The Pauline Hanson Story ... by the man who knows

The Pauline Hanson Story ... by the man who knows
by John Pasquarelli

Why has such an inadequate politician, Pauline Hanson aroused such ire in her brief and probably soon to be forgotten public career?  One has to search hard in John Pasquarelli's book to find an answer.  It is essentially a diarised account of the life of a very private person who finds herself in the middle of a very public debate into a nasty can of worms, in which she acts as nothing more than a tin opener.  By contrast, the author is a very robust character, used to public life, with very definite opinions, and apparently in control of his difficult charge.  But in the end she sacks him.  He is not a happy man, and I have some sympathy for him.

Pasquarelli is clearly a good political mechanic, with plenty of experience in the game, including a stint as a member of the PNG House of Assembly 1964-1968, and in 1987 as the Liberal candidate for the Federal seat of Jagajaga against Peter Staples.  He is also a very old style kind of bloke when it comes to women, his comments on "handling" Pauline are classics!  "I felt like a gun horse-breaker unable to get a bridle on a flighty and stubborn filly", and "I felt ... just like the trainer who gets a problem filly up to win her maiden race ..."  He was also a patrol officer in PNG, and no doubt this experience shaped his views on military service, Asian immigration, and aborigines, all familiar Hansonite themes.

His descriptions of the herd mentality of the electronic and print media, and for their ability to contrive a story where none existed, are worth noting.  The Australian newspaper's headline, "Liberal reject proclaims a victory for the 'white community' " belies the transcript version in the book where Hanson calls for people to "work together as one" on racial discrimination.  Eighteen months later the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission found that the transcript of interview, as opposed to the published edit was not racially discriminatory.  The ABC and Courier Mail gatecrashed what was to be a private meeting between Hanson and the elders of Purga mission just outside Ipswich.  The elders hurled racial abuse at Hanson, calling her "white trash".  These words were not relayed in the media reports.  The Courier Mail journalist, who when tackled later by Pasquarelli, stated "But what's so bad about white trash?"  Imagine if Hanson had used such language.  Noel Pearson's comment that supporters of the Wik legislation were "racist scum" virtually put him out of business overnight.  To not run the anti-Hanson comment was an act of bias.

There is little that I now know of Pauline that I did not, or rather could not have found out by watching endless television interviews, or reading copious magazine interviews with the painfully inarticulate and wooden Member for Oxley.  However, the one valuable insight of the book on Hanson as politician is the reflection on Pauline's reluctance to run for the Senate.  Clearly, Hanson feels inadequate to assume greater responsibility, she is poorly read, poorly disciplined, and is not at ease outside her own circle, and as a Senator possibly holding the balance of power she would be totally out of her league.  Indeed, Pasquarelli's advice on politically destroying Hanson is sound, "the more Pauline is exposed to public and media scrutiny, the more her intellectual shortcomings are revealed".

If nothing else it proves that whatever ones views about politics, or who one identifies with as best representing ones interests, the person has to have sufficient intelligence to be a representative.  It is no paradox that working class Labor branch members select articulate, well educated often middle class representatives.  Such people come to the job best equipped, Pauline just does not have the goods.

The other valuable insight of the Hanson phenomenon is that while Pauline Hanson appeared in Ipswich, it could have happened in Townsville or Gladstone or elsewhere.  If a dumped Liberal candidate, whose name remained on the ballot paper as an endorsed candidate, with the fortuitous flow of preferences from minor parties, including the Australian Democrats, and a weak sitting member, and in the circumstances of the last Federal election anything was possible.

These towns are full of people who feel very threatened by what they see going on around them.  They may or may resent the usual class enemies, the bosses and owners, but they certainly feel uncomfortable with those in a similar position, recent immigrants and aborigines.  Rather than play the script laid out for them, hating those above, they choose their own enemies, those below.  Why do they do this?  I think Pasquarelli knows.  His description of the events at Palm Island when Charles Perkins and Pauline Hanson debated aboriginal drunkenness, in front of the 60 Minutes cameras is worthwhile recalling, "White Australians have become accustomed to images of their drunken black brothers and have become so over-exposed to the problem through the media that they don't wish to become involved at any level.  White Australians have enough of their own demons to conquer."

Howard's battler's, Labor's old base, want to know that everyone has attempted to solve their own problem, not just been good at lobbying government to ensure what they assert as their due is granted.  The task of the anti-Hansonites is to convince her supporters that each person has an obligation to tackle their own "demons".  A lot less aboriginal leadership press conferences from Canberra, and a lot more leadership in the townships and out-stations will knock the hard edge off the so-called race debate.

I do not put much weight on Pasquarelli's predictions.  For instance, that "a National party backbencher in Queensland and two Liberal backbenchers in NSW are planning to switch to One Nation close to polling day.  The three first-timers intend resigning from their respective parties and joining One Nation after nominations have closed.  The tactics will imitate the scenario that led to Pauline Hanson's election, but may not necessarily have the same result."  There is a world of difference between a candidate being dumped by a big party and a big party Member resigning.  The Member would be (quite rightly) wiped out at the polls.

If Pasquarelli's book is valuable for just one message it is this.  It was not an emotionally and intellectually stunted political fluke who caused the capture of Australia's attention for over two years, it was a slumbering and self-deluded leadership class who had confidently mapped out a new future for the country but forgot to ask if it was okay for those who could not find a convenient label by which they could sell their political wares.

The forthcoming election is another chance for leaders to spend a lot less time preaching about how they expect others to behave, and a lot more demonstrating how a lot of little people feel left out.  The prize of government goes to the one who gets it right.  Read Pasquarelli if you are unsure.

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