by Dean Foley/Australian Correspondent.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has confirmed she “had no concerns whatsoever” about the employment of her national campaign director, in a statement issued shortly after sacking him for the thing she had no concerns about.
A party spokesperson said the vetting process for senior One Nation staff remained “robust”, consisting of one phone call, a vibe check and a final sign-off from whoever happened to be in the room.
“We have an extensive screening procedure” the spokesperson explained. “Step one, we ask if they’re loyal. Step two, there is no step two.”
Senator Hanson told Sky News the scrutiny of her campaign director was the result of “gutter politics”, a phrase she used three times before remembering she was the one who had to sack him.
The party reportedly only became aware of the conviction after a series of journalists, two former candidates, court documents, the original ABC report, the rehiring memo and possibly a brief glance at a search engine alerted them to it.
A senior One Nation insider said the party’s Human Resources strategy was best described as “find out on the news with everyone else”.
Two former candidates have now spoken out, which the party described as “internal disloyalty” and “exactly the kind of accountability we campaign against”.
The Senator is expected to address supporters this week with a speech titled “It Was Everyone Else’s Fault”.
