Qld election 2020: One Nation boss James Ashby unleashes in bizarre ABC TV interview

Pauline Hanson’s chief adviser has given a bizarre television interview in the wake of One Nation’s electoral pummelling in Queensland.

Deb Frecklington and the Liberal-National Party might’ve lost their shot at forming government, but the biggest loser in the Queensland election is Pauline Hanson and One Nation.

The party’s statewide vote has collapsed by as much as six per cent on the current count, with hefty losses in key seats it hoped to win.

That disastrous showing is a factor in the LNP’s result, which would’ve otherwise benefited from a flow of preferences from One Nation.

But James Ashby, Senator Hanson’s chief of staff and political strategist, denied the result was a disaster in a bizarre and rambling interview with ABC News.

“Well, I actually think that we’ve had a net zero gain,” Ms Ashby said.

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James Ashby is Senator Pauline Hanson’s chief of staff and political adviser. Picture: Liam Kidston

One Nation’s goal was to keep Stephen Andrew in the central Queensland seat of Mirani, which he will comfortably hold, Mr Ashby insisted.

But during his live interview with the ABC, he was wearing an orange campaign T-shirt for Wade Rothery, the party’s candidate in the seat of Keppel.

Mr Ashby blamed One Nation’s poor showing on Annastacia Palaszczuk’s “fear game” in the election campaign, referring to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Labor played that card until the end. COVID fear, and I think, too, that the Liberal-National Party certainly didn’t put forward a very good alternative government in this state.”

2020 QLD state election results 

 

Major parties

• LNP 0
• ALP 0

Others

• ONP 0
• UAP 0
• KAP 0
• OTH 0
• GRN 0

Called seats

47 seats or more for win, 85% called 0 in doubt.
Seats are called by our experts, ECQ official results

He also said cuts to regional media impacted the ability for candidates and Senator Hanson to get out their messages.

“I think also something that needs to also be identified here, we have lost in every single regional market across this state, (the) media. And I can’t tell you how many local media have just evaporated from these markets.

“Rockhampton, Gladstone, Mackay, they’ve all lost their newspapers. So people – the only news they’ve had is from Brisbane and that has just been one massive fear campaign.”

James Ashby speaking to ABC News.

Mr Ashby also attacked the ABC, saying: “And you guys down there, you suck it all up, the ABC is pretty fat down there in Brisbane. We’ve got nothing in the regions.”

It was pointed out that the ABC has the same resources as during the last Queensland Election.

It was then that Mr Ashby went off on a bizarre tangent about the consequences of another term in power for Labor and Ms Palaszczuk.

“The bush is missing out,” he began.

“That’s exactly what’s going on. The bush is missing out and I tell you what, under this Palaszczuk Government they’re going to miss out even worse and it will be the farmers that will suffer and it will be you down in the southeast corner that will suffer most because your fruit and vegetable prices will go through the roof.

“We will be stung significantly.

“The fishermen out there will absolutely be raped and pillaged and I tell you what, it will be Labor’s fault. You watch, it’s coming. You’ve got four years to suffer this.”