Things Australians were prepared for during the 2016 federal election: long queues, a very close result, a freshly seared democracy sausage.
Things Australians were not prepared for during the 2016 federal election: The resurgence of Pauline Hanson and the One Nation party.
Eighteen years after she first introduced her far-right anti-immigration policies, the leader of the One Nation party is back – and it looks like she has secured at least one seat in the Senate, possibly up to four.
With over 60 per cent of the votes counted, the party has so far drawn 134,000 first preference Senate votes in her home state of Queensland, and 113,000 first preference votes in New South Wales.
For many critics, it’s possibly the most unexpected result of the election.
For others, it’s been a long time coming.
Watch Pauline Hanson discuss her attitudes towards Islam in her press conference. Post continues after video…
Cheryl Reeves is 40 years old, happily married for 22 years and has two teenage children. She grew up on a farm in Northern New South Wales and describes herself as a Christian woman who loves Jesus, her husband and her kids.
She now lives in Caboolture in Queensland where she has lived for four years, in the electorate of Longman where there is a ‘big One Nation vote’.