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Australia's Pauline Hanson fails in election bid

Controversial former Australian politician Pauline Hanson narrowly failed in her bid to win a seat in the New South Wales parliament Tuesday, but said she would consider forming her own party.

The outspoken 56-year-old, known for her anti-immigration and trade protectionist stance when leader of the One Nation party, looked likely to win the last upper house seat after the final count from the March 26 election.

But despite leading voters' first preferences, the one-time fish and chip shop owner was overtaken when second and subsequent
preferences were allocated via a computer distribution.

"I am very disappointed with not winning the seat but I am very, very pleased with the result I had in my polling," Hanson, who ran as an independent, told reporters in Sydney.

Hanson, who gained prominence in the 1990s after winning a seat in the national parliament and warning that Australia was at risk of being swamped by Asians, refused to draw a line under her political life.

Asked whether she would consider forming her own party, she replied: