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Australian Far-Right party surges
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Posted on Feb 13 2001
By MIKE CORDER
AP Writer
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) – The far-right, anti-immigrant One Nation party has posted strong returns in state elections in Western Australia, rattling opponents and putting it back on the political map less than a year from federal elections.
Leader Pauline Hanson said the party’s popularity was fueled by a wave of illegal immigrants from Indonesia and other Asian countries in recent months.
The Australian government has blamed the illegal immigration partly on new activity by immigrant smuggling rings.
With 80 percent of votes counted, One Nation had polled 9.4 percent statewide and captured as much as 20 percent of the vote in some rural electorates.
Though not enough to win a seat in the state legislature, the showing could give the party considerable influence in deciding close races. The country’s federal elections are expected to be called in October or November.
Last year, Hanson’s party was widely regarded as a spent force – torn apart by infighting and funding scandals. Hanson, the owner of a fish-and-chips restaurant, nearly had to sell her house to bail out the party.
But after the Western Australia vote, she said she never lost faith.
Other candidates called the party’s comeback a shock.
Hanson said the party’s showing should rattle Australia’s political establishment, especially Prime Minister John Howard.
The full result of One Nation’s showing on Western Australia’s 34-seat upper house won’t be known until counting is completed – likely later this week because of Australia’s complex electoral system.
