Pauline Hanson hasn’t watched explosive Al Jazeera documentary, won’t accept responsibility for claims against One Nation
Pauline Hanson says she has not watched the Al Jazeera documentary which airs explosive claims about One Nation - and she won’t accept responsibility for the fallout from it, either.
National
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says she will not accept any responsibility for the fallout from an explosive Al Jazeera documentary, despite not watching it.
During an interview with the Today Show’s Deborah Knight, Ms Hanson backtracked on comments made by staffers James Ashby and Steve Dickson saying the documentary was “cut and paste together”.
She confirmed she had not seen How To Sell A Massacre in full and suggested another conspiracy theory, that it might have been set up by the Liberal party.
“Who is to say that this was not set up so that we would get a Prime Minister, a Liberal party, saying we are going to wipe out One Nation altogether,” she told Today.
What’s in the explosive One Nation tapes
Hanson quits Sunrise spot over Koch interview
Big issue Hanson and Latham disagree on
In the documentary Ms Hanson said there were “a lot of questions” to be answered about the Port Arthur massacre, but in interviews with Andrew Bolt on Sky last night and on Today this morning she denied thinking it was a conspiracy theory this morning.
“I have always spoken my mind. When I got into parliament I was there a month before the massacre happened,” she said.
“If I really thought it was a conspiracy theory when it came up I had two and a half years on the floor of parliament to have spoken up and said that.
“It cannot possibly be a government conspiracy theory.”
She also denied One Nation was seeking to weaken Australia’s gun laws.
“I’m in a position now if I wanted to I could have watered down gun laws,” she said.
“I have one of the strongest gun policies in the country, that is acknowledged by a lot of gun organisations.”
The Al Jazeera documentary showed footage of Ms Hanson stating there were “a lot of questions” about the killing of 35 people at Port Arthur.
Overnight Ms Hanson claimed the content of a “blue book” which she cannot recall by title was the source of her comments which implied the massacre was an inside job.
“Those shots, they were precision shots. Check the number out,” she says in the video.
“I have read a lot and I have read the book on it, Port Arthur, a lot of questions there.”
When asked by Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt on his Sky News program what book she read to make her think there were questions about the massacre, she said: “It was a blue book. It wasn’t real thick.”
However Ms Hanson said the man convicted of the massacre Martin Bryant did it and should have received the death penalty.
“(Undercover journalist Rodger Muller) kept asking and asking these questions until he got the answers he wanted out of me,” she said.
“If you watch that video, I don’t think they are the questions he asked me because I think they are dubbed.
“His mouth is not moving whatsoever but you hear a voice.”
Ms Hanson went on to say she didn’t remember what was said during the conversation.
“To tell you the truth it was late, it was the end of the night,” she said.
“I can’t tell you honestly what I said.
“Lets have a look at the whole tape, let’s look at him actually asking me those questions and not dubbed.”
Speaking on Sunrise this morning, One Nation’s Mark Latham had another meltdown on live TV accusing the documentary’s creator, Peter Charley, of manufacturing news.
“This is a guy who has gone out there on a fraudulent basis, manufacturing news instead of reporting it,” he said.
“This was entrapment over an extended period of time.”
In between bickering with host David Koch and former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett, Mr Latham said the actions of Mr Ashby and Mr Dickson during How To Kill A Massacre were comical.
“Whatever happened on the slosh in Washington had no impact on our policy,” he said.
Mr Latham also addressed suggestions that he would leave One Nation, saying these allegations were ridiculous.
In her Today show interview, Ms Hanson again insulted Prime Minister Scott Morrison, calling him a fool — after calling him that twice yesterday.
Her comments came after Mr Morrison said there were reports One Nation officials were selling Australian gun laws to the highest bidders.
“What you have done today, you have put a nail in your coffin and you are a fool,” she said.
“I sent a text message to you asking you to not make knee-jerk reactions to this, wait until the truth comes out.”
She said the purpose of the program was to break the ties between the Government and One Nation, ruining any preference deals in the upcoming election.
‘DAY OF SHAME’: HANSON FIRES BACK
Ms Hanson said she will stand by her chief of staff James Ashby and her Queensland leader Steve Dickson.
She told Channel 9: “Steve said some stupid or inappropriate things … I know Steve, he’s a family man, he is a good man,” she said.
Yesterday she urged ABC chairwoman Ita Buttrose not to air the second episode of the investigation.
In that press conference, the defiant leader told reporters that her comments on the tapes were “taken completely out of context” and that Mr Ashby and Mr Dickson, who she said was a victim of “entrapment”, would not be losing their jobs.
Ms Hanson also slammed the media: “You have been sold a story that’s too good to be true and you took it hook, line and sinker.”
