| DING,
DONG, THE WICKED WITCH…
Pauline Hanson is back in the news. Or still in the news. She is
making her second attempt to get bail after being jailed for three
years, with cohort David Ettridge, for electoral fraud.
I have made my opinions about her abundantly clear on radio and
in print since her conviction and sentence of three years jail with
no recommended non-parole period.
I have always believed that Hanson and Ettridge and the real Svengali,
David Oldfield (whom I believe was lucky to escape prosecution)
were too clever by half. I believed, and still believe they were
guilty.
There were really only those three members of One Nation Inc.
True, they had thousands of supporters and garnered a million votes
in a federal election. They also elected eleven people to the Queensland
Parliament which ejected the Libs and the Nats and installed a minority
Labor Government under Peter Beattie. But, Tony Abbott was right.
They were illegal. And then they got greedy and tried to steal half
a million dollars of taxpayers’ money to which they were not
entitled. And it all fell apart.
In fairness, I thought Hanson and Ettridge would be found guilty.
Personally, I thought she would (she should) get a $10,000 fine
and maybe a nine-months jail sentence with six months suspended.
To me, three years in the slammer with no non-parole period was
unfair.
Was too harsh.
I was wrong on one other. I thought part of the Hanson punishment
would be that – having gained a sentence of more than 12 months
in jail – she would never be able to stand for political office
again.
Not so. According to constitutional experts. She can’t stand
for political office in Queensland for ten years but if she actually
serves out the three years in jail she can stand again federally.
If her sentence is reduced to a year and she serves that she would
also be eligible to stand again.
The Howard Government has thought she would be ineligible. It now
seems “ding, dong, the wicked witch is not dead”.
Friday, September 5, 2003
©Copyright
Derryn Hinch 2002
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