Fed: Hanson continues to unsettle major parties
By James Grubel, Chief Political Correspondent
CANBERRA, Aug 29 AAP - Tony Abbott's long-running campaign against Pauline Hanson hasexposed the murky world of backroom politics and the lengths to which politicians willgo to undermine an opponent.
But none of it should come as any surprise.
The workplace relations minister had made his intentions known publicly in 1998.
Back then, the government was heading towards a federal election on the GST package,with fears that One Nation was set to win a swag of seats in Canberra.
Mr Abbott, then a parliamentary secretary who had ministerial aspirations, took onthe task of doing whatever he could to try to stop the Hanson juggernaut.
In June 1998, Mr Abbott told parliament about his concerns about One Nation's party structure.
"Pauline Hanson's political party is not a political party as such, but a company," he said.
"It is not a democracy, but a business. It does not have thousands of members: it hasjust three directors - the Member for Oxley (Hanson), David Oldfield and David Ettridge."
In the same speech, Mr Abbott raised concerns about the $500,000 of public fundingpaid to One Nation following its stunning results in the Queensland state election.
Mr Abbott's dislike of One Nation and its founders was understandable, given his rolein helping to launch the career of David Oldfield.
Mr Oldfield at one time worked as a political staffer for Mr Abbott. And Mr Abbottonce wrote a famous reference for Mr Oldfield - back before Mr Oldfield threw his weightbehind Hanson.
Mr Abbott long ago publicly acknowledged his mistake.
And in many ways, his campaign at the time was seen as an aspiring Liberal trying toatone for his sin of launching David Oldfield onto the national political scene.
Mr Abbott went about hunting down disaffected One Nation members in a bid to uncoverirregularities about the structure of Hanson's party.
That led him to disgruntled One Nation member Terry Sharples, who was contemplatinglegal action against One Nation.
Mr Abbott offered to find free legal counsel for Mr Sharples' case.
And importantly, Mr Abbott offered to underwrite any costs awarded against Mr Sharplesshould he lose and find costs awarded against him.
That offer is at the heart of the campaign Mr Abbott has found himself fighting offfor the past week.
Mr Abbott's biggest sin, it seems, is denying on ABC television that he offered anymoney to Mr Sharples, when he had in fact offered to meet any costs ordered against MrSharples.
Yet within three weeks, Mr Abbott had established the Australians for Political HonestyTrust, which had $100,000 in its kitty to pay for One Nation legal action.
The workplace relations minister is standing by his comment, claiming a subtle differencebetween offering cash and offering to underwrite a legal bill which might not eventuate.
And he says when he spoke to the ABC, he had not set up the trust.
Fast forward five years and Hanson and Ettridge are in jail after being convicted bya criminal court of fraud in relation to $500,000 in state election funding.
The case was run independently of anything Mr Abbott did, and the two were found guiltyby a jury.
Mr Oldfield is now safely ensconced in a seat in the NSW Upper House.
And politicians from both sides of the spectrum are nervous that the publicity overHanson's crime and sentence will rekindle political support for her party.
The Australian Electoral Commission is now re-examining whether Mr Abbott compliedwith electoral rules on the disclosure of political donations.
So far Mr Howard is standing by Mr Abbott's actions.
As he said during the week, there is nothing wrong with doing everything possible tofight a political opponent.
But Mr Abbott has unwittingly undermined the government's softly-softly approach toits battles with One Nation.
After Hanson's conviction a week ago, Mr Howard and a string of ministers have expressedtheir surprise at the severity of the three-year sentence.
Mr Howard has long known that to attack Hanson and One Nation head-on is counterproductive.
Hanson won almost one million votes at the 1998 federal election - an indication thatshe has a lot of political support in the community.
Direct attacks on Hanson and One Nation tended to shore up the party's political support.
Mr Howard's broader objective has always been to win those voters back to the fold.
That, in some ways, could explain why the government did not want to be seen to becelebrating Hanson's latest downfall.
But in the past week, Labor and Mr Sharples have tried to lay the blame for Hanson'sdownfall directly at the feet of Mr Abbott.
And Opposition Leader Simon Crean has also used the week to launch further attackson government credibility, claiming Mr Abbott and Mr Howard are guilty of misleading thepublic.
If Hanson's new status as a political martyr lasts until the next election, the eventsof the past week could have serious repercussions when it comes to securing preferencesfrom One Nation supporters.
Even from a jail cell, and five years after she last held a seat in parliament, PaulineHanson still has the ability to unsettle the major players.
AAP jg/sb/bwl
KEYWORD: NEWSCOPE FEDERAL (AAP NEWS ANALYSIS)
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