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Mark Latham reportedly to join Pauline Hanson's One Nation Mark Latham to stand as One Nation candidate for NSW upper house
(about 13 hours later)
Mark Latham led Labor to the 2004 federal election defeat but is now reportedly going to announce he is joining Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. Former Labor leader Mark Latham has confirmed he is joining Pauline Hanson’s One Nation as a candidate for the upper house of the NSW parliament.
News Corp reports Latham will reveal on Wednesday he will lead the New South Wales branch of the party but won’t be on the Senate ticket. Latham plans to campaign on issues of immigration, congestion and over-development in Sydney.
“You’ve only just got to watch this space,” Latham told 2GB radio on Tuesday when he was questioned about joining One Nation. He also counts failings in the education system, political correctness, identity politics and power prices among his most pressing priorities.
A number of minor political parties have been courting Latham, including the Liberal Democrats. “One Nation has the policies and NSW certainly needs a third choice Labor and Liberal are on the nose,” he told 2GB radio on Wednesday. “I want to provide people with a choice, a third choice, to say you can vote One Nation and have practical, common sense solutions to these big issues in our state.”
The former Tasmanian Labor premier David Bartlett called him a “sick, sad, sorry loser” after the news broke. The number of votes required for election to the New South Wales upper house the Legislative Council –can be small and because of complex preference swaps mean, micro parties such as the Shooters and Fishers party and the Christian Democrats often hold the balance of power.
“This will end badly as (Mr Latham) is either unwell, a massive narcissist or dumb as a box of hammers (or all three),” Bartlett tweeted. Luke Foley, the NSW Labor leader, said the ALP would not preference One Nation and challenged the Coalition to also rule it out.
Latham led Labor to a solid defeat against John Howard in 2004, and he quit federal parliament in 2005. NSW Labor will not do any preference deals with One Nation. We will not preference One Nation candidates anywhere in NSW.I challenge the Liberals & the Nationals to make the same commitment.#nswpol
He claims he was sacked as a columnist for the Australian Financial Review in 2015 for making offensive comments on Twitter about Rosie Batty, whose ex-husband murdered her son in a violent public attack, and other female journalists. Senator Hanson said her new recruit would help put the major parties on notice.
“I intend to take it up to them in the federal (parliament) and Mark will take it up to them in the state and let’s get this country moving,” she told 2GB.
Upon hearing the news, former Tasmanian Labor premier David Bartlett called him a “sick, sad, sorry loser”.
The one-time Labor leader did ads for both One Nation and the Liberal Democrats during this year’s Longman federal by-election, earning him the title of “king rat” from his former party colleagues.
Latham led Labor to defeat against John Howard in 2004 before quitting federal parliament in 2005.
He says he was sacked as a columnist for Australian Financial Review in 2015 for making offensive comments about domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty.
Latham was also sacked from Sky News after just four months co-hosting a show, due to offensive comments about fellow Sky presenters and the teenage daughter of the Reserve Bank governor.Latham was also sacked from Sky News after just four months co-hosting a show, due to offensive comments about fellow Sky presenters and the teenage daughter of the Reserve Bank governor.
Mark LathamMark Latham
Labor partyLabor party
Australian politicsAustralian politics
Pauline HansonPauline Hanson
One NationOne Nation
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