From the very beginning, Pauline Hanson has faced constant and unwarranted attacks from Australia's left-wing and their allies in the media. Unfortunately, many of these stories are misleading or completely fabricated, and the intensity of these attacks shows no signs of easing.

One of the latest and most concerning examples comes from Greg Hallam, the former CEO of the Local Government Association of Queensland. In a recent piece, he makes several inaccurate claims, including that One Nation lacks candidates in key seats, such as Barron River, and suggests that our party is overly focused on just a couple of individuals. He even alleges that we have far fewer candidates than we do.

Peter Eicens is our Barron River candidate, our Queensland events page is full of his campaign forums and activities, and he has been in the field door knocking and working for many months. Given that the major parties have given up on this seat, our chances of winning it are excellent. Mr. Hallam failed to do a basic internet search to establish his facts.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opkyf5s5KEA

Just last week, our State Secretary, Damian Huxham, released a statement detailing our candidates, their campaign efforts, and the strong momentum we've been building. We’ve seen impressive turnout at our forums, and the response from doorknocking has been overwhelmingly positive. However, Mr. Hallam chose to ignore this, instead promoting misleading information.

He also failed to mention that One Nation is fielding a former mayor, Julie Hall, in a winnable seat, someone who has been highly regarded as ‘the people’s mayor’. A comprehensive policy platform that we released earlier this year in regional Queensland is supporting all of our candidates strongly. Again, Mr. Hallam has failed to mention policy or our campaign, instead weaving a fake news narrative.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMOSeXS67Vs

By pushing these falsehoods, Mr Hallam has unfortunately harmed his own credibility. His claims were not based on facts and fell well short of the standard expected from someone in his position, particularly given his duty to provide accurate information to the public. It’s disappointing that his reputation could be affected by such a serious misjudgement.

Even more concerning is that One Nation was not offered a right of reply before this piece was published.

Typically, we wouldn’t respond to such claims from lesser-known commentators or individuals looking for relevance. However, given Mr. Hallam’s former role with the LGAQ—an organisation that has defended councils charging excessively high rates—it’s important to clarify the inaccuracies in his article.

As we approach this election, it’s crucial to stay informed. Some groups are determined to hold onto power and may not always provide the full picture. Be mindful of the information you're receiving and question its accuracy.