Hanson Says She Will ‘Shake the Hand’ of Volunteer Who Clashed With Liberal Senator

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has backed a party volunteer who was involved in a brief scuffle with federal Liberal Party Senator James Paterson at a polling booth in the Farrer electorate.

Hanson initially apologised to Paterson for the incident that occurred in Albury on May 6.

The video revealed Paterson was filming the elderly volunteer, who initially complemented the senator but criticised the Liberal Party’s campaign against One Nation candidate David Farley and his previous membership of the Labor Party.

Things turned sour when the volunteer saw Paterson filming him, and he grabbed the phone from the senator’s hand, prompting accusations of “assault.”

“I stand by my volunteer in that whole scuffle,” Hanson later told media as she landed in Farrer.

“When I first heard about it … I didn’t get the full story.

“Since then I’ve been able to watch the full video clip of it, and I feel for my volunteer.”

Hanson said she takes her hat off to all volunteers manning polling booths.

“I remember my father telling me years ago, ‘Politics is a dirty game.’ Well, haven’t I seen the dirty politics come out, especially in this election?” she said.

“And you know what? People are fed up with it—as I am. I don’t do it; I don’t get in the gutter like these other politicians do,” Hanson added.

“But I’ll tell you I’m going to meet that volunteer and I’m going to shake his hand and I’m going to stand by him,” she said.

Senator Paterson told Sky News earlier the incident occurred over political campaign signage at the booth.

“I mean this all started over a National Party sign on the booth that talked about David Farley’s record of being a member of the Labor Party who sought Labor Party pre-selection and donated to the Labor Party, and in my view, those are facts which the voters of Farrer deserve to know before they make their choice about whether or not he would be a good representative for them,” he said.

New South Wales Libertarian Party MP John Ruddick has criticised the shadow defence spokesperson for calling the action an “assault.”

Australian Institute of Progress Executive Director Graham Young described the spat as “undignified all round,” and said that not picking fights was the general rule on polling booths.

The Farrer by-election, which was triggered by former Liberal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s ousting, will be held on May 9.

One Nation is polling strongly in the traditional Liberal stronghold.