This was the day that the media had predicted there would be a revolt within the One Nation party.
The night before there had been no signs of such a revolt despite some
interesting topics being raised on the agenda. These included issues like
the party's constitution, its leadership and the future role of the two Davids.
The media spin turned out to be a complete farce... outright lies viewed
by anyone who attended the meeting.
There was no revolt, just an orderly meeting at which delegates played a major and pro-active role in putting issues in front of the executive on party, policy and constitutional matters.
Day started with a walk around the grounds after an early morning run. Here are some pictures that I took of the Neerkol grounds:
Breakfast was at 7.30pm.
The pics below were taken just before the meeting started:
Queensland Senator-elect Heather Hill and party political adviser David Oldfield; delegates gather outside the hall; Mick Chapman (QECC - Queensland Electoral Campaign Committee- Secretary), Pauline Hanson and Santo Ferraro (QECC)
The meeting started at 8.30am with the Australian anthem. The Media were allowed to attend the morning session. They gathered at the back of the hall.
Rev Ken Steere opened with a prayer session.
Extracts from Tom King's speech:
Tom (right)
talked on the state level about the power of one - a case where one woman
made a majority in parliament on a number of issues.
"There are no people who are more discriminated against than those who support One Nation actively - these are patriotic Australians.
"The elite call us "the ordinary people" and thank god we are "the ordinary people".
"Manly has given the Queensland Electoral Campaign Committee (QECC) total autonomy.
"We
are now the third player in the political league.
"We could not pay state candidates directly after the state election because of the legal challenges - those who still remain to be paid will be paid today.
On the delegates at the conference:
"Are we going to go in with the den of lions or are we going to move forward. Those who want to go into a den of lions may as well leave now and we wish them well."
(No
one left).
"The management group is going to be enlarged.
"People
with ideas and experience will be invited to join the policy group on the
state executive.
"I have been told that malicious people said that I was going to cut up my membership card today. Let me tell you that I am not."
Extracts from Pauline Hanson's speech:
Thanked
those who organised day.
Pauline went over where she stood on key issues and looked back at One Nation's history.
"At the launch of One Nation the Pauline Hanson Support movement had 26 branches now One Nation has 320 branches around the nation."
Talked
about John Pasquarelli being replaced by D Oldfield said there are too many
male chauvinists around who think that women cannot do anything. Those men
are no longer in my employment.
Pauline was teary eyed when she spoke about the two Davids, she said, "the media would have you believe that I am just a puppet. I can assure you that there is no hand up my back. I don't always take David's advice.
"We
have only succeeded because of the team. We have got a strong team. We are
taking on the big players like the multinationals - we don't want to have
to take on people within our organisation as well.
"There are people who have to take the hard decisions - someone has got to take them."
On the white ants:
"They're wannabees, who could be but they can't be.
"I fully support the two Davids - I could not have achieved what I have without them..
"I chose to run for the seat of Blair - no-one else did. I was advised to do something else but I didn't.
"Now I don't have parliamentary duties I can concentrate on the branches. One door shuts and another opens.
"In Newcastle we polled 17% of the vote. It was the first time in 97 years that the Labor part had to go to preferences.
"It took Labor ten years to get their act together in the early days.
"Don't tear this organisation apart there are enough wolves at the door already. If you can't work with us please leave now.
"People come up to me all the time and say 'we want democracy'.
"Democracy (the Greek interpretation) really means mob rule. People don't like it at times, and neither do I, but I have to make the final decision, because at the end of the day the decision reflects back on me personally. There are too many people out there who think they can make the decision, but I tell you they can't.
The party is too young and we have to get our structures in place first. If you can't fit in please leave.
(No one left).
We will give people every chance to have their say - as we are today.
Extracts from David Oldfield's speech:
"We
did extremely well in the Queensland State elections. Knockers say we could
have taken government. The Democrats have never taken a Lower house seat
in 25 years. we took eleven.
"23% of people voted for a new party.
"We have to face the collusion of the major parties. Our biggest enemies are our natural allies - the Coalition because they see us as taking their support base away.
"Liberal
Tony Abbott is about as extreme right as you can get. He was the member of
a number of right organisations. These people prostitute themselves by joining
a major party. They do not believe in what they stand for but go along for
the ride and see us as a danger.
"In the Federal election when it came to the fifth seat in the Senate in NSW One Nation was 85,000 votes ahead of Democrat Aboriginal activist, Aiden Ridgeway. The National Party preferences gave him 200,000 votes ahead of One Nation. In the sixth seat the preferences but the third ALP Senator in eve though One Nation were 110,000 votes ahead of him before preferences.
