Source : the age
Pauline Hanson used party funds to pay for a five-star London hotel during her recent European trip, including keeping rooms vacant while she flew to Italy with mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, but insists she did not touch One Nation’s $5 million war chest created by thousands of small donations from ordinary Australians in a viral fundraising campaign.
An insider with knowledge of Hanson’s UK booking schedule told this masthead the Queensland senator stayed at the luxury Conrad London St James hotel in July after travelling to Britain with a Seven Network Spotlight crew last month. Rooms at the Conrad average £450 (AU$860) a night during peak season.
The source, granted anonymity to speak freely, said Hanson had paid for a lengthy block and left them vacant for five nights while she flew to Italy to meet with Rinehart.
A second source familiar with Hanson’s planning for the 10-day “fact-finding” trip said party insiders were led to believe the costs for her and top aide James Ashby would be funded from One Nation’s consolidated party revenue.
The source suggested there was some unease within One Nation figures, given its “Fire the Liar” viral fundraising campaign had recently bolstered the party’s coffers.
Hanson has repeatedly insisted taxpayers did not pay “one cent” towards the overseas trip. The party did not respond to this masthead’s detailed questions about the trip’s funding.
But Ashby, promoted this week as One Nation’s national director, later rejected any suggestions Fire the Liar donations were used to fund a trip to London. He said that “the entire” amount raised “had been placed in a term deposit fund”.
There is no allegation Hanson has breached political spending or disclosure rules, but the trip is likely to attract scrutiny because One Nation’s “Fire the Liar” campaign, which raised almost $5 million from almost 80,000 supporters, repeatedly promoted the fundraising drive as being powered by everyday Australians making small donations, rather than wealthy benefactors.
No conditions were put on the donation plea from One Nation, which called on supporters to help oust Prime Minister Anthony Albanese through a billboard, TV and radio advertising campaign. But One Nation insiders cautioned that any perception of spending it on overseas travel could be viewed poorly among its supporters.
An analysis by The Australian Financial Review found 88 per cent of contributions were worth $100 or less, with an average donation of $73.
It is unclear how many nights she stayed at the hotel. A source said Hanson arrived on July 6, first posting on social media from the UK on July 8. She flew to Rome on July 11 and returned on July 16, before speaking at the CPAC Great Britain conference two days later. Staff at the hotel declined to comment, citing privacy reasons.
The first source said Hanson had been insistent on telling people on the trip that taxpayers were not paying for the accommodation. They also said Hanson had been evasive about her travel plans, telling some in the travelling entourage her visit to Italy was a “family trip”.
The London hotel arrangement emerged after Hanson updated her parliamentary register of interests on Tuesday to confirm Rinehart paid for her flights from London to Sicily, via Rome, between July 11 and 16.
The disclosure states her accommodation, meals and other daily expenses while in Italy “were paid for personally”. She was photographed with Rinehart by the pool at the five-star Grand Hotel San Pietro, where rooms average between $1050 and $2400 during peak season.
One Nation’s finances have come under renewed scrutiny over its fundraising, disclosure practices and internal financial arrangements. There have been concerns from former figures about a centralised structure, and concerns about unusual and unexplained movements of money from various divisions and branches.
Hanson and the Spotlight crew, including reporter Liam Bartlett, had planned to film an interview with former Reform UK leader Nigel Farage before those plans fell through.
Instead, Hanson recorded a podcast and filmed with far-right activist Tommy Robinson before travelling to Italy with Rinehart.
Her trip led to criticism from her political opponents for meeting with Robinson, a convicted criminal, and fuelled allegations of hypocrisy for posting on social media about cost-of-living issues while being photographed with a billionaire at a five-star resort.
A Seven spokesperson has previously said the network paid only for “incidentals” associated with filming Robinson, including a vehicle used in the production process, a hotel room used for filming purposes, and security to protect Seven staff while recording on UK streets.
The updated register of interests does not disclose who paid for her flights from Australia to London or her accommodation in the UK. If Hanson paid for those flights herself, they would not be required to be declared. A gift from a political party, however, would have to be declared within 35 days, according to the Senate rules.
Hanson hit out at what she described as biased reporting against her on Melbourne’s 3AW on Tuesday, adding she’d banned The Age, along with the ABC and The Guardian, from media conferences because they refused to give One Nation “a fair go”.
“We want just, fair reporting and I have found that these three are not prepared to do it,” she said. “They’re left-leaning … and they’re so opinionated. I’m not interested.”
This masthead reported on Tuesday that Hanson had made hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest-bearing commercial loans to the party, which has also benefited from high-priced fundraising dinners hosted by Rinehart, and millions of dollars in gifts and support linked to the mining billionaire.
At the same time, the Australian Electoral Commission is examining whether One Nation failed to register associated entities, and Queensland regulators have required the party to amend election spending disclosures and lodge overdue audited accounts.
One Nation says its loans are on commercial terms and that all donations and expenditure are disclosed in accordance with electoral laws.
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Rob Harris is the national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Canberra. He is a former Europe correspondent.Connect via email.
Paul Sakkal is Chief Political Correspondent. He previously covered Victorian politics and won a Walkley award and the 2025 Press Gallery Journalist of the Year. Contact him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14.Connect via X or email.
