The Populist: The favourite son | Episode 2 – Full Story podcast

Most Australians know the story of Pauline Hanson: the fish and chip shop, the maiden speech, the “please explain”. But Hanson’s top adviser, James Ashby, wields as much – if not more – power over One Nation as Hanson herself. When the party bars media from press conferences, it’s Ashby who makes the call. To understand how One Nation operates, it’s important to understand Ashby’s story, from his beginnings as a PR flack, through a massive parliamentary scandal, to his ascent to political power as One Nation’s popularity soars : One Nation under fire for abandoning gas reservation plan in favour of policy benefiting Gina Rinehart Pauline Hanson’s daughter Lee working for a NSW One Nation senator remotely from Tasmania without ministerial approval