Rarely has the political divide that has opened up in Australia amid the rise of Pauline Hanson and One Nation been so physically apparent as it was inside the Crown Perth ballroom on Tuesday morning.
Whether by design or accident, the audience inside the sold-out venue for Senator Hanson’s first appearance in Australia since her controversial tour to the United Kingdom and Italy was split into two distinct camps: the so-called elites at the front and “Pauline’s deplorables” at the back.
Across the front three rows of tables was the corporate set that are the typical audience for these kinds of business breakfasts, the major companies who don’t think twice about doling out thousands to buy plates of cold bacon and sloppy scrambled eggs for their executives and managers. And across the three rows of tables at the back were hundreds of Hanson supporters who had forked out their own money for the chance to see and hear their saviour in the flesh.
One woman among them had brought her own mini Australian flag to wave at the table. More than a few Akubra hats were spotted, while a few wore the distinct orange One Nation T-shirts.
Anyone who has ever had to attend one of these kinds of breakfasts knows they are measured, mature, somewhat dull affairs. That energy flips when there are a couple of hundred Hanson supporters in the room.
The first hint of the different dynamic came when Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA boss Aaron Morey stepped up to introduce Senator Hanson. He began with an acknowledgement of country – the formal welcome to country that is typically performed at this event was conspicuous in its absence on Tuesday – and was met with a loud shout of “no!” from the back of the room.
But it was during the half-hour question-and-answer session when the differences between the two sections really came to the fore.
As The West Australian’s editor, Chris Dore, began asking questions of Senator Hanson, the tables at the back began to vocally express their views on the merits of each query.
Wholly reasonable questions about the senator’s thoughts on Trump-style immigration policies, her relationship with Gina Rinehart and the funding of her recent European sojourn were all met with jeers from the rear of the crowd. One heckler labelled Dore a “goose”, another called him an “idiot”. Feedback from readers, listeners and viewers has become far more immediate for journalists in the digital age, but not quite like this.
Despite the mocking from the back of the question about whether Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown was a template for Australia, Senator Hanson made it clear she was a fan of the US President’s contentious approach.
“Trump said, okay, all of those in the country illegally, I will give you one week to get out of the country, then you can apply to come back in some time later. But if you don’t go, he said, and we find you, you will never get back in the country again. Over two million booked that one-way ticket, and 600,000 he had rounded up. I think that’s a great way to do it,” she said.
While a lot has changed for Senator Hanson and One Nation this year – most notably the party’s polling figures, which consistently have the party ahead of both Labor and the Coalition – one thing has not.
Just as she has had to many times before, Senator Hanson had to step in to address controversies about her party colleagues and candidates.
Firstly, there was Barnaby Joyce’s “barking mad” moment on the ABC’s 7.30 program, when the MP broke away from a live interview to scream at an off-camera dog to “sit down”. Senator Hanson told the crowd she had laughed when she first saw the now-infamous clip.
“That’s just Barnaby. You know, this is why I love the people around me. We’re just human,” she said.
Perhaps more concerning for the former deputy prime minister, however, was Senator Hanson’s response when asked whether Mr Joyce could be a future leader of her party. She said she had never raised such an outcome with her star recruit.
“It’s something that we haven’t had a full discussion about,” she said when asked if Mr Joyce could be a future One Nation prime minister.
“But what I’m saying at the moment to groups, I’m not advocating Barnaby Joyce to take it over. I’ve led this party. I’ve fought for what we’ve got, I’ve stood my dig on many things, and now I want to make sure that as a team that it’s not about one person, it’s about having people around you.”
One of those looking to become part of Senator Hanson’s team, albeit at a state rather than federal level, is Luke Herdegen, who is hoping to use the upcoming by-election in the seat of Secret Harbour to become One Nation’s first lower house MP in the west.
Speaking to reporters alongside Mr Herdegen following Tuesday’s speech, Senator Hanson was asked about a 2019 social media post by Mr Herdegen in which he described dealing with mental health issues amid a hard-partying lifestyle.
“I was living in London staying between a room I rented in Wimbledon and my multi-millionaire girlfriend’s Mayfair apartment, convincing myself that I had won a real-life game of monopoly,” Mr Herdegen wrote.
“I was doing large amounts of cocaine Thursday through to Sunday, taking Valium to get to sleep and relying on prescription painkillers and expresso (sic) shots to get me through the work week.”
The Business News story revealing the comments was published on Monday afternoon but Senator Hanson said she was unaware of them when she stood next to Mr Herdegen on Tuesday morning.
“This is the first time that I’ve heard about it. It hasn’t been brought to my attention, but I will be asking questions about it,” she said.
Mr Herdegen, meanwhile, made a nervous start to life on the campaign trail, with his legs visibly shaking as he answered questions about his history.
“That’s a story I put out there to help inspire people to live happier and healthier lives. And I think it really did help a lot of people,” he said of his 2019 social media post.
“When I’m out in the community of Secret Harbour, they’re not talking to me about that. They’re talking to me about cost of living, they’re talking to me about the housing issue. It’s not something they’re talking about at all.”
Paul GarveySenior Reporter