She said Mr Ashby would remain as her chief of staff and Mr Dickson would remain on the Senate ticket in Queensland.
James Ashby’s political scandals
“These are two very good men who want nothing but the best for this country and the people of Australia,” she said.
“There has been a deliberate and intense effort for years to destroy James Ashby’s credibility since he came to work for me. He has made some stupid remarks, as we all have, but I’ve worked so closely with this man for years, to know his integrity is unquestionable, he will not be given a trial by media.”
“Steve has admitted and understands what he said wasn’t the right thing but he was taken out of context and a victim of entrapment. Sometimes we learn the hard way. We all deserve a second chance.”
The One Nation leader said the case was “Australia’s first piece of severe political interference from a foreign government”.
“Let me make it very clear to the Australian people, I have never sought donations or political guidance, from the NRA,” she said.
“The questions must be asked, how much involvement did the ABC have in this illegal, covert operation?
“How much money has the ABC paid using taxpayers dollars to organisations affiliated with the Qatari Islamist government? Qatar is a government that enforces sharia law, public floggings, genital mutilation, suppression of women and stoning.
“This is a political attack by Al Jazeera in co-operation with the ABC. If the ABC had any ethical bone in the body, they would refuse to put this unfair and unbalanced story to air.”
LIBS WILL PREFERENCE LABOR OVER ONE NATION
Scott Morrison has announced the Liberals will put One Nation after Labor on how-to-vote cards in the upcoming federal election.
The Prime Minister told a media conference that Pauline Hanson’s “appalling” comments on the Port Arthur massacre led him to contact Liberal Party officials about the preferences move last night.
Mr Morrison said he waited to see One Nation’s reaction to an Al-Jazeera investigation that two of its officials sought $20m from the US gun lobby but was “disappointed”.
“I’m disappointed and I find the response to the action of those One Nation officials unsatisfactory. There have been further revelations overnight also which have led me to the position this morning having consulted with the party organisation,” he said.
Mr Morrison said the move was to protect Australia’s gun laws and that he has talked to former PM John Howard about the issue, who made similar moves in the 1998 election.
“This is a decision which is based on our strong view about the sanctity of Australia’s gun laws and to ensure that at no stage that those things should ever be put at risk.
“And it’s very important having been the party that introduced those laws that we ensure that they are forever protected and there can be in compromise when it comes to those issues or any trading on the issue of those gun laws.”
MORE REVELATIONS FROM FOOTAGE
The Al Jazeera investigation revealed that One Nation tried to solicit millions of dollars in donations from a US gun lobby last year.
It showed One Nation’s pledge in the damning footage to ‘change the voting system’ for cash.
The investigation alleges One Nation officials tried to secure funding from Koch Industries, a US energy giant with ties to US President Donald Trump.
Al Jazeera published secret footage of Mr Dickson meeting with Koch Industries director Catherine Haggett in its investigation.
“What you can do to help us and it’s going to get down to money at the end of the day … we can change the voting system in our country, the way people operate, if we’ve got the money to do it,” Mr Dickson is seen telling Haggett, in the footage.
It was one of a string of meetings between One Nation and Koch Industries in Washington, where One Nation representatives asked for up to $20 million worth of funding.
In more damning footage, Mr Dickson was caught on camera speaking about his fantasy of living like a drug lord, who would “drink and shoot the s**t out of everything down the water”.
Mr Dickson made the remarks while “on the sauce” with Ms Hanson’s right hand man Mr Ashby and undercover journalist Rodger Muller.
“I’m going to be in one of those drug dealing mansions on the beach,” he can be seen saying.
“I’ll hire it for the month. You know the ones — 25 rooms and the chef and everything.
“We’ll drink and shoot the shit out of everything down the water. Machineguns and everything, mate, that’s my dream.”
Mr Muller asks: “50 cal and shoot stuff?”
Mr Dickson responds: “Well, we can protect ourselves, just in case.”
In the documentary Mr Ashby reveals how he doesn’t let the media “anywhere near” Ms Hanson.
“I don’t let them too close to me. and I don’t let them anywhere near her,” he says.
“That’s why I get called an a**hole.
“They start to come after me because I’m not letting them too close.”
Originally published as Pauline Hanson hasn’t watched explosive Al Jazeera documentary, won’t accept responsibility for claims against One Nation
Newspoll: Coalition takes lead over Labor
The Coalition now leads Labor on a two-party-preferred basis for the first time since the May 2022 election in a boost for Peter Dutton as Anthony Albanese’s approval ratings hit a new low.
$95m bid to stop bird flu ravaging Australia
Australia is the only continent yet to detect the highly pathogenic strain which has caused havoc across the globe.