Billionaire mining tycoon Gina Rinehart is secretly directing One Nation’s party strategy, according to its former national campaign director.
Sean Black has been captured on covert recordings warning Rinehart’s puppets could be given key political or policy roles if the far-right One Nation wins government, The Age reports.
“The conga line of people that go through the party were all connected to Rinehart,” he states.
In further explosive revelations, Black — a formerly jailed rapist who was “sacked” by Pauline Hanson — claims in the tapes he secretly continued working for the party.
Black, with One Nation for eight years, was the party’s campaign manager from 2023 to April this year, when Hanson announced his sacking under mounting media pressure about his criminal history past.
In June, two months later, Hanson publicly defended Black, stating he had “paid his time” behind bars and that she had only sacked him because she had been pressured to.
It was “a decision that I had to make…because people were saying to me, ‘Look, you can’t keep him, I’ve got to sack him’,” Hanson told The Age’s Inside Politics Podcast in June.
In the recordings, Black says Hanson fought against his removal and indicated “she would have me back in a heartbeat once things died down”.
Black says he was only removed from the role because of media pressure, and not because of his criminal past — and that he secretly remained as a key fundraiser.
In the tapes Black said his family firm Front Door Services was helping One Nation’s Victorian branch raise funds for the November 28 state election, in a “consulting” deal where Black could keep a cut of every donation his company raised.
“It was a written contractual agreement…on behalf of the Victorian executive, operating as its own legal entity and my wife. They [Victoria’s One Nation office] were calling me like daily for assistance,” he said.
Hanson did not respond to questions, The Age reports.
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Sean Black said he had a One Nation “consulting” position after being “sacked” by Hanson. Pictured in 2017. Source: Dan Peled/AAP
In one recording, Black warns Rinehart — One Nation’s biggest funder —has outsized influence over the party, particularly its chief strategist James Ashby.
“James’s view on policy is that the policy comes from Gina or Gina acolytes, and that is it,” Black states in one recording.
“James’s view on policy is that the policy comes from Gina or Gina’s acolytes, and that is it” — Sean Black
He also states Rinehart is using proxies to help her control One Nation, such as through ex-Northern Territory Chief Minister — now chief executive of Rinehart’s Hancock Agriculture — Adam Giles.
Giles gave $500,000 to One Nation earlier this year, which he later said was paid out of his bonus from Hancock.
Another $500,000 was given to One Nation by fellow Rinehart employee, notorious climate “sceptic” Ian Plimer.
Billionaire Gina Rinehart at a Trump Rally in the US. Source: Hancock Prospecting
The revelations come as One Nation quietly deleted a highly-detailed policy statement directly outlining its closeness to Donald Trump policies.
One Nation deleted the document from its website within hours of the US midterm elections, which saw Trump’s Republicans thrashed by the biggest margin of any party since the Richard Nixon Watergate scandal half a century ago.
(The deleted One Nation policy can be found here).
“The actions of current U.S. President Donald Trump echo strongly with the principles and policies of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation,” states the deleted document.
“Our economic policies align with Trump’s ‘America First’ ethos.
“If you admire the decisive actions and nationalist priorities of Donald Trump, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is the only party in Australia that mirrors these values,” the deleted document states.
Trump’s US Republicans have seen the biggest defeat since Richard Nixon 50 years ago. Source: The Klaxon
Rinehart is Australia’s most prominent supporter of Trump and his “MAGA” agenda.
One Nation has been surging in the polls since late last year.
In late October last year Hanson and Ashby flew to Florida with Rinehart on her private jet, and stayed at her Palm Beach mansion, near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
There, Hanson and Rinehart attended the far-right CPAC (Conservative Political Conference) where Hanson criticised both of Australia’s major parties.
Hanson lavished praise on the Trump administration, including over deporting immigrants and supercharging mining projects.
Hanson’s office only disclosed the two-week trip to the Australian Electoral Commission after it was revealed by Guardian Australia.
Men in prominent neo-Nazi co-opted insignia marched with a One Nation headlined anti-immigrant rally last week. Source: The Klaxon
In the covert recordings, Black expresses serious concerns over Rinehart’s hold over One Nation.
“On the secret recording, Black said he was deeply worried Rinehart would exploit the inexperience of One Nation’s candidates and party machine, stacking the party with figures loyal to the billionaire,” The Age reports.
“Black said One Nation was already working with policy and think tank figures and ex-politicians from the Liberal or Nationals parties who had been financially supported by Rinehart.”
“They (One Nation) don’t have a clue what democracy is” — Sean Black
In the recordings, Black states:
“All those people, I think, are lined up for jobs. And I’ve spoken to a lot of them, James, has said, here’s the number of this person, help them with policy creation by giving them this data, et cetera, et cetera.
“The conga line of people that go through that party were all connected to Rinehart, this guy that’s in New South Wales, leader. [Mike Newman.] Yeah. He’s a Rinehart. Got to be. Basically, it was alluded to me, that he’s in the Rinehart camp.”
In April Rinehart gave a $2 million plane to the party and One Nation is preparing to move into a Brisbane building bought by Rinehart.
Rinehart paid for Hanson to fly from London to meet her in July at a luxury resort in Italy.
Self-described champion of “battlers”, Hanson was flown by billionaire Rinehart to a luxury resort in Italy earlier this year. Source: The Klaxon
An unnamed “spokesperson” for Rinehart said she “has received nothing from One Nation” and was not seeking any benefit, The Age reports.
Just three weeks out from the Victorian election the party is high in the polls, but is facing some headwinds.
As revealed by The Klaxon, last Sunday men donned in prominent neo-Nazi co-opted insignia marched with the One Nation headlined anti-immigrant rally in Melbourne.
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Anthony Klan
Editor, The Klaxon
