One Nation Implements Media Ban Following Leaks and Controversial Remarks

One Nation has issued a stringent media gag order to its branch managers, banning them from speaking to journalists and requiring all media inquiries to be directed to the national office. The directive, sent Monday afternoon by new general manager Kelvin Morton, was leaked to the Daily Mail within half an hour of its distribution.

The memo, titled 'Media enquiries branch meetings and public statements - rules every branch must follow,' explicitly states that no media outlet or journalist is permitted to attend One Nation branch meetings. Branch managers are instructed to "decline to comment" on any matter, regardless of its perceived triviality, and to "not agree to speak 'off the record'," emphasizing that "there is no such thing in practice."

"A single unauthorised comment, an unguarded remark to a journalist, or a screenshot of a branch social media post can be - and routinely is - used to misrepresent the Party's position, damage colleagues, and hand our opponents material they would otherwise never have obtained," the directive explained under the subheading 'why this matters.' It stressed that "compliance with these rules is not optional."

The new policy follows a recent media controversy involving party leader Pauline Hanson. Seven Network's "Spotlight" program aired an hour-long special that featured Hanson discussing mass deportation and making comments about the White Australia Policy and migrants. The program also showed Hanson recording a podcast with Tommy Robinson, a far-right UK figure with a criminal record.

Earlier this year, a similar directive was issued, requiring committee members to sign non-disclosure agreements and adhere to a media silence policy and social media ban. This action was reportedly a response to an internal review that identified "significant risks."

The leak of the media ban memo comes as One Nation experiences a surge in recent opinion polls. Newspoll indicates the party's primary vote has risen to 30%, matching the Labor party's support, while the Coalition's primary vote has slightly increased to 19%.