Exclusive: Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Has Allegedly Plagiarised A Bunch Of Their Policies
Yep, even the one on halal.
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party appears to have plagiarised text from online sources, including Wikipedia, for a number of its policies. The party’s policies on halal certification, the United Nations Agenda 21 conspiracy and medical marijuana all appear to be have been lifted from other websites.
Hanson herself has been elected to the Senate as a representative for Queensland, where she received nearly 10 percent of the vote, and looks likely to pick up additional seats in NSW and Western Australia. She has received significant media attention since the election due to her controversial policies on multiculturalism and Islam.
Junkee can now reveal that a number of her party’s policies, including on the key issue of halal certification, appear to have been plagiarised from other websites, including Wikipedia. A full list of Hanson’s policies can be found on her party website. The first two paragraphs of her policy on halal certification appear to have been directly lifted from an article published in a right-wing US online magazine back in 2013.
Pauline Hanson’s policy on halal certification
An excerpt from a Frontpage Mag article on halal certification
Another section of One Nation’s halal certification policy appears to have been copied from the website of the Q Society, an anti-Islam organisation that attracted controversy when it invited far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders to Australia.
Another section of Hanson’s halal policy
An excerpt from the Q Society website
Hanson’s policy on Agenda 21, a sustainable development initiative of the United Nations, also appears to have been plagiarised. Certain sections of the policy are word-for-word copies of a 2011 pamphlet produced the The John Birch Society in the United States.
One Nation’s policy on Agenda 21
Extract from a 2011 pamphlet produced by The John Birch Society
According to the Reddit community, most of One Nation’s policy on medical cannabis appears to be plagiarised from a Wikipedia article.
One Nation’s policy on medical cannabis
Extract from Wikipedia’s article on medical cannabis
Ironically Hanson’s medicinal cannabis policy cites the use of the drug in the medieval Islamic world as a reason why it should be trialled in Australia. The reference to Islam appears to have been copied over from Wikipedia.
Climate change blogger Graham Readfearn has noted that One Nation’s policies on climate change appear to be almost exactly the same as those of the Galileo Movement, a climate denialist organisation. Malcolm Roberts, a One Nation party candidate for the Senate in Queensland, is described as a “Project Leader” of the Galileo Movement.
Hanson could wield significant power in federal parliament. If Labor and the Greens oppose government legislation, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will be forced to negotiate with crossbench Senators, including Hanson’s One Nation party, in order to pass laws.
Junkee has previously reported that Hanson’s One Nation party is set to pocket $1 million in public funding due to strong result at the election. It might be time to spend some of that money on developing actual policies rather than a liberal use of Control + C.
Junkee has reached out to Hanson’s One Nation party for comment.