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Monday, 13 February 2017
Page: 687

Senator HANSON (Queensland) (17:20): I just cannot get over the sheer arrogance of senators in this place. It is like: 'You can't come in here. You're not allowed to. This is our territory. This belongs to the Liberals, Labor and the National Parties.' It has been a two-party system in this country for so long, and the public has had a gutful of it.

Earlier I raised the issue of Evan Moorhead; he rang and spoke to us about preferences. Labor was trying to get other preference deals with One Nation. It was Labor's slippery suggestion to meet and discuss Western Australian preferences to us through the Mineral Council. They wanted to have an underhanded meeting with us through the Mineral Council because they did not want to approach us directly. He actually said to my staffer: 'This is going to be off the record. If ever it is raised and I am asked the question "Are we going to do preference deals?", I am going to say, " No".' My staffer said in return, 'Well, we don't play those sorts of games. We are up-front and honest.'

Senator Dastyari interjecting—

The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Marshall ): Order!

Senator HANSON: That is what they were wanting to do. The Labor Party through the Mineral Council approached us to do a preference deal with them when we were over in WA. That is the case.

You are trying to make out that you are all so goody-two-shoes in this chamber but the fact is that what both sides of the parliament have done to me over the years—and I will tell you what Peter Beattie did too. After I was chased and hounded and criminal charges were laid against me, Peter Beattie changed the laws in Queensland just prior to my trial to make the jail term seven years retrospectively instead of six months. You have bent over backwards to try and get rid of me all these years because you never wanted to see One Nation in here. You knew the support that we were getting then and you know the support that we are still getting in this country right across the board—the polls are showing it—and you are terrified of it. Yes, we are a threat to you and it is about time because people want a change. They are sick and tired of it. You have a go at me and my policies about multiculturalism. We are multiracial, but, at the end of the day, we should all be treated the same equally under the one law. We are Australians. I have never ever said any different. (Time expired)