Pauline Hanson's daughter Lee Hanson vows political comeback after failed Senate tilt
After weeks of counting, the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed the six senate vacancies were won by Labor's Carol Brown and Richard Dowling, Greens senator Nick McKim, Liberal senators Claire Chandler and Richard Colbeck, as well as firebrand senator Jacqui Lambie.
Despite early fears that Ms Hanson could topple Senator Lambie, the first-time contender came in seventh and fell short of a seat.
Speaking to NewsWire on Wednesday, Ms Hanson said that despite only running a four-week campaign, she was able to amass a 'phenomenal' amount of support, and vowed a return to politics.
'I'm only getting started … There's such a need for effective change and adequate representation in parliament,' she said.
'I've got three years now to campaign if I choose to run in the next federal election … I'll continue to work with them regardless, and do what I can to support them regardless of holding a federal position or not.'
Ms Hanson, who resigned from a senior role with Hydro Tasmania to run in the federal election, wouldn't rule out becoming a political staffer for One Nation, stating she was 'keeping all options open'.
'I don't know what the future is going to hold now. They're all decisions I'll need to make over the coming weeks and months,' she said.
Ms Hanson said her four-week campaign had revealed people had several 'misconceptions' about One Nation, specially that the party was only 'Queensland relevant'.
'We do look at localised issues and advocate for localised issues as well as common national stances as well,' she said.
'The ones that typically do get a run in the media are immigration and things ... but if you look at the solutions and the policy offerings of One Nation, they're far (reaching).'
She also accused media of pitting her against Senator Lambie, stating comments from Senator Hanson stating that she wants 'to see her (Senator Lambie) gone' were made through her mother's 'own working experience with Jacqui in the Senate'.
'That's the spin that they (the media) pushed … even though it was never (part of) any agenda or any message I tried to put out in any way, shape or form,' she said.
While Ms Hanson said she had never had any contact with or spoken to Senator Lambie, she wished her well and called on her to '(listen) to the 'feedback she's received through the election period'.
'I did hear that many Tasmanians did not feel that Jacqui was representing them adequately, and those who did vote for me wanted a change,' she said.
'There's number of reasons why they didn't feel she was representing them, I know, specifically in the salmon industry.'
Following confirmation of the Senate result, Senator Lambie, who has previously said this six-year term would be her last, vowed to fight for Tasmanian people 'doing it tough'.
'Interest rates are coming down and that's good, but for many Tasmanian families it will barely touch the sides,' she said.
'I want to ensure the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide are implemented properly and that they make a real difference to the lives of veterans and their families.'
Following the federal election, Labor now holds four of the 12 Tasmanian Senate positions, while the Liberals have four.
The Greens hold two seats, with the remaining spots held by independent Tammy Tyrell and Senator Lambie.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

News.com.au
25 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Labor's handling of algal bloom disaster ‘woefully inadequate', Ley says
Labor's response to South Australia's algal bloom disaster is 'woefully inadequate', Sussan Ley says. The Albanese government has been accused of dragging its heels on a federal response to the bloom, with Environment Minister Murray Watt hesitant to call it a natural disaster, even as thousands of marine animals wash up on South Australian beaches. Senator Watt announced on Thursday that he had asked for a review into disaster classifications, similar to one that took place after the Black Saturday bushfires. But the Opposition Leader said it 'sounds like the sort of bureaucratic explanation the Labor Party would use'. Speaking to the ABC from Adelaide, Ms Ley said the Albanese government had 'a long list of excuses they've been making for not acting on something that has captured every single South Australian'. 'I'm looking forward to meeting the people who are hurting so badly in these regional communities today,' she told the national broadcaster. 'The response so far from the government has been woefully inadequate. 'This is a natural disaster and it is a national disaster.' She also called out Senator Watt directly, accusing him of dodging whether Anthony Albanese would bring extra federal funding when he visits South Australia next week. 'Don't wait for the Prime Minister to come for a pic-op,' Ms Ley said. 'Actually deliver the support now if you know it's coming and help ease the pressure, including the real financial pressure, that these communities are facing. 'This is just not good enough.' Appearing on the ABC shortly before her, Senator Watt said there was 'no doubting whatsoever that this is a very severe environmental event'. 'On the natural disaster declaration, and I realise there's been many calls for that to occur,' he said. 'This is much more like a drought, in the sense that it is a long-running event and builds up over time. 'We're waiting for weather conditions to intervene before it ends and that's quite different to what we think of as a natural disaster and the rapid onset like floods and cyclones and bushfires that come through an area, leave a trail of destruction and move on. 'That's not the kind of situation we're dealing with here and that's why we've come up with a support package which is probably a bit more like how we respond to droughts with state and federal governments responding to thinking about the short-term needs and long-term needs.' Senator Watt added that he had not 'spent too much time into how to jam this event into particular definitions'. 'What I've been trying to do is come up with the money to support South Australians and get expert advice on what the impact will be,' he said.

