Pauline Hanson dabbles in fashion design to raise funds for federal court hearing
Australian Fashion Week finished in Sydney last week, but it continues in Canberra with Pauline Hanson now selling clothes online.
Pauline Hanson has turned her hand to fashion design in a bid to raise money for her impending court battle with Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi.
The Queensland senator has personally knitted seven jumpers which she is now selling online via the One Nation website.
Each jumper took the Senator more than 60-hours to hand knit. The “Pauline Hanson Winter Collection” is available those who are “a large size 10 to a small 14”.
They are all being auctioned, with the top bid so far sitting at more than $1000 for a bold red, diamond patterned jumper.
“All of the jumpers are, of course, made from 100 per cent Australian wool,” a spokesman for Ms Hanson told The Australian.
Ms Hanson knitted all seven jumpers that range in colours from red, wattle yellow and olive green.
There is even a “teal” option with an intricate side panel detail that has a minimum bid of $750 and a “Napoleon blue” cardigan that boasts a wide lapel and cork button.
The auction will remain live for a yet to be determined time frame but starting bids, as of Monday, were $540.
Ms Hanson knitted them all “at home” and decided to model them herself online.
“It should come as no surprise that she is doing something like this considering Pauline is one of the snappiest dressers in parliament,” Ms Hanson’s spokesman said.
The One Nation “shop” has turned out to be a lucrative venture for the senator’s fundraising efforts.
Her online cartoon series, Please Explain is now fully funded from moneys raised from the alcohol sold on the One Nation official online store.
“The series, which is viewed by hundreds of thousands of people every week, is now produced from the sale of special rum,” Ms Hanson’s spokesman said.
The One Nation rum is a “high quality tipple from Queensland” and costs $99 a bottle.
There is a premium offering also, where supporters can purchase a $150 bottle and then have their names feature in the online show’s credits.
“One Nation really sets the bar when is comes to innovative ways to raise money, however in this particular case the profits from the knitted jumpers will go into paying for this court case with Senator Faruqi,” the spokesman added.
“All proceeds will go into the Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Fighting Fund to fight for our rights to freedom of speech, democracy with regard to allegations made by Mehreen Faruqi, which is now before the courts. Each jumper/cardigan has Pauline Hanson‘s own private label incorporated into the design and will come with its own signed certificate of authenticity.”
The Greens deputy leader is suing Senator Hanson under the Racial Discrimination Act for a tweet telling the left-wing party senator to “piss off back to Pakistan”.
In documents filed in the Federal Court, Senator Faruqi’s lawyers allege Senator Hanson breached section 18c of the act which makes it unlawful to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or group.
In addition, Senator Faruqi’s lawyers are also asking the court to require Senator Hanson to pay $150,000 to a not-for-profit chosen by their client and commit to anti-racism training.
“I’ll be blunt. The Greens are taking me to court because they want to bankrupt me and kick me out of parliament. But I won‘t let them. If they can silence me, they’ll be coming for you next, I refuse to let that happen,” Ms Hanson said in a new blog post (where she misspelt Senator Faruqi’s name) and urged her supporters to take action by sending One Nation money.
“I believe in free speech and the right to stand up for what we believe in. That’s why I am asking you to donate what you can to help me defend myself against their attacks. Every dollar counts,’’ she said.
“If possible, you might be a lucky person to have your jumper/cardigan hand delivered by Pauline Hanson herself,” she said.
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