Off The Rails: The Pauline Hanson Trip

by Margo Kingston

Kingston is a writer who brings an unusually raw brand of passion to her work. . . . [the book] is much more than a profile of One Nations' leader and her supporters; it's an analysis of political campaigning and media coverage in a post-modern world - a sketch of some emerging faultlines in the cosy culture of politics and journalism.' Catharine Lumby, THE BULLETIN

After Pauline Hanson's doomed 1998 election campaign, and the scandals and deregistration that followed, the media declared Pauline Hanson a spent force and One Nation a dead party. The 2001 Queensland and 2014 Federal elections proved them Hanson is back. Why is it we are so surprised by her the deep dissatisfaction that she tapped into in 1996 is a problem that did not go away.

Margo Kingston takes us on a kaleidoscopic trip through the back country of Australia's political landscape during the 1998 election. This is strange territory, where bad press becomes good news, enemies trade advice and the political-media game is played at its most raw. Beyond the blunders, emotions boil as Hanson's road show slams into confrontations over race and Australia's identity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

243 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Michael Burge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twenty years on from the election campaign Kingston documents here in detail, it's sobering to look back and realise what a clarion call this book was to Australians about Hansonism and the modus operandi of populist political movements. Even more shocking it the manner in which mainstream politicians are taking several leaves out of One Nation's book now. A gripping, page-turning, long-form report of the madness.

[Laurence Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Providing an insiders account of Pauline Hanson's disorganised 1998 electoral campaign, Margo Kingston does much to explain how Pauline Hanson both succeeded and failed in her unique way as a political figure, based upon what Kingston witnessed as a journalist and pseudo-friend to Hanson (albeit this friendship existed as a non-understanding of the role of the press on behalf of Hanson). It offers sharp and fair critiques of Pauline Hanson and the phenomenon that she kicked up, whilst, on occasion, portraying Hanson as a sympathetic character, way out of her depth and struggling to understand and process emotionally the pressure that was put upon her after she became a federal politician known for her racism.

This is essential reading for anyone wanting to make sense of the Hanson phenomenon, and to a lesser extent, the currently ongoing Trump phenomenon in the U.S., of which there are many parallels.

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read this for the second time, having first read it in 2000, and it's as disturbing today as it was then. Even more so, if one considers the recent resurgence of One Nation. This book details the shambolic election campaign run by One Nation in 1998, which ended with Pauline Hanson's defeat at the polls. It outlines the efforts of the press to hold One Nation accountable for its policies, or lack thereof, and the constant frustration felt by the press who are just trying to do their jobs but are being harassed, lied to, and on a few occasions physically threatened at One Nation rallies around the country. Pauline's inability to control her candidates and the farcical job done by her "media advisor" David Oldfield are highlighted as is the shallowness of One Nation policies and their budget costings. This is a brilliant read for anyone who is trying to understand the Hanson phenomenon and how it managed to attract votes in the first place.