the state election.
Ettridge said that about 150 expressions of interest had been received from potential candidates in the next federal election. It is anticipated that as many as 500 candidates will put their names forward for the 148 federal seats.
One Nation's Political Director, David Oldfield, said that a campaign committee would be formed from the 75 state branches of the party.
The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) yesterday dismissed a complaint of racial discrimination against Pauline Hanson.
The president of the HREOC, Sir Ronald Wilson, found that her comments did not constitute racial discrimination.
The media beat up about this complaint to HREOC by political detractors of the One Nation party has been quite phenomenal while Wilson's ruling has been practically overlooked.
Yesterday we exposed the rift in the Australian Labor Party with members being drawn into an extreme left wing group , New Labour Party, who are unhappy with the ALP's general direction.... seems like the ALP have bitten back successfully objecting to the NLP's name with the Australian Electoral Commission.
This is an extract from a "PLP" post on Left Link:
"The NLP is now becoming known as the Progressive Labour Party (NOT to be confused with the Hanson type party called the Progressive Party). We are still recruiting. The AEC has not allowed our use of the New Labour Party but we are appealing this at present. In the probability that the appeal will be lost we have decided to register next as the Progressive Labour Party.
"In Victoria we have a Melbourne and a Geelong branch.
"We are about to launch a Northern suburbs branch. Residents of the inner city outwards to the North are welcome."
Now why have the papers not picked up on this major fracture in the ALP one wonders?
Common sense has at last prevailed in this politically correct society that we have stumbled into. Yesterday the Supreme Court in Brisbane overturned a landmark decision making donor sperm available to lesbians.
The 26 year old woman, only identified as JM, who brought the original charge against medical company QFG for discrimination said that she would appeal the decision
Justice Ambrose wrote, "In my view, the evidence (of the woman) is simply insufficient to support the decision QFG was vicariously liable for any prohibited discrimination by the doctor..."
Meanwhile Gay and Lesbian Welfare Association co-convenor (sounds something like chief-assistant of the assistant-chief to me), Janet Fitzgerald, said she was concerned about the ramifications of the judge's decision, "It sounds like splitting legal hairs to find loopholes to discriminate against lesbians," she said, "the ultimate result is still discrimination against lesbians."
So be it...
Making the
news" -
Prime Minister John Howard yesterday called for Australian investors not to panic as another Au$8 billion was wiped off the value of Australian shares.
"I am concerned about any evidence of instability but I am not going to engage in panic talk when there is no need for that," Howard said from Britain, "Obviously it will have some effect but not as much as some of the doomsayers are suggesting because only about 10% of Australia's trade is with the countries that have experienced most turbulence."
Subject:
Comments on
Australian News of the Day
In reply to Dimi, good on you for standing up and having your say, but I
think if you are clever enough to write a letter you are clever enough to
sit down and read some of Pauline Hanson's material. Believing rubbish out
of newspapers, that makes YOU lower than Rupert Murdoch. Yes, The man that
doesn't care who is in power as long as they let him own what he wants, when
he wants(e.g. rugby league).
I suppose you, Dimi, will be happy in years to come, when, in this English
speaking country you have to know a vast array of languages to read signs
to know what shop you are going into. And, if these people want to make this
country like the country they left behind, why did they leave in the first
place.
Thank you
Steve
The Asian currency crisis is now starting to rebound on various Australian property sectors with Asian investors putting their high priced homes on the market to repay hedging losses.
With the property market in Asia likely to fall it is expected that investors will now also turn their attention to local Asian markets for bargains.
In Hong Kong only the direct intervention by the Chinese government who poured billions of dollars into the stock market saved a crash.
The Hong Kong market actually recovered 5% of the 15% loss of the previous day in patchy trading. The Chinese are furious that the "money men" have started playing around with the jewel in the their crown and made it clear yesterday that speculators who tried to damage the Hong Kong markets for their own gain were in for a big surprise.
A joint report by the University of Queensland and Education Queensland has turned up some alarming figures about drug use by school children in this state.
The reports findings on Year 12 students were that
Here are the results of the survey on schoolchildren and marijuana use (%):
| Year: | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
| Have never used marijuana | Male | 86 | 76 | 69 | 54 | 53 | 47 |
| Female | 94 | 85 | 71 | 62 | 63 | 45 | |
| Have not used marijuana before but not in the last 12 months | Male | 2 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Female | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 7 | |
| As above but in last four weeks | Male | 7 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 14 | 17 |
| Female | 3 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 22 | |
| As above but not in the last 7 days | Male | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
| Female | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 12 | |
| Have used marijuana within the last 7 days | Male | 3 | 6 | 12 | 21 | 19 | 19 |
| Female | 1 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 15 |
Another perfect day in paradise... with sunny skies and rolling green valleys... after the rain.
Will probably go canoeing later today.
Have a great day!
Return to Australian National
News of the Day
See GLOBE International for
other world news.