1 month ago
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January 26, 2026 — 5:00am
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has failed to declare director roles or shareholdings in three companies, including one tied to her upcoming satirical film, A Super Progressive Movie.
The companies are run or co-owned by party official Alexander Jones, who pleaded guilty to a $24,000 attempted electoral fraud in 2023. Two involve James Ashby, her chief of staff.
Senate rules require updates to business interests within 35 days but corporate records show Hanson has not declared one directorship for nearly five years.
The omissions are the latest in a series of transparency failures by the Queensland senator, who this month declared her intention to form government.
“I’ve got a hell of a job ahead of me,” she said last week after this masthead’s Resolve Political Monitor showed a record high One Nation primary vote of 18 per cent, and Newspoll put support for One Nation higher than the Coalition for the first time in that survey’s history.
“We’ve got to maintain that support and confidence from the Australian people that we can hopefully form government.”
Hanson’s public register of interests shows she holds shares in Webjet, AMP and Bowen Coking Coal. On October 28, she acquired a stake in A Pauline Production Pty Ltd, which owns half the shares in A Super Progressive Movie Pty Ltd.
The animated film of the same name, which is due to premiere on Australia Day, will be available to stream for $12.99. Credited as “A Pauline Production” on the poster, the satire “takes aim at woke politics” and features a cast of left-wing characters who have “taken over” Australia.
Hanson has also not declared her shareholding and her director role in Small Batch Brewing Pty Ltd, which began in March, years after she floated the idea of launching a craft beer to connect with voters.
A spokesman for Hanson declined to comment on the nature of the business.
Acting as director, secretary and shareholder of both businesses is Jones, who was charged with attempted fraud after changing email timestamps to make a late claim for party funds from the Electoral Commission of Queensland.
Jones’ lawyer said he had made a mistake while under a heavy workload. No conviction was recorded.
Hanson’s spokesman said the production and brewing companies were not trading and that they posed no conflicts of interest.
“In the interest of transparency, Senator Hanson’s office is seeking confirmation from the Senate tabling office and will update the record if required,” the spokesman said.
“Proceeds from A Super Progressive Movie will be redirected to One Nation to assist the party in winning seats from the appalling Albanese Labor government at the 2028 federal election.”
Hanson has also served as a director of Pauline Hanson One Nation Ltd since 2021, but she records her directorships as “nil”. Her spokesman said the role would “come as little surprise” and that “any oversight to declare the non-remunerated position within the party will be rectified in due course”.
According to parliamentary rules, a senator who knowingly fails to declare interests “shall be guilty of a serious contempt of the Senate and shall be dealt with by the Senate accordingly”.
In practice, omissions and long-delayed updates go unpunished.
In 2017, Hanson failed to declare a $4500 snorkelling trip to the Great Barrier Reef. In 2020, her office told this masthead a series of “administrative issues” meant her stake in a recycling company went undeclared for six months.
In November, this masthead revealed that Hanson had claimed $2100 in taxpayer funds for accommodation, flights and private cars to attend a private Federal Court matter, in which Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi successfully sued her for racial discrimination.
The latest Resolve Political Monitor, published by this masthead on January 18, showed support for the Coalition at 28 per cent and One Nation at 18 per cent. The minor party’s vote was up 4 points over the poll’s December result and three times higher than its 6.4 per cent primary vote at the May election.
