'Now give me my $500,000 back'
By Ashleigh Wilson, Jamie Walker & Greg Roberts, The Australian
November 08, 2003

Pauline Hanson yesterday demanded the return of $500,000 she was forced to surrender to the Queensland Electoral Commission as she revealed plans to sing with an Aboriginal pen pal at next year's Tamworth country music festival.

Speaking from her Ipswich farm, Ms Hanson said she "treasured" the pen pal relationship she struck with a 10-year-old Aboriginal girl while in jail.

"It doesn't matter who you are, where you've come from, what the colour of your skin is, we're all Australians," Ms Hanson said.

The comments came as Queensand Premier Peter Beattie launched a review of the office of the Director of Prosecutions after it was heavily criticised by Queensland's Court of Appeal for its decision to prosecute Ms Hanson and One Nation co-founder David Ettridge for electoral fraud.

In Canberra, John Howard rejected an accusation by Court of Appeal president Margaret McMurdo that he had attempted to interfere with the judicial process by commenting on the severity of Ms Hanson's sentence.

Ms Hanson and Mr Ettridge were released from prison on Thursday night after 11 weeks behind bars when the appeal court quashed their convictions.

Claiming she had been vindicated by the courts, Ms Hanson stood at the gates of her Ipswich property yesterday demanding she be repaid the $498,637 she was forced to surrender to the Queensland Electoral Commission after a 1999 civil trial found One Nation had been fraudulently registered. Ms Hanson said she wanted the money to cover "expenses".

But her demand was immediately shot down by Mr Beattie, who said he had received legal advice she was not entitled to the money.

"That $500,000 is not repayable to Pauline Hanson," Mr Beattie said.

With only three hours' sleep after a night out on the Gold Coast, Ms Hanson again refused to show her hand about a return to politics.

"The last three elections that I've stood for I've got a kick in the guts," Ms Hanson said. "I couldn't go through it again."

But at the same time she said she would "not at all" rule out another tilt a politics, saying she was taking everything one day at a time.

Her prospects of resurrecting a political career were boosted last night after One Nation senator Len Harris said he was prepared to relinquish the number one position on the party's Senate ticket in Queensland.

Senator Harris said Ms Hanson's return to federal parliament was in the interests of both One Nation and the voters of Queensland.

Asked if he believed Ms Hanson would run for the Senate, Senator Harris said: "I would like to think she would."

As Mr Ettridge yesterday began to savour his freedom in Sydney, Ms Hanson enjoyed a lazy day at her Ipswich property, declaring there was "nothing like home".

In Sydney, Fairfield council lor Thang Ngo said Ms Hanson's "inevitable political rise" would give her "a platform to continue with her ignorant political views".