Qld: Breakaway One Nation s new name to be registered this week

AAP General News (Australia)
12-22-1999
Qld: Breakaway One Nation s new name to be registered this week

By Barbara Adam

BRISBANE, Dec 22 AAP - Queensland's breakaway One Nation party will register the City-Country
Alliance as its new name by the end of the week, it was confirmed today.

The five former One Nation state MPs would amend registration forms lodged with the
Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) two weeks ago to reflect their new choice of
name, the party's executive director Ian Petersen said.

The MPs had chosen One Nation Queensland as their new name, but threats of legal action
from the owners of the One Nation trademark forced the MPs to dump all reference to One
Nation and party founder Pauline Hanson.

Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party was deregistered in Queensland in August, after the
Supreme Court found the party had been registered fraudulently ahead of the 1998 state
election.

Mr Petersen said the City-Country Alliance's first branch would be convened tomorrow,
after the Gympie branch of One Nation earlier this week voted 49-1 to switch alliance
to the new party.

The ECQ will call for objections to the new party's registration on January 8, the
day before Ms Hanson is due to arrive back in Australia from an overseas holiday.

Mr Petersen said the new party was unlikely to reconcile with One Nation itself because
of the "pigheadedness" of those involved in the national executive.

The City-Country Alliance is also courting five former One Nation MPs who quit Pauline
Hanson's party in February on concerns the party structure was undemocratic.

Three of the MPs quit One Nation and two were sacked by the party's national directors,
David Oldfield and David Ettridge.

Former One Nation MP Jeff Knuth went on to form his own party, the Country Party, which
may eventually be absorbed into the City-Country Alliance.

"We are still in discussions with other independents and with Jeff Knuth," the City-Country
Alliance's parliamentary leader Bill Feldman told ABC Radio today.

At least two former One Nation MPs, Ken Turner and Dorothy Pratt, have ruled out joining
the new party, which would follow One Nation policies.

Mr Feldman said the new party's goal was to be fully registered ahead of the Bundamba
by-election, forced by the sudden resignation last week of sports minister Bob Gibbs.

The seat is based in the One Nation heartland of Ipswich, west of Brisbane.

"We're looking at standing a candidate there," Mr Feldman said.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie welcomed the new party, saying competition was a good
thing for political parties.

"If they want to be the City-Country Alliance or they want to be the One Nation or
they want to be the Country Party or the Houdini Fixit Party or the Norman Luboff Choir
Party, it doesn't worry me," he told journalists at a press conference.

"The more the merrier."

AAP bja/sd

KEYWORD: NATION QLD LEAD

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