"Then the National party had the hide to say that it was One Nation who caused the Democrats to hold the balance of power.
"One Nation membership has increased by 20% since the federal election.
"People
are annoyed that over one million voters only got one out of 190 seats -
10% of the vote!
"The Coalition set out to destroy One Nation. They managed to knock off Pauline.
"We expect to do well in the NSW elections because of the optional preferential voting system.
"In the Newcastle by-election most of our 18% primary vote was from disenchanted Labor voters. Most Liberals voted for the Greens and the Independents (including the Independent Liberal candidate who only got 6% of the vote)."
David quoted out of Newcastle Herald Editorial article headed "Election Surprise". The entire article is reproduced below:
There can be little doubt that the ALP's Allan Morris will be returned as the Federal member for Newcastle.
Mr Morris won nearly 48% of the primary votes cast in Saturday's supplementary election and only needs a small share of the preferences of the other ten candidates to get across the lien.
However, that fact an ALP candidate in such a Labor heartland seat is having to rely on preferences is an extraordinary turn of events.
It makes it clear that even the safest seat cannot be taken for granted by political parties.
Hopefully, the result will encourage the Liberal party to make an early choice of a strong candidate well before the next Federal election and attempt to give Labor a run for their money.
The comment is not intended as a criticism of Mr Morris but rather of the Liberals.
Not only did the party decide not to field a candidate for the supplementary election but it also stated that Mr Morris was virtually unbeatable because he was a Labor man.
Given Saturday's result, Liberal officials must be kicking themselves that they didn't show more tenacity and offer a challenge to Mr Morris.
Their cop-out means that Liberal voters had to choose between Mr Morris' rivals including the One Nation party which continues to pose a threat to the major parties.
The One Nation candidate was supported by one in every six voters, despite being virtually unknown in Newcastle.
The lesson to the major parties from this comparative success is that the combination of an appealing person (as One Nation leader Ms Pauline Hanson clearly was to more than 10,000 voters) and strong marketing can have an electoral impact.
The fall in support for Mr Morris nay have been due in part to the extent of the competition. He has never been opposed by so many other candidates since he was first voted into office in 1983.
There is also the factor that the election was delayed and voters knew it had no impact on who would govern Australia.
But it is usually governments that voters target in by-elections and Mr Morris is a member of the main opposition party.
The result suggests that the ALP needs to take a close look at the reasons for its less than-stellar performance on Saturday.
And it would clearly indicate that the party cannot take Newcastle and its voters for granted. If it doesn't heed this message, the result next time might be even less favourable to the ALP.
David continued:
"Young people stand eight deep in clubs at Newcastle to get Pauline's signature.
"At Dubbo where the dissidents tried to adopt a new constitution the meeting was a farce as two out of three whose names were on it said that they were not part of it. It was rejected. The meeting voted not to listen to a ten minute speech by John Pasquarelli.
"Do not deal with John Pasquarelli - remember if you lie down with a dog you get up with fleas.
"One Nation has too many idiots in its midst who are willing to stand up in front of a camera and just spill their guts and the media just eat it up. Opinions are like backsides - everybody has got one. It is just a few idiots who cause trouble. Democracy is about the majority making up the direction. You don't act like school children who kick over the sandcastle because they don't like the design.
"Dubbo was a turning point for One Nation.
"In the Federal Election we fought the major parties that had millions of
dollars in donations from big business.
They
had thousands of paid staff and over 200 offices countrywide working against
us with $25,000 stamp allowance and very fact photocopiers in every office."
Morning tea break
Dr Glen Scheils (ex National Party senator) spoke after the afternoon tea break:
"Everyone in the electorate is aware that One Nation got politically gang raped at the last federal elections.
"All the people I have met are standing around waiting with their pencils sharpened waiting for the next election.
"The reason I support One Nation is because it is the only party that stands for a Constitutional Monarchy.
"Media
pulled the hysterical "racist" tag out and refused to cover One Nation policies.
The media cannot be trusted to tell the truth.
"The future is on the Internet - your policies are on there unedited by journalistic license.
"The media ought to be horsewhipped over going into orbit and calling One Nation racist for challenging the immigration system before the last federal election.
"The Coalition and the Labor party are virtually the same in their policy direction today.
"There are a few funny things that I can tell you about the bureaucracy but as the media are here I better not tell you.
