Expert says party lacks credibility

PAULINE Hanson’s One Nation party has a credibility issue, a political scientist says.

James Cook University’s Doctor Maxine Newlands (pictured) said disendorsed Thuringowa candidate Troy Thompson had gained traction in the electorate and had showed no indication of pulling out.

Dr Newlands said the sudden removal would raise lots of questions for voters around the party’s “poor selection” of candidates.

She referenced Mark Thornton, the party’s candidate for the seat of Thuringowa in 2017, who maintained Senator Hanson’s support despite being linked to domestic violence posts on social media.

“He (Troy Thompson) has obviously stepped over the line somewhere,” Dr Thornton said. “It will probably cause a bit of doubt for voters with two candidates in a row with question marks hanging over their head on serious issues.

“Voters may be thinking: ‘Are the party legitimate if they keep putting up questionable candidates?’”

Dr Newlands said One Nation’s business model was based on candidates being relatable and making voters feel like their representative was “one of them”.

She said the latest scandal could put any chance of success in the upcoming state election into serious doubt.

“The business model is a populist political model and the key is to position yourself with someone you’d sit next to at the pub and that then gives you leverage to do preference deals,” Dr Newlands said.

“What I did find interesting was in 2017 they had 11 candidates up here and my maths says if you don’t count Rockhampton and Mackay they’re running three and that’s a hell of a drop.

“It tells you there’s problems within the party, which we know, so politically speaking there’s questions around the governance of that party and if they did get in would people trust them?”