As I wrote last week regarding the sacking of Mark Latham as leader of the One Nation party in NSW, Pauline Hanson might want to ask some in the Labor party about the fury of a Latham spurned. When he was ousted as Labor leader after the 2004 election, Latham responded in devastating style, publishing The Latham Diaries, and the essay “No Exit the ALP”, savaging his former party.
Now, it’s One Nation’s turn to feel Latham’s wrath.
One Nation has been left in disarray after NSW leader Mark Latham quit the party following Pauline Hanson’s bid to sack him as state leader, alleging attempts to defraud $270,000 in NSW Electoral Commission funds.
Mr Latham claimed in a letter tabled in parliament on Tuesday that Senator Hanson had “complained about my intervention hysterically” in a phone call late last year when he threatened to go to the police over the alleged misappropriation of funds.
Fellow One Nation MP Rod Roberts also resigned from the party on Tuesday, leaving Tania Mihailuk as One Nation’s last remaining MP in NSW parliament.
Mr Latham tabled a letter to Special Minister of State John Graham detailing his allegations of rorting and urging that they be referred “to the relevant authorities for immediate investigation and action”. Mr Graham has referred the allegations to the NSW Electoral Commission.
For her part, Hanson denies the allegations.
Senator Hanson hit back, saying party finances were subjected to regular audits by chartered accountants and the NSW and Australian electoral commissions. “I utterly reject the allegations made by these individuals under the protection of parliamentary privilege,” she said.
Senator Hanson earlier this month disbanded One Nation’s state executive, which had been led by Mr Latham, citing a disastrous swing against the party in the March state election.
The Australian
Latham alleges One Nation used NSW funds to bankroll equipment and merch for the party’s Queensland head office.
He alleged the party’s head office in Brisbane had spent $102,000 in payments from the NSW Electoral Commission after the 2019 election to purchase “conveyor belts, other fixed equipment, and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation merchandise (hats, T-shirts, sun screen, etc)”, which he said were stored in Brisbane.
The allegations are also denied by Hanson’s chief-of-staff, James Ashby.
Mark Latham was a “broken man” when he joined One Nation five years ago, and has this week “spat in the face” of the people who gave him a “lifeline”, a senior member of the party has said […]
Mr Ashby went a step further on Tuesday night, telling Sky News host Andrew Bolt that when he met Mr Latham five years ago “he cried on numerous occasions” when discussing joining the party.
Ashby, who unsuccessfully sued former Speaker Peter Slipper for sexual harassment, and got into parliamentary fisticuffs with former One Nation Brian Burston, is threatening to lob another defamation action at Latham.
Mr Ashby welcomed an investigation by the Electoral Commission, and questioned why Mr Latham had not raised the allegations earlier with the party, the commission, or the state’s corruption watchdog.
“To walk away like this and to spit in our faces and just completely lie, I hope that the Electoral Commission in NSW does investigate this,” he said.
Mr Ashby said he was considering defamation action.
The Australian
One thing’s for sure, there’s never a dull moment when One Nation and Mark Latham are in the house.
