Hanson Is Seniors' Cup Of Tea
Illawarra Mercury
Thursday September 10, 1998
Asked why she liked Pauline Hanson, the 83-year-old Gatton nursing home resident was blunt.
``She'll take the money off those Abos," the frail elderly woman declared, before qualifying her response by adding that Aboriginal funding was not reaching those most in need.
It was being siphoned off, she said, by what Ms Hanson repeatedly refers to as the Aboriginal industry.
It's the sort of extreme sentiment the One Nation leader hopes to tap into on Friday when she launches her Aboriginal affairs policy.
Campaigning in rural Gatton yesterday, deep in the heart of Blair, the seat she hopes to win on October 3, Ms Hanson was content to listen to the concerns of residents at the Amaroo Nursing Home while giving little away about the policy.
But earlier on radio she was more forthcoming about the line she would be taking and the constituency at which she would be aiming.
Ms Hanson said she wanted to expose abuses in the Aboriginal industry.
``The whole thing to do with the native (land) ... claims and the rights of the Aboriginal people of this country are so detrimental to all Australians," she said.
``I don't believe they can be swept under the carpet. They need to be exposed ... and people must be made aware."
She cared about Aboriginal people, she said. It was those who were feeding off them she wanted to expose.
``There's people out there feeding off an industry, people out there lining their own pockets, people who were put in positions to help the Aboriginal people, but they haven't," she said.
``The people are worse off now than what they were 20 years ago - why? And I want to know where has all the money gone."
The Aboriginal policy launch in the western Queensland town of Longreach has been viewed by some as a bid by the Hanson team to get her campaign back on track after widespread criticism of One Nation's two per cent Easytax.
Support for One Nation has taken a dip in the latest national opinion poll and another poll has put the Coalition in front in Blair.
Ms Hanson yesterday dismissed the poll results, adopting the same line as almost every campaigning political leader since the dawn of time - the only vote that counts is the vote on the day.
© 1998 Illawarra Mercury
