One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has clashed with a female journalist in Perth after raising over one million dollars in a single day from voters to run a 'Fire the Liar' campaign against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Senator Hanson had raised more than $1.5 million by the early hours of Thursday morning to campaign against the Prime Minister. But as the One Nation leader flew to Western Australia on a Virgin flight, a Channel Nine reporter hit her with a bizarre line of questioning.
"Why didn't you fly Gina's jet?" the reporter asked. "Did you fly cattle class?" Senator Hanson's chief of staff James Ashby can be heard muttering "what a stupid question" as he films the exchange.
"I'm not answering those stupid questions. Get some credibility about you as a journalist and learn respect as well," Senator Hanson shot back.
Mining tycoon Gina Rinehart recently gifted Senator Hanson access to a brand-new Cirrus G7 private plane for campaigning, prompting questions at the airport over why she was flying on a budget airline. The donated aircraft that Senator Hanson did not use to fly to Perth is valued at up to $2.1 million and is designed to help her get to remote regional towns ahead of the next federal election.
The video, shared by the One Nation leader, zoomed in on the journalist's smile after she asked the question.
The One Nation leader has plenty to smile about this week though after raising an extraordinary sum in less than 24 hours to fight the Labor Party. Embracing the crowdfunding tactics she previously slammed as "disgusting", One Nation left the Labor Party shocked on Wednesday night after voters backed the campaign in a big way.
The fundraising grudge match kicked off after the leader of the ALP emailed members asking for cash to "stop One Nation" prompting Senator Hanson to blow up. The campaign site at 7pm on Wednesday recorded $1,005,910 in donations.
"As of lunchtime today One Nation's 'Fire the Liar' campaign has burst past $500,000 in grass-roots donations from Australians on its way to the $1 million target," Senator Hanson said. "Albo and his MPs lie and cheat Aussies out of home ownership, a decent standard of living and a comfortable retirement. One Nation has proven we can win lower house seats – so it's time to target Labor-held seats," she wrote in a post to social media.
Privately, the Labor Party raised questions over whether the tally was accurate, but One Nation's IT boffins confirmed it was an accurate count of the donations. "I'll let Pauline Hanson engage in negative activity. What I'm doing here is actually doing something real for people," Mr Albanese said.
Last week, Senator Hanson slammed her critics as "bastards" amid allegations she's been AWOL at Senate estimates as her party overtakes Labor in the polls. Senator Hanson says her attendance at Senate estimates is less important than getting out to speak to Australians.
A series of new polls suggests the veteran MP is now the most popular leader of the most popular political party in the country. But her rising popularity comes despite Labor claims she's been absent from 88 per cent of Senate estimate hearing days over the past decade.
In response, she insisted Queenslanders were better off with her travelling around the state and listening to voters rather than asking questions of bureaucrats who "have been told not to answer the questions". "These bastards, all they are worried about is trying to kick me in the guts to make out that I'm not doing anything," she said. "I'm getting the answers from the Australian people, directly from them, and that's what a lot of these politicians don't do."
"They'll say my voting record was down because there are things that I don't need to be there for," she said. "It's not legislation that's going to change the country, it's all parliamentary procedures and that type of thing, or calling for documentation, so it's not important."
Barnaby Joyce said One Nation is delighted by recent polls but conceded they are "an indicator, not a vote". According to the latest Redbridge Group/Accent Research poll, published by the Australian Financial Review, support for One Nation has risen four points to 31 per cent. Labor's primary vote is at 28 per cent, and the Coalition has crashed to 20 per cent.
"I have always said the polls are only polls, but it's clear Australia is asking for a different direction," Senator Hanson said. "I want to thank you for your support, and the One Nation team will be working hard to help this country every day."
One Nation's Barnaby Joyce said the polls were "an indicator, not a vote", and the party was delighted but not arrogant. "It's not One Nation that's changed. It's the Australian public that's changed, and they've changed in waves," he told Sunrise. "It's not an aberration. It's real."
