Comment:
To understand the blatant hypocrisy of the trashy joke called The Courier-Mail when it talks about "While One Nation did have one positive impact on the body politic - forcing people in the established parties to listen to the voices of those left behind..." consider the opinion pieces run by the editorial staff in the lead up to the June 1998 State Election.... opinion pieces in which they tried to use their media clout to intimidate the Liberal party into putting "the people's voice" last.
You can take this link to view, for yourself, the articles run by The Courier-Mail attempting to publicly intimidate the Liberal party... the same paper which is now attempting to re-write history to suit their media-master Murdoch again.
Charles Rappolt resigned because of the highly irregular publication, by the Courier-Mail, of a domestic violence order statement, in breach of a Supreme Court ruling. Earlier this year then One Nation leader Bill Feldman was to refer to the Courier-Mail "the Murderoch media" after Rappolt committed suicide in New Zealand - his suicide was clearly related to the aggressive campaign by Murdoch's "Labor-mates" lackeys to discredit those who were involved with the people's party.
See this link to see what One Nation said about Rappolt's resignation at this time.
Now over to an intellectual prostitute:
Editorial, The Courier-Mail, December 17, 1999 (understood to be written by an ALP henchman - ex-Wayne Goss media adviser, Dennis Atkinson)
Just 19 months ago Pauline Hanson's One Nation party sent a seismic shock through Australian politics when it achieved the most stunning electoral debut in the nation's history, capturing 11 seats in the Queensland Legislative Assembly after receiving support from almost one in four voters.
Now the party has no representation in the state Parliament: Charles Rappolt quit his seat a year ago citing stress (he later took his own life) and five of the remaining MPs later revolted against the undemocratic and unaccountable structure of the party. The other five politicians have now had themselves sacked from One Nation when they proposed a new party separate from two of the controllers of the party, New South Wales MP David Oldfield and director David Ettridge. Ms Hanson supported her loyal lieutenants, alienating her from the Queensland MPs.
Bill Feldman and his four associates will go to the next Queensland poll under the banner of City Country Alliance, while the five former One Nation MPs will go their own way as independents or under yet a further splinter banner such as Jeff Knuth's Country Party. Whether distancing themselves from Ms Hanson will be an electoral asset or a liability remains to be seen, although she still has some appeal as witnessed by the million-plus votes her name attracted at the last federal election.
These latest events answer critics who derided the media generally, and the Courier-Mail in particular, for questioning the background and motives of people like Mr Oldfield and Mr Ettridge.
There is no doubt the voter anger and alienation is still alive in parts of Queensland and Australia. The question of where these votes go - and, more importantly, where their preferences end up - will determine the outcome of both the next federal and state polls.
While One Nation did have one positive impact on the body politic - forcing people in the established parties to listen to the voices of those left behind - the fundamental lesson of One Nation's failure to last as a viable political force is that no party can succeed without standing for something. One Nation's essential message was that it was against everything - economic reform, privatisation, immigration, free trade and rights for minorities. But it never had a positive agenda, something that meant there were no core beliefs around which its membership and supporters could unite.
The One Nation MPs and their followers have discovered that anger might attract other dissident voices but it is not a positive vehicle for change. The MPs - either those in the new City Country Alliance or the disparate independents - can have no pride in what has happened. They have betrayed and failed the Queenslanders who voted for them. There are only two explanations for the brief history of One Nation in the Queensland Parliament - either Mr Feldman and whos crew set out to deliberately dupe the voters or they were fools used as money-spinners for Mr Oldfield and Mr Ettridge.