We'll have to wait and see

Nick Dondas, Member for the
Northern Territory in the Federal Parliament
speaks out on the ABC about One Nation
The interviewer is Fred McCue

McCue: Given, Nick Dondas, the CLP's apparent current unwillingness to go public on what they'll actually be doing with their preferences in relation to One Nation, does talk like that from Yogan Sathianathan [ethnic community leaders] worry you?
Dondas: Well obviously it must be of some concern Fred because a great proportion of our Territory community are represented highly by ethnic communities.
McCue:Well, as a result of that particular sentiment you've just expressed, will you be actually pressing the CLP to put One Nation last on the preferences?
Dondas: Well Fred it's not as easy as that unfortunately.
McCue: But you're the man in the barrel here aren't you?
Dondas: well I am, but the thing is, depending on when the election is going to be called, and there's obviously some view that it's going to be in august, well, our annual CLP conference is in August and no doubt if there's no federal election before then it will be debated at annual conference. But the decisions where preferences are distributed are really made by the management committee of the Country Liberal Party and obviously they will determine where the preferences are distributed once they know what other nominations there are for the seat for the House of Representatives.
McCue: I would have thought that it would have been a fairly simple matter to just make an in principle statement and that is: that we don't support One Nation and what they stand for therefore we're going to put them last on the ballot paper?
Dondas: Well, Fred, it would be nice to be able to say that at this moment but unfortunately it can't be said because the decision is made by management committee of the Country Liberal Party and that's all I can say about it.
McCue: Why is it though, that around Australia we're seeing in Victoria and New South Wales, the Liberal Party is simply saying 'Look, it's got to be this way'.?
Dondas: Well as I understand it, John Howard is saying that it will be the executive of the Liberal parties who will make the decision about where preferences for One Nation will be distributed if there are candidates running in that particular seat in the federal election. Now much the same decision will be made by the Clp. It'll be made in good faith taking into consideration our community make up, the demographics of the community. It's just one of those unusual things that a decision can't be made until such time as management committee have the opportunity of deciding.
McCue: What you're saying to me at the moment is becoming a bit of a recurring theme from members of the Country Liberal Party, elected members of the Country Liberal Party, and I would imagine there would be people in the ethnic community, people like Yogan Sathianathan, saying 'For goodness sake, it's time you people made up your minds. We want to know clearly now where you're going'.
Dondas: I'm quite sure that may be the case by some members of the ethnic communities councils but we have procedures, the procedures have been laid down by way of our constitution, by way of the way the clp operates and you must remember that the clp is one of the most successful political parties on the australian landscape at the moment.
McCue: What you almost seem to be saying is that it's quite possible that you, the CLP, won't be putting One Nation last on your ballot paper.
Dondas: I'm not saying that at all, Fred, I didn't say that at all!
McCue: Earlier this morning we heard former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser say that One Nation was racist. We've also heard, before the Queensland election, a former Territory Chief Minister in Paul Everingham say that they were fascist. Do you agree with those sentiments?
Dondas: well i look at the performance of pauline hanson herself and i don't hold her in high regard in terms of her parliamentary performance. She hardly spends any time in the chamber, she votes on very very few motions and spends very little time in the chamber. So i look at her parliamentary performance and i wouldn't be satisfied with that at all.
McCue: But apart from that parliamentary performance, in terms of her ideology, let's say, do you think she's racist?
Dondas: well i'm not going to make a comment on that fred by virtue of the fact that i have my own personal beliefs.
McCue: Well, I'm sure the Territorians who voted you in would like to know those beliefs. I mean, that's one of the reasons they put you in. They want to know about you, what you stand for.
Dondas: well, i don't support pauline hanson's policies, put it that way.
McCue: Well, are you going to say she's racist?
Dondas: isn't there something on the front page of the nt news today whereby the chief minister is being taken to court by the human rights commission for making some particular statement about some other person? So fred i don't support pauline hanson's policies and i'll leave it at that.