Mia Armitage*
One Nation’s Richmond candidate, Tracey Bell-Henselin, pictured far right. PIC: Facebook
Less than a week out from a Richmond Meet the Candidates forum to be held in Byron Bay next Monday, mystery surrounds the One Nation candidate and her connection to the electorate.
Pauline Hanson’s One Nation lower house candidate for the seat of Richmond in May’s federal election is Tracey Bell-Henselin, who has formerly represented the minor party in a Queensland state election.
Ms Bell-Henselin had failed to respond to interview requests from Bay FM and The Echo as of Tuesday morning, and had also failed to advise whether or not she would attend a Meet the Candidates forum in the Byron Theatre Monday 16 May.
Richmond’s One Nation ‘ghost’
The Echo contacted One Nation headquarters last week to enquire about Ms Bell-Henselin, who was registered as the party’s Richmond candidate but was missing from their website.
One Nation said the omission would be rectified but Ms Bell-Henselin’s profile was still missing from the site Tuesday morning, whereupon One Nation advised it would be uploaded within ten minutes of the phone conversation.
The omission was just one of several noted by other media in the federal election campaign, leading to accusations that One Nation was hosting so-called ‘ghost’ candidates across the country.
Ghost candidates didn’t just live in electorates besides the ones they were representing on ballot papers, they were barely visible on the ground campaigning.
Ms Bell-Henselin’s Facebook profile as of Tuesday morning suggested she still lived in Queensland’s sunshine coast hinterland.
The page only mentioned Richmond in reference to her how-to-vote cards, which suggested preferencing the Liberal Democrats and Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party, and putting The Greens last.
Recently posted photos included one of the Big Prawn in Ballina, indicating the candidate had traveled to the region in early May.
Your chance to question Richmond candidates
Meanwhile, the other nine candidates for the federal seat of Richmond have confirmed their attendance at next Monday’s forum in the Byron Theatre.
Members of the community are to be invited to put questions to the panel as part of live broadcast and streamed event at bayfm.org; if your community group or cause has a question related to federal policy, please email [email protected] with subject: ‘Richmond Meet the Candidates’.
Bay FM’s Community Newsroomis featuring interviews with candidates in the lead-up to the forum: tune in via the website or 99.9 on your radio dial from 11am each Friday, or listen back via the program guide.
Listen back to Richmond candidate interviews via Bay FM
Interviews with Independents David Warth and Terry Sharples and United Australia Party candidate Rob Marks are available to listen to on demand here.
You can listen to last week’s interviews with Liberal Democrats Party candidate Gary Biggs, Informed Medical Options Party candidate Monica Shepherd, and Independent Nathan Jones here.
Interviews with incumbent Labor member Justine Elliot, Nationals candidate Kimberley Hone and The Greens candidate Mandy Nolan are scheduled to air this Friday.
* Mia Armitage is a Bay FM member and Community Newsroom reporter
One Nation doesn’t need each candidate to campaign. They have this thing called party unity. We already know what she will vote for in parliament. Go watch the Please Explain channel on youtube.
Why would anyone bother?
We all know they’re a bunch of bigots & anti-science neanderthals who struggle to produce any coherent policies.
As for that “thing called party unity” it hasn’t worked for them at any time since they emerged from the slime & anyone who dared have an opinion or a question for Pauline was excommunicated. Though it has been entertaining.
Or maybe this is yet another one of your jokes?
Could you tell me in what way you think they are bigots?
And also could also explain what you think science is?
I have responded to your last point bellow, but I can’t respond to your first two with understanding your concept of those terms.
It’s Pauline’s Party and they do as she wants them to do.
Ghost candidates are only standing to get the $s for each vote they attract. It goes to…..Parsimonious Pauline!
Are you saying that if I joined the Greens and started trying to convert the members to my way of thinking that I wouldn’t get kicked out?
Of course the party goes along with the party line, that’s how it’s suppose to work, otherwise you go join another party or run as independent.
Is it beyond your ability to understand that there are a lot of people that agree with them?
You stuck in a little bit of an Echo Echo Echo chamber?
Yep every party expects party unity/loyalty once policy has been decided. However the way that policy is arrived at ideally involves input from all the party room. That’s why it’s nonsensical to think we should all be satisfied with not having any contact with the candidate because they can just be automatons.
Should we be oblivious to potentially electing a whole lot of dropkicks? Dropkicks who will form and interpret said policies as the parliamentary term unfolds and issues and legislation present themselves.
Our parliamentary system has been corrupted but there are still many advantages in having a good local representative. They are meant to do more that rubber stamp. It’s called representative government and is meant to promote the needs and issues of each area having a voice in the mix.
But like M Clarke I reckon you’ve just thrown a stone in the pond to see where the ripples go.
Your voting in a bunch of drop kicks to be the face of power no matter what you scratch on that paper to avoid a fine.
Most Australians donkey vote anyway. It’s time we let the donkey have go in office.
I’m not opposed to filling the red and green rooms with a bunch of Malcolm Roberts types, I just don’t think anything would actually change. The agenda marches on.
Most Australians don’t donkey vote. Another pretentious throw away line but baseless statement. If that were the case it would be clearly evident in the results.
There’s a smidgeon of truth in what you say but not enough to justify this undergrad cynicism that it meant to sound oh so cool and intellectual! Fooling no one.
Great policy analysis
I didn’t have a clue nor cared who she was .
I googled her.
Ugh!
Obviously someone did though ,as you have her her photo on here together with her husband and the red headed person .
Another well researched Echo , ‘echo’.
Congratulations.
You just hate seeing a woman being successful you anti-red head bigot.
Now I know you’re just having fun!
$ for the vote AND preferences directed to anti green parties like Palmers United Coal Party. Preferences that pile along and favor the Libs in the end.
Mystery? Any vote for the LNP/Hanson/Palmer Axis Tripartite pact, is a vote for more failed Morrison scamvangelical faction Govt! There’s no Liberal party anymore it’s the Morrison Party, thats now clear to all and sundry. And these drogues are helping him get across the line to block that dreaded Federal ICAC, that will expose them all to real investigation and prosecution!
Well Hanson is the one doing the most attacking of ScoMo for not getting rid of all the fake Liberals.
And if there was a Federal ICAC, it would get staffed by all their friends anyway.
Christian you really need to go to bed earlier. It’s good for the mind.
Being sleep deprived makes you delirious and post nonsense after 2am
Yes , a vote for one nation and UAP and some sneaky independants is a vote for the coalition , lib/nat . Plain and simple .
A vote for the greens and some sneaky independents is a vote for Labor.