Australian Democrats having a spat over Hanson

[Kiwi]

Family First gives Hanson a chance: Dems

FAMILY First's lead Senate candidate Jeff Buchanan has denied the party endorses Pauline Hanson's views, saying he expected the Democrats to be unhappy about being preferenced last.

Australian Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett today accused Family First of "rewarding" Ms Hanson for her controversial views by giving her its preferences.

The party has boosted the right-wing firebrand's chances of being elected to the Senate, by giving her its preferences ahead of Labor, the Greens and Senator Bartlett, who faces a battle to retain his seat.

He accused Family First of rewarding Ms Hanson for her "extremist and destructive" views.

His comments came after the former One Nation leader yesterday renewed calls for a halt to Muslim immigration, maintaining that some migrants had no intention of being Australian.

"The Family First party clearly believes that families don't come first if they are Muslim, African or Asian," Senator Bartlett said.

"This sort of prejudice and ignorance repeatedly expressed by Pauline Hanson is incredibly damaging to our social fabric, as well as incredibly hurtful to Muslim Australians.

"It should be unequivocally opposed, not rewarded with preferences."

But Mr Buchanan said the party had preferenced the Coalition in Queensland before any other major party groups, and no less than 15 other Senate groups and all other ungrouped independent candidates before Ms Hanson.

"We expected Senator Bartlett to be unhappy as Family First preferenced him last, just after the Greens and Labor," Mr Buchanan said.

"This is because Senator Bartlett's preferences are supporting the Greens – as are Labor – and this increases the chances of the Greens winning a Senate seat in Queensland".peMr Buchanan said Labor and the Democrats owed Queenslanders an explanation for preferencing the Greens, a party that had "many extreme anti-family policies".

"Many Queenslanders would be disappointed that the Democrats have drifted so far away from their original mantra of keeping other parties honest, and siding with the Greens as a last desperate attempt at electoral survival," he said.

But he said Ms Hanson's views were also extreme.

"Ms Hanson has extreme policies, but we are not preferencing her very high at all," he said.

Senator Bartlett said if there was a large swing away from the Coalition, there was a "real chance" that Family First's Senate preferences would flow to Ms Hanson should she outpoll them.

"Combined with favourable preference allocations from a range of smaller groups ... and some independents, there is no doubt Pauline Hanson is now a credible chance if she gains a reasonable primary vote herself," he said.

He listed the smaller groups as the Shooters' Party, two different fishing parties, the non-Custodial Parents' Party, One Nation, the LDP (Liberty and Democracy Party), and the Carers' Party.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22706249-29277,00.html

[newman]

The Democrats are dead, dead, dead. They are THE most irrellevent party in Australia. They are nothing more than a handfull of independants. A spent force that no longer matters. Hopefully this next election will be the death blow.

[Kiwi]

Never like the Dems anyway with that old fishwife, that carried on about "keeping the bast**ds honest"

 

I have never voted Dems in my life, aint starting now. 

[newman]

Never like the Dems anyway with that old fishwife, that carried on about "keeping the bast**ds honest"

 

I have never voted Dems in my life, aint starting now. 

The democrats were/are the bastards.

[Kiwi]

Never like the Dems anyway with that old fishwife, that carried on about "keeping the bast**ds honest"

 

I have never voted Dems in my life, aint starting now. 

The democrats were/are the bastards.

Aren't all pollies.