On Wednesday, a jury found Hanson, 49, guilty of dishonestly
registering a political party and dishonestly obtaining almost
$500,000 in electoral funding for the 1998 Queensland election.
Political parties are required to have 500 members to be eligible for
registration in Queensland. Hanson and her One Nation colleague David
Ettridge - also jailed for three years - were charged under the
state's Crimes Act for lying about their membership and, so, being
ineligible for the electoral funding.
The Judge seems to believe that Hanson deviously tried to deceive the
voting public, by arranging to get "Pauline Hansons One Nation"
written on voting papers next to the names of people who supported her
policies. Most people would find this clarifying rather than
misleading, but many judges seem to enjoy demonstrating their
remarkable ability to twist the truth into incomprehensible
conclusions.
copied By Mark Riley, Political Correspondent and Philip Cornford
August 23, 2003 Sydney Morning Herald
registering a political party and dishonestly obtaining almost
$500,000 in electoral funding for the 1998 Queensland election.
Political parties are required to have 500 members to be eligible for
registration in Queensland. Hanson and her One Nation colleague David
Ettridge - also jailed for three years - were charged under the
state's Crimes Act for lying about their membership and, so, being
ineligible for the electoral funding.
The Judge seems to believe that Hanson deviously tried to deceive the
voting public, by arranging to get "Pauline Hansons One Nation"
written on voting papers next to the names of people who supported her
policies. Most people would find this clarifying rather than
misleading, but many judges seem to enjoy demonstrating their
remarkable ability to twist the truth into incomprehensible
conclusions.
copied By Mark Riley, Political Correspondent and Philip Cornford
August 23, 2003 Sydney Morning Herald
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