News.com.au
25 minutes ago
- News.com.au
NSW trucking company DJK Transport goes bust after 57 years
An Australian trucking company has gone into liquidation after almost 60 years in business. DJK Transport entered voluntary liquidation on Friday, after a restructuring practitioner was appointed in June. The business is listed as being based out of Austral in southwest Sydney, and according to their website has been a 'trusted transport service since 1968'. DJK Transport provided local and interstate freight and distribution, including trailers, tautliners, and flat-top trucks, according to their website. The company previously undertook mine-related freight work, as well as freight work for distribution centres for chain supermarkets and department stores. A liquidation notice posted to ASIC revealed that it was resolved at a general meeting on August 8 that the company be wound up. Danny Tony Vrkic was appointed liquidator. It comes after a further two transport companies entered voluntary liquidation on Friday, including AKG Trucking and Round Em Up Transport.

News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
What Australia's neo-Nazis, marching at 1am, really want
Masked men dressed in black marching through the streets of Australia's second largest city. It's not the first time it's happened and it won't be the last — part of a carefully choreographed, orchestrated campaign to strike fear into the hearts of Australians but also to recruit sympathetic new members to their cause. The neo-Nazis' chilling parade through Melbourne at 1am on Saturday morning led the Victorian Premier to label them 'goons' who 'don't belong in this country'. But that type of reaction is exactly what they came for. The National Socialist Network and its leader, Tom Sewell, want two things. They want to establish an extremely conservative white ethno-state, which means there is no room for other ethnicities or anyone not heterosexual, and they want to recruit new members. It's why they've tried to claim a viral protest against mass immigration on August 31st as their own — a move that's been met with ire on social media and claims of 'hijacking by extremists'. On Saturday, NSN members from around the country gathered in country Victoria for their 'national conference' — one held at a caravan park in Ballan. Approximately 250 white nationalists were in attendance. Anti-fascist researchers from the White Rose Society, an organisation that has been studying neo-Nazis for several years, told they want to 'clear the country of their perceived enemies — Jews, Muslims, Asians and anyone not white and right-wing'. Importantly, they said they are careful about what they discuss in public — and it's not the same as what they say privately. 'In public they talk about 'remigration' — but we know in private they talk about executions and mass murder. 'Remigration' is a sanitised word for genocide. 'To achieve their long term goals, they want to recruit members and sway public opinion in their favour. They do that through public stunts and sparking outrage.' That's exactly what followed their march through the streets on Saturday morning, just as it did when they turned up at the 3am outside Northland Shopping Centre to unveil a racist banner. Again, they were dressed in black, with their faces covered. And again their message would have found a home with disenfranchised youth. The White Rose Society said the group's national conferences are always paired with 'some public stunt'. 'On previous occasions, state police in NSW and SA have disrupted these stunts so this time the group went 'sneaky Nazi' and filtered into Melbourne city in small groups, seemingly escaping police notice,' they said. 'The neo-Nazis are claiming the march as a victory because they were unimpeded and their actions received widespread media coverage. However, what they don't want us to notice is that after five years of working hard to expand, they had around 100 men marching.' The spokesperson said 'it's not the victory they claim at all' but 'does follow a new pattern — one of their stunts was at 3am'. The careful image the NSN is trying to establish, one that includes members posing with their children in T-shirts that read 'I heil Hitler', is not the same as what is known about white supremacists more widely. 'There are many aspects of their beliefs and behaviours that neo-Nazis do not want known,' the White Rose Society said. 'They operate like a cult and they prey on vulnerable teenagers, both male and female. They actively work to isolate members from any family that might challenge their extremist beliefs. 'The role they map out for young teenage women is to drop out of school and work and become stay-at-home mothers, in service to their extremist husbands. 'This is to ensure that the young men don't leave the organisation. Some of the leaders and prominent members have publicly condoned marriage for 14-year-old girls and 16-year-old boys.' has seen a Telegram message from a member of the NSN that read: 'My argument was that it's not pedophilia even if it's abnormal, and I said that it should be up to the parents when their daughter is old enough to marry but to say that it's pedophilia is (wrong) because they are child bearing age and by Catholic canon law 14 is the age when it's permissible for women to marry.' Another tactic used by the NSN, according to the researchers, is to encourage young members to cause trouble in public. 'The leaders tolerate young members engaging in behaviour such as spraying racist graffiti, trolling vulnerable people on the street, wearing offensive clothing,' they said. 'This results in criminal convictions and brings the offender further into the neo-Nazi fold.' They said the group's numbers are 'increasing steadily' and it is 'unknown' how many supporters they have away from public activities'. 'It's important to explain that they are actual Nazis — it's not just an insult or a term used loosely. They worship Hitler.' The right-wing August 31 march, which has police in Australia's capital cities on alert, has links to the NSN. It has been organised by what can be described as Nazi-adjacent agitators who do the work of the neo-Nazis but don't describe themselves as national socialists. In a post on Telegram, Tom Sewell wrote about the event: 'After only just arriving home from our summit today, I have been informed that foreign fifth columns are attempting to hijack our August 31st public rally for Australia. 'White Australians must assemble on August 31st against the traitors and foreigners who are trying to destroy our great nation.' But groups like Reignite Democracy, which sprung up against 'tyranny' during the pandemic, are furious about the link. '31st August is ruined,' the group wrote on social media. 'It had great potential, but something went wrong. Whether it was planned by extremists or hijacked by extremists, it doesn't matter. When the leader of the Nazis claims it as his event, there's no coming back from there. 'Direct your anger at him for ruining it, not me and others who are risking backlash to tell you the truth. 'I told you what I knew so you were well-informed before attending. If you want to march behind these masked extremists, go for it, that's your choice … but I won't stand by and say nothing just to appease 'the mob'.'