"The Liberal Party might as well not have a party because all policy is made by the Parliamentary members and the party machine has no input - just being there to sell it.
"When you put your constitution together I hope that you will look at the National Party's Queensland state constitution because it is a great one.
"You will have the media against you all the way because they support the parties that they have control of.
Extracts from the speech by Heather Hill:
Our
thought police, the media, bureaucrats, big parties try to stop us from
discussion issues that concern a large number of Australians.
"When Pauline Hanson made the connection that we were in "danger of being swamped by Asians" widely publicised by the media as racist. What the media fail to tell you is the context in which Pauline said that. This is how Pauline continued in her maiden speech after saying that:
"Immigration and multiculturalism are issues that this
government is trying to address, but for far too long ordinary Australians
have been kept out of any debate by the major parties. I and most Australians
want our immigration policy radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism
abolished. I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians.
Between 1984 and 1995, 40 % of all migrants coming into this country were
of Asian origin. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and
do not assimilate. Of course, I will be
called
racist but, if I can invite whom I want into my home, then I should have
the right to have a say in who comes into my country. A truly multicultural
country can never be strong or united. The world is full of failed and tragic
examples, ranging from Ireland to Bosnia to Africa and, closer to home, Papua
New Guinea. America and Great Britain are currently paying the price."
"Because One Nation wanted to talk about real issues like economic rationalism and globalisation we were labelled by the media.
"What the media will not tell people is how the courts are being used by our political opponents to starve us of funding.
"Of the Au$500,000 received following the state election Au$320,000 has been distributed to state candidates; Au$100,000 has already been spent in legal fees defending ourselves in the high court and the balance of Au$80,000 is tied up in a trust for future legal fees. If we lose the case regarding One Nation's status in Queensland Pauline Hanson will be responsible for repaying the Au$500,000. This despite over 23% of the voting public in this state voting for this party.
"Some delegates question whether they want to be part of One Nation. You have got to decide this for yourself. If you don't please leave.
The major challenges facing Australia today are:
Employment: the unemployment level in this country is leading to poverty traps, family breakdowns and it is impacting on everyone.
Economic Rationalism: This is causing major unemployment in this country. The major parties are still actively pursuing economic rationalism while saying that they want to decrease unemployment. Their rhetoric does not match up to their actions.
The freemarket system is creating an enormous gap between the poor and the rich. Small business is unfairly disadvantaged by big business.
We must support the family. One Nation is unashamedly pro-family. We must stop the government's current anti-family trends.
"It's okay Pauline we have heard your wake up call and we're right behind you!"
Tom King: "The working class poor were first identified by Heather Hill in a report that she compiled some years ago.'
The delegates then broke for lunch.
Before the media left they packed around Pauline Hanson and Heather Hill...
Lunch time:
After lunch QECC President Berwin Smith spoke briefly.
Berwin
talked about the people who were taking out writs against the party to try
to destroy it financially. He said that a writ just served is calling for
every piece of paper in the QECC to be handed over to a third party to look
at.
Berwin said that One Nation will one day be the biggest party in Australia.
David Oldfield said:
He explained that One Nation Members Inc does not exist - it was disbanded in November 1997 and is replaced by Pauline Hanson's One Nation .... branch. The members inc was a throw back from the "supporters movement".
"Ethics have gone out of journalism and politics," he concluded.
David
Oldfield clarified his role at One Nation as follows:
and David Ettridge's role is as follows:
He said that the media's claim that he had bought houses with the money received by the party was rubbish and that the only houses he had were on his monopoly board.
At
this stage the delegates started voting on agenda items. Pauline Hanson got
unanimous support from the delegates (image right) while the vote to maintain
the "Pauline Hanson" in the party's name went as follows:
The media asked David Oldfield later if the person who had voted against had been kicked out of the conference.....
There were no rows, no open revolt. Everybody was very sensible and a lot of misunderstanding was defused during the afternoon.
At about 6pm the conference delegates broke for tea. Before eating they posed for these group photos.
After tea Pauline Hanson and a few others left for Rockhampton for an evening to enjoy.
Here are some images taken on Saturday night after the delegates broke for the day:
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| Pauline Hanson behind the "Neerkol" bar counter | State executive and MPs have a chat | Mr and Mrs Ross McConnell with david Oldfield |
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| Pauline Hanson, Cheyenne and Carol all dressed up | At the pub before going clubbing | Pauline being mobbed by young people at the night club |
We returned back to Neerkol at about 2am.