Qld: Hanson in yet another tilt to revive political career
By Gabrielle Dunlevy, Jessica Marszalek and Steve Gray24 Feb 2009 6:49 PM
EDS: Adds pars on Cate Molloy's decision to stand as an independent candidate
BRISBANE, Feb 24 AAP - Pauline Hanson, one of the most divisive figures in Australia's modern political history, will have yet another crack at reviving her political career.
The indefatigable One Nation founder has confirmed she'll make her ninth bid for public office, running as an independent in the March 21 Queensland state election.
The 54-year-old former Ipswich fish-and-chip shop owner on Tuesday told AAP she would contest the poll but refused to reveal details of her campaign, including her target seat, until Monday.
Celebrity agent Max Markson told AAP he would act as Ms Hanson's media strategist on a pro-bono basis.
"I will be standing," Ms Hanson said.
"I'm sorry that I'm quite evasive about this at the moment, but there's a lot happening and I just can't say too much."
It's her first tilt at Queensland's parliament after a career spent serving in, or vying for, positions at all three levels of government.
She came to fame in 1996 when she was disendorsed by the Liberal Party for advocating the abolition of welfare for Aborigines but went on to win the federal seat of Oxley and sit as an independent.
The One Nation party she later founded on a populist anti-immigration platform went on to garner enough support to rattle the political establishment.
In 1998, at the height of the right-wing party's popularity, One Nation won 25 per cent of the vote at the Queensland state election, taking 11 of the 89 seats.
But only one MP remains, Rosa Lee Long in north Queensland, and she will be fighting for her political life in the electorate of Dalrymple.
Confirmation that Ms Hanson will run came as a former Labor MP Cate Molloy and ex-Liberal National Party (LNP) frontbencher, Stuart Copeland, announced they would stand as independent candidates.
Ms Molloy, who served two terms representing Labor, will nominate as an independent in Noosa, taking on sitting LNP member Glen Elmes.
First elected for Labor in 2001 and re-elected in 2004, Ms Molloy was disendorsed and then resigned from the ALP over her opposition to the contentious Traveston Dam proposal.
She said she would campaign on a number of local issues, including an end to the Traveston Dam project and fixing transport problems.
Mr Copeland, who was previously seen as a future party leader before being left without a seat after Cunningham was abolished in the recent redistribution, will run for the seat of Condamine against LNP member Ray Hopper.
He said his first priority had to be serving the community, with the party coming second.
The LNP suffered further distraction when its biggest financial backer, mining magnate Clive Palmer, called off a proposed media conference due to what a spokesman said was "an urgent business matter".
Questioned about the scrapped media event, LNP leader Lawrence Springborg told reporters he was unaware of Mr Palmer's reason for calling it off.
"I have no real knowledge of what that might be about," he said.
Premier Anna Bligh said the LNP was "unstable" under Mr Springborg's leadership.
"I don't think Queensland can risk an unstable team that ... is already beginning to fracture," she told reporters in Townsville.
The first full day of campaigning focused on health and jobs, with Labor announcing payroll tax relief for businesses taking on apprentices and the LNP reiterating its support for two separate children's hospitals, rather than the government's proposed single mega-hospital.
Questioned about her tax plans, Ms Bligh said she could not rule out any rises or new taxes.
"Any treasurer, any government, right now in these incredibly unpredictable times, is not in a position to rule anything out," Ms Bligh said.
But Mr Springborg pledged to put a hold on taxes.
"We have no plans for new taxes and we would be very reluctant to actually increase taxes," he said.
Ms Bligh woke to news her party was ahead in the polls, with a Newspoll giving Labor a 53-47 lead on a two-party-preferred basis.
But she told reporters it would be a "knife-edge election".
