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Wednesday 10th September 1997
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Last week, in Parliament, Ms Hanson spoke about the destruction of jobs through the dismantling of tariff structures.
Last night the founder of GloWeave a company which once employed 700 staff explained how he was closing down his Australian operation and would have his shirts made in the Philippines for Au$2.20 each (thanks to cheap labour) compared to the Au$13.90 per unit that he pays here in Australia.
A draft commission report into tariffs had recommended that they be dropped in this industry from 37% to just 5% by the year 2008.
The report drew an immediate response from the industry as well as unions who said that the proposed move would cost 10s of thousands of Australian jobs - mainly taken up by migrant labour unable to find work elsewhere.
If the tariff reductions had been adopted a large number of the remaining industries in this sector warned that they would go off-shore to seek out cheaper labour.
Yesterday Pauline Hanson failed to front up to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) hearing in Brisbane to hear trumped up charges against her rising out of a comment that she made over a year ago.
Sir Ronald Wilson, the HREOC Commissioner, could recommend to the Director of Public Prosecutions that the Member for Oxley be charged for refusing to appear before him.
Pauline Hanson's chief adviser, David Oldfield, said yesterday, "She has done nothing wrong. I have advised the Human Rights Commission that if Sir Ronald Wilson comes up with any verdict that is adverse to Pauline Hanson that would be a clear indication of bias, because her innoncence is quite clear."
Yesterday Ms Hanson's former speech writer and mate of John Pasquarelli, Jeffry Babb, failed in an unfair dismissal claim after Judicial Registrar Frances Millane dismissed the matter because Babb was on probation at the time of his sacking by Ms Hanson.
Of course this was not even mentioned in an article in today's Courier Mail which centered on Pasquarelli compensation packet and anything negative that they could dig up on Hanson.
Much was made by Pasquarelli of the pay out that the government will make to him in settlement of his "unfair dismissal" case by Pauline Hanson. The call has been picked up by the anti-Hanson tirade that continues in News Limited papers with today's Courier Mail trumpeting the claim under the heading: "Govt to foot bill for Hanson settlement".
Pasquarelli is still bitter about being evicted from Parliament after being dismissed saying yesterday, "I won't forgive her for that. I won't be treated like she treated me, by anyone. So they'll cop what I serve up to them, right?"
Pasquarelli took the opportunity to tell the media that his 106,000 word book on Ms Hanson, which he describes as "pretty brutal" was finished last Friday.
"It's not a sugar coated, spewing biography. You won't see Pauline on the beach at the age of six" he said in obvious reference to Ms Hanson's official biography which is to be released at the end of next month.
Pasquarelli confirmed that his payout was less than Au$100,000 and that the government would foot the bill. "Everything's on the public purse, her air fares down to Melbourne, her accommodation. Pauline Hanson had the Commonwealth with its deep pockets. She had legal advice running at several thousand dollars a day, paid by the tax payers. I have to pay my legal bills out of any settlement."
"It's a bit of a stacked system isn't it?" Pasquarelli said.
Obviously money is of great concern to Pasquarelli who said, "Depending upon the commercial success and the things that flow from it, I might have to say "thank you" to Pauline for sacking me."
Sums up the whole beat up by the local media who almost gave this issue as much coverage as the cost of the aborted state CJC commission in Queensland which cost state tax payers an estimated Au$11 million.
The Sunday Mail story on my company GWB "linking a compromising picture" took an ironic turn yesterday with one of my staff pointing out the following advertisement about "sustaining an erection" right below the story.
Kind of sums up the angle of this weekly publication...
Yesterday my third challenge in a letter to Ipswich's Queensland Times to the Australian Labor Party to give me a public forum to demonstrate that their party was promoting the equivalent of the left wing "Nazi" party went unheard.
Not surprising actually, because it is true.
Making the
news" -
Dear Sir,
I am gratified to see Ms Hanson raising the issue of tariffs as I believe that it is an issue that goes to the heart of the current problems that assail our country. I, and 99% of the other people that I work with are quite willing to pay more for goods made in Australia to maintain our standard of living and to give our kids a future. We are tired of the old line "Things are about to improve" as pushed for the last 15 years by successive governments. If they had the wit to remove their heads from wherever they keep them and look honestly at the state of things in this country then it would be as obvious to them as it is to ordinary people that what they are doing is hurting this country's people. It may make them feel good to travel the world begging but it shames the rest of us.
I am a union member and I would like to assure you that none of the unionists that I know and or work with support Bill Kelty's pathetic crawling display at the ACTU conference last week. The feeling here is that if Mr. Kelty wants to make political statements on behalf of rank and file unionists, then he should have the manners to ascertain our thoughts first; the fact is that none of us elected him to speak for us. His fawning over Kim Beazley at the same conference sickened we who are suffering because of the stupid flat-earth policies inflicted on this country by Labor and refined by the coalition. From the perspective of a rank and file unionist it appears to me that the ACTU is all about training Labor politicians for safe seats than anything to do with ordinary members security or conditions. I am confident that Ms Hanson's support for maintaining jobs for Australians will be supported by many unionists.
I am employed in an export oriented industry and every time I see another load of coal going away I cant help but wonder why we are not using it to build industries here.
Thank you.
Frank
However, it is now so dry that fires are breaking out all over south east Queensland. A spot of rain would be nice.
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