Latika Bourke and Bevan Shields report in the Brisbane Times (7.11.18) on former Labor leader Mark Latham’s surprising, but not unexpected, move to represent Pauline Hanson’s One Nation as the party’s state leader in New South Wales.
‘Mark Latham will join Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party, ending months of speculation about his political future.
‘The former Labor leader, who quit Parliament after leading the opposition to a defeat in 2004 against John Howard, hinted at the announcement when he spoke to 2GB radio host Ben Fordham on Tuesday.
‘”Watch this space, that’s all I’ve got to say,” Mr Latham said, adding that an announcement would be made “soon”.
‘The announcement, expected on Wednesday, marks a stunning turnaround for the Labor leader. In his 2005 memoir, he despaired that Labor, under Kim Beazley, wrongly aped “xenophobic” political maverick Pauline Hanson on trade tariffs. He wrote that party machine man Mark Arbib urged him to attack “politically correct Aboriginal stuff” because “the punters love it”.
‘In July, Mr Latham recorded a robocall for Hanson during the Longman byelection, provoking a swift attack from his former Labor colleagues.’