By LIAM DURKIN
YOU just know Ned Flanders would be a One Nation voter.
Morwell welcomed a turnout of around 50 people to hear from local One Nation members at the weekend.
The crowd was mostly hardcore conservatives over the age of 60, decked out in flannel shirts and MAGA-style hats representing the ‘salt of the Earth’ types the party appeals to.
As polls keep indicating however, support for One Nation is growing, as more and more people from all walks of life switch allegiances.
This was exemplified by one woman in attendance, who wore a ‘let women speak’ t-shirt and openly disclosed she was from the left, to the meeting.
The event acted as a membership drive as the days tick down to November’s state election.
Baw Baw Shire Councillor Ben Lucas, who defected from the Liberal Party to join One Nation last year, spoke passionately and reasonably, telling the crowd the party needed to take a ‘slow and steady wins the race approach’ to have any chance.
“There is a long way to go from now until November, (but) as soon as the gates open, we’re going,” he said.
As per the party’s political bent, Mr Lucas took aim at political correctness.
Borrowing from the most outspoken politician on the subject, he rhetorically asked the crowd how many genders there was, before making an ‘acknowledgement’.
“To the people who came to our Drouin meeting,” he said, smiling wryly after delivering the punchline.
Greg Hansford, who ran for One Nation at last year’s federal election in the seat of Gippsland, also spoke, as did fellow One Nation member and local political commentator/agitator (depending on your definition) Taylah Ling.
Mr Hansford took questions from the floor, where virtually every question was (predicably) related to renewable energy and sex-based rights.
It was reiterated that the local trio were not authorised to officially speak for One Nation, and referred to party policies on the issues raised.
On climate change however, notions that “it’s a scam” were continuously pedalled.
“If there is global warming, then we say it should be reflected in a large number of places in different climate zones but in Australia that appears not to be the case,” One Nation’s official policy states.
“We are the only political party to question climate science.”
One Nation will be aiming to capitalise on record popularity, which on one recent Redbridge poll had party leader Pauline Hanson as the most preferred leader in the entire country.
Ms Hanson has recruited former South Australian Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, and former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce
from The Nationals in the last two months.
The new One Nation members have both been interviewed on Mr Hansford’s local radio program.
A great cartoon by Herald Sun wiz Mark Knight depicted One Nation as the ‘cool kids’ at the back of the bus as parliament went back for its first day back.
