Pauline Hanson’s power base comes from a coalition of the controversial

PAULINE Hanson’s One Nation has become a beacon for disaffected conservatives, gathering a collection of staff and supporters who have had their own share of headlines.

Pauline Hanson on the Gold Coast. Pic: Richard Gosling

PAULINE Hanson’s One Nation has become a beacon for disaffected conservatives, gathering a collection of staff and supporters who have had their own share of headlines.

The people behind the scenes range from a former LNP staffer who took out an ultimately abandoned sexual harassment case against former speaker Peter Slipper; the national director of the short-lived Australian TEA Party movement; a Trump presidential campaign worker; and a former Logan City councillor who was once banned from the chambers.

Many have backgrounds as members or supporters of the LNP but moved away from the party.

They are also protective of their bosses in Parliament — Senator Hanson and Senator Malcolm Roberts.

One staff member told The Courier-Mail: “We all only have one thing in common and that’s the re-election of Senator Roberts” — who is due for re-election in three years, sooner than the party leader.

At the centre is Senator Hanson’s chief-of-staff James Ashby, who volunteered his time with her during a failed bid for the state seat of Lockyer in 2015, but was central in her campaign for the Senate and even flew her around the country in a two-seater plane.

Mr Ashby was an employee of Mr Slipper and took him to court alleging sexual harassment, though he dropped the case two weeks before it went to trial.

Senator Hanson singled him out during her maiden speech, attributing One Nation’s four Senate spots to him. Similarly acknowledged was the party’s national secretary, Saraya Beric, who went from musician to being One Nation’s sole paid employee well before its electoral success in July.

David Goodridge was the national director of the Australian TEA Party, standing for “taxed enough already” and inspired by the far-right American political movement, but is now a senior adviser with Senator Roberts.

The Senator gave his speech linking the United Nations and global banks to “faked” climate-change science at a TEA Party rally in November 2011.

Mr Goodridge assisted the LNP’s Michael Pucci in his successful 2012 election campaign for the state electorate of Logan. Also helping Mr Pucci’s campaign was former Logan councillor Sean Black, who is now doing media and speech writing within One Nation. Mr Black made headlines while in council after being banned from the chambers.

One Nation’s economic policy adviser Darren Brady Nelson is an economist who has worked for a variety of conservative think tanks and recently time in the US presidential campaign of Donald Trump.

The party’s adviser on Islamic issues is Frank Salter, an academic and behavioural psychologist who has published a range of papers, including statements that the Liberal and Nationals’ “leadership does not respect Anglo interests”.

Mr Goodridge said: “On behalf of the staff, no comment. We’re not the story.”