ONE NATION AND GUN CONTROL IN AUSTRALIA

There are lies, gross lies and taken out of context lies.

The last week has found the right wing Australian party One Nation in deep trouble on the Australian media on a purported visit of two One Nation officers to the USA.

It turns out that they had fallen victims to the Kuwaiti news agency Al Jazeera in being tricked into discussions that were secretly recorded.

The recordings posted on Australian TV had these officers talking about funding to weaken the Australian gun laws. Whether or not they received funding was not revealed.

There was another recording in which the leader of One Nation Pauine Hanson was to have claimed that the Port Arthur shooting was a set up.

This caused furore particularly when Pauline Hanson was recorded as suggesting that the shooting was staged.

This she later vehemently denied claiming that all the taped videos were false, misquoted and edited.

In her response she strongly declared that the convicted killer had carried out the Port Arthur massacre.

She had no intention of weakening Australian gun laws with the help of the US Gun Association.

She put all the blame on the Australian Government and Al Jazeera. This she said was interference in the Australian political scene by a foreign entity. The Australian Government had been tricked.

It may be that Al Jazeera was unprofessional in setting up a sting. But that does not excuse the statements made by three New Nation members. They were unprofessional too and perhaps treasonous.

The two men made several incriminating statements without the provocation of the fake gun lobbyist, neither of them appearing drunk as they claimed.

We need to recall the anti-migrant rhetoric of Hanson in the past and the tweet of Senator Anning blaming the Moslems in Christchurch for the massacre.

.

Hanson stated publicly that she would abstain from any censure on Anning in parliament. Nor would she censure the two One Nation officers for their conduct in the USA.

New Nation is a totalitarian party. She must take care not to run out of willing storm troopers.