Hanson suicidal in jail: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Jamie Walker, John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 10 Nov 2003: 1.
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Abstract
Screening of the interview, for which Ms [Pauline Hanson] was reportedly paid up to $150,000 by Nine's owner, PBL, came on the heels of an opinion poll yesterday that indicated she would be comfortably elected to the Senate from her home state of Queensland.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said the strong showing by both Ms Hanson and One Nation in the NFO Australia poll could encourage him to delay next year's state election to one of the last allowed dates in May.
Although the sample was small -- just 300 voters were surveyed last Friday, the day after Ms Hanson and one-time One Nation director David Ettridge were freed from jail after their convictions for electoral fraud were quashed -- Mr Beattie said it was "very damaging" to his Labor Government's re-election prospects.
AN emotional Pauline Hanson revealed last night she had contemplated suicide while in jail, saying: "It just felt like the end of the world."
In a paid interview with the Nine Network's 60 Minutes program, she said her love for her children had pulled her back from the brink.
"It was very weak of me at that time but that is the way I felt," Ms Hanson said.
"I think it is wrong of me. The children only have me. It was very selfish of me."
But the guessing game over whether she would return to politics was set to drag on after Ms Hanson sent out mixed signals as to her intentions. After insisting she was not even thinking about standing for parliament, she spoke of not wanting to be elected on a "sympathy vote".
Screening of the interview, for which Ms Hanson was reportedly paid up to $150,000 by Nine's owner, PBL, came on the heels of an opinion poll yesterday that indicated she would be comfortably elected to the Senate from her home state of Queensland.
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said the strong showing by both Ms Hanson and One Nation in the NFO Australia poll could encourage him to delay next year's state election to one of the last allowed dates in May.
The poll found that a Senate bid by Ms Hanson would be supported by 30 per cent of Queensland voters.
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It also showed that 23 per cent would vote for Ms Hanson if she stood as a candidate at next year's state election, with One Nation capturing 12 per cent of theoverall vote.
Although the sample was small -- just 300 voters were surveyed last Friday, the day after Ms Hanson and one-time One Nation director David Ettridge were freed from jail after their convictions for electoral fraud were quashed -- Mr Beattie said it was "very damaging" to his Labor Government's re-election prospects.
"We would lose, we would simply not win on those figures," he said.
Asked last night about the prospects of a political comeback, Ms Hanson said: "It's been, oh cripes, 7 1/2 years of vilification, hounding. I could have been financially ruined, everything ... and you are asking why don't I go back into it?"
But close friend Bronwyn Boag told The Australian Ms Hanson was listening closely to those urging her to return to politics.
"It's her decision but I personally would like to see her have another go," Ms Boag said yesterday. "The country needs Pauline."
Describing her experience as inmate C-70079 in Brisbane women's prison, Ms Hanson said she had been stripped of her dignity. "To use the loo, you have this concrete wall that is half way up," she said. "They know exactly what you are doing. Your dignity is stripped. It was just absolutely degrading, demeaning. When they gave me that number to stand to have my photo taken, I felt like an absolute criminal."
Ms Hanson reserved her bitterest remarks for federal Health Minister Tony Abbott, who set up a trust to fund the civil law action that resulted in the former One Nation leader's conviction.
"Heaven help this country if Tony Abbott is ever in control of it," she said.
Opinion -- Page 11
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