The first speaker was Jim Miller the president of
the hosts state, New South Wales.
The first speaker was Jim Miller the president of
the hosts state, New South Wales.
Jim welcomed the delegates to the AGM.
Jim was followed
by Pauline Hanson who spoke strongly and from the heart - without
using notes.
"It is not dictatorship it is called leadership," she told the delegates, "When One Nation makes a decision I have to face the results in the media - and I have to be prepared to wear that.
"Join me, stand united and stand strong we are going to give them hell," she said to a standing ovation.
David
Oldfield followed Pauline Hanson talking about the New South Wales state
election and the need for the party to stand together.
He was followed by David Ettridge who talked about the media coverage given to the tiny number of trouble makers who used to be associated with the party. "The media are waiting outside for any fodder that they can for the 6 o'clock news - let's not give them any..."
As he spoke one of them, Terry Sharples, was entertaining the media with a quite bizarre claim that he had been assaulted while trying to register to attend the conference. His claims would make it on national television that night.
"We are a democratic party... eighteen months after registering we are the third biggest party in Australia."
"Don't confuse anything to do with strong leadership and strong management with anything but strong leadership and strong management," Ettridge said.
David Oldfield returned from a confrontation with Terry Sharples and the media telling the delegates, "He (Terry Sharples) is a psychotic. He has a whole day with the media - so the point of view that will appear in the media will be his and his alone. They would have got more accurate feedback by going to a mental home.
"The
media said, 'You are not going to have any trouble today because you are
not willing to let the dissenters in'. I replied, 'You mean that they are
both out here are they (Sharples and Bevan Collingwood)?'"
Image Right Pauline Hanson with Jim Miller
Talking about the federal election Oldfield said "One Nation had to take on nearly 200 sitting MPs each with 3 to 25 staff - totalling about 1,000. Each support staff members has postal allowances, free printing, paper, phone calls ... all against our one office in Ipswich.
"The press are totally bought and paid for - it's a miracle that we are still alive," Oldfield said.
"The
media print lies without checking the facts... all our candidates in the
NSW elections are selected by their branches.
Image left: Chris Spence (Young Nation), Pauline Hanson and David Oldfield.
"When I asked why they print lies a journalist told me, 'I wouldn't ring your organisation to check the facts, they all lie', - this when trying to justify lies in a particular story. We are now seriously considering defamation action.
"I am very confident on One Nation's future. Pauline Hanson will be an MP at the next federal election."
Ron Targett then presented the accounts and fielded questions. He made it quite clear that the books had not been audited and that he was an accountant not an auditor. He said that the australian Electoral Commission could call for the accounts any day of the week and find them to be in order... something he said the major parties would have difficulty in doing.
Next
was Bill Feldman who spoke on the Queensland MPs and the party's six
Private Members Bills currently before the Parliament.
Image right: David Dalgleish (left) with Bill Feldman (right).
He spoke of the MPs who had left the party who were now trying to destroy the organisation and all it stood for. "You cannot be part of the party by walking away. Only One Nation can save this country. This party will not be let down by the remaining five MPs," Feldman said.
On the party's status in Queensland Feldman said, "Beattie put his signature to a document that any party which gains 10% plus of the vote carries full party status. If they try to take that away - our party status - we will fight it every inch of the way."
Feldman is talking about the Au$1.3 million in funding for the party's support resources... and the attempts by Murdoch's Courier-Mail to try to lead an assault against the recognition of One Nation as a party in the Parliament.
After lunch Heather Hill spoke saying, "Most people in One Nation
ranks are loyal to the party but we have others who are only loyal
to themselves."
As she spoke Darrell Wheeley, a Queensland delegate, who had attended the conference and who had joined Terry Sharples outside for lunch was speaking to the media saying that he was "unhappy with the way in which the AGM was being conducted".
"Bill (Feldman) and I are passionate on what we wanted to achieve. Never let go of your objective - leave the argument behind in the room - when we walk out we have got to be united.
"People believe in our objectives - they want us to work as a unified team.
"I will be facing the High Court on March 15th - this will give the NSW election a boost - I am going in on a technicality - to try to have Mr Chuck Hong's challenge against me chucked out."
Next on the podium was Michael Watkins of Watkins, Stokes and Templeton. He talked about the constitution saying that it had been misrepresented by the media (surprise, surprise).
He then referred briefly to the coming court case with Terry Sharples, "there is an issue of litigation that is before the Supreme Court... in a 10 day trial"...
Sharples
is being funded by the Liberal Party in this case... which is little more
than an attempt to financially starve One Nation. Just last Friday, 26th
February, Barbara Hazelton, who had also taken One Nation to court over the
status of the party withdrew her case agreeing to pay the party's costs in
this matter.
Image right: Pauline power - 3341 proxies....
Oldfield went to the podium and proposed the motion that the constitution be put to the membership for discussion. He said that because of the feedback amendments would be made with the revised draft constitution of One Nation being circulated to all branches for feedback... the state representatives would then be involved in the final formulation of the document in about 6 months time.
The motion was unanimously accepted.