Up
until now the new One Nation MP's had gathered in the west wing of the sprawling
parliamentary building.
An early start for some, with my day beginning at 5am.
By the time I had finished reporting on the previous day's activities and updating the anotd it was 9am and time for the tour of the state Parliament.
Up
until now the new One Nation MP's had gathered in the west wing of the sprawling
parliamentary building.
Our guide took us over to the "old" wing where the walls were of stone and the carpets plush, where chandeliers looked like a galaxy of lights and where there were seats reserved for royalty.
A somber place where the State's MPs gathered and talked the talk (as it were).
Pauline Hanson posed with Australia's youngest politician, Shaun Nelson, the One Nation state member for the seat of Tablelands on the floor of Parliament and beside the Speaker's chair.
And below a historic, exclusive set of photos, the eleven One Nation state MPs gathered for the very first time in the Parliament.
We were shown through the dining room with an arrangement
of
plastic flowers dominating an otherwise quite splendid room with silver cutlery
and fine china plates with gold embroidery.
The man who was later in the day to become state leader, Bill Feldman, enjoyed the tour of the gym - taking some practice on the boxing ball.
The last moments of the tour included a visit to the swimming pool and an opportunity to look out over the Brisbane river, to the west....
The morning sessions in committee room 512 involved more training and teaching with experienced politicians coming in and taking the "newbies" through the hoops.
Among
the speakers was the Mayor of Pine Rivers, Yvonne Chapman (left) who had
been a member of Sir Joh's government in the 1980s.
Meanwhile, back at the Royal Plaza hotel hundreds of One Nation faithful had gathered to meet the party's new MPs.
The
short walk back to the hotel presented the media with their only opportunity
of the day to get footage of this remarkable new force in Australian politics.
It was also an opportunity for me to capture a sign promoting the latest
Labor party inspired fear campaign against Pauline Hanson's One Nation -
the signs plastered on every conceivable wall all over the city of Brisbane.
When Pauline Hanson led the MPs into the large room where the faithful had gathered there was an explosion of applause. Pauline Hanson introduced the MPs who then said a few words about themselves.
In the last image in the series below, the president of the Queensland Electoral Campaign Committee, Tom King, one of the forgotten heroes of the One Nation campaign.
About
200 people selected Tom King (seen right) to head up the executive
with the support of three state vice-presidents: Merv Hyatt (northern zone);
Frank Collingwood (central zone) and Burwen Smith (southern zone).
"This has been our biggest (branch) meeting yet held and there was a deal of emphasis on policy development," King said.
"Branch members will play a key role in setting the direction for the party. Our people have an insatiable appetite for policy.
"Branches are being formed everywhere. Things are moving so quickly that everybody has to learn on the run.
"The events over the past twelve months have been a whirlwind, like a political vacuum sweeping people up."
A
light lunch was served in the grounds at the back of the hotel, providing
an excellent opportunity to catch up with old friends.
Vanessa and her growing band of young people (or Young Nation) posed for the photo on the right.
After lunch it was back to Parliament where the serious business of selecting a leader would take place. The One Nation MPs had a further session on dealing with the media, presented by David Oldfield, before the three who had raised their hands for the top job were called on to give a speech setting out why they should be selected. Dorothy Pratt, John Kingston and Bill Feldman having expressed interest in the position the day before.
The other contenders left the room while Dorothy Pratt, the first to speak, talked about her role and how she believed she could fulfil the leadership position. She expressed a weakness in debating - but said that she was very strong willed and would soon learn how to face strong debaters in Parliament.
Next
up was Bill Feldman who talked about being brought up on a farm (like Jack
Paff), his sense of right and wrong impressed on him by his parents from
childhood, how he had joined the police force at the age of fourteen and
how he had had to face several Criminal Justice Commission hearings as a
witness.
Bill
had an unblemished track record in the Police Force and had spent ten years
in the Police Union where he had learnt all about "hidden" agendas, lobbying,
debating and how to be able to take an offensive stand when put under pressure
in an open debate.
I was very impressed with Bill's unrehearsed and from the heart speech. Obviously I was not alone.
Last
to speak was John Kingston who talked about his very comprehensive experience
in working on major projects all over Asia.
It was well after 5pm when the three had finished their presentations and were called back in.
The leadership vote was supposed to be taken on Monday 29th June - but as Pauline Hanson and the two David's (who were present during the speech's) were flying back to Sydney and Canberra that night the decision was made to have the vote their and then.
State director Peter James handed out a voting card to each of the State MPs and gave one to Pauline Hanson.
These were then collected and the leader chosen. The images below tell the story.
It was early to bed for me with another early morning ahead.
Return to One Nation Queensland state MPs gather in Brisbane - June 1998