Pauline Hanson Put Her Face On A Novelty Cheque To Take Credit For A $23 Million Stadium
"Why is Pauline Hanson handing out $23M ... on behalf of the Morrison Govt in Qld?"
Pauline Hanson has taken credit for a $23 million stadium that’s actually being paid for by the federal government in the least subtle way possible — by chucking her face on a giant novelty cheque.
The Morrison government is now being accused of using taxpayer funds to try and buy votes for the LNP, and for One Nation, ahead of the Queensland election (a move that will feel very familiar if you followed the sports rort scandal).
The stadium is due to be built in Rockhampton, a town of 80,000 people in central Queensland.
At a state level Rockhampton is a very safe Labor seat, but federally they’re represented by the LNP. At last year’s federal election the votes swung heavily away from Labor towards their sitting MP, Michelle Landry. One Nation’s candidate also scored 17 percent of votes.
The stadium announcement was made jointly with Landry and Hanson — but only Hanson had the bright idea to print a giant novelty cheque with her face on it, to present money that isn’t even coming from her party. The printed cheque also states the money is coming from “Australian Federal Parliament”, rather than the federal government.
Why is Pauline Hanson handing out $23M, Georgina Downer style cheques on behalf of the Morrison Govt in Qld? Is the PM using taxpayers’ funds to help Hanson & the LNP campaign together for the Qld election? https://t.co/acQCVlhchL
— Senator Murray Watt (@MurrayWatt) September 17, 2020
Landry and Hanson have both used the $23 million announcement to spruik their party’s candidates for next month’s election.
In a Facebook post Hanson said she’s been lobbying the Finance Minister and the PM a stadium for Rocky since having dinner with them a year ago, while Landry said it built on the government’s election commitment.
The stadium has been a passion project for Rockhampton businessman, Gavin Shuker, who co-founded the Rocky Sports Club where the announcement was made.
He told The Guardian both politicians were behind the project, and it would not have happened without their lobbying.
“It’s pretty unusual, but they’ve secured the money somehow,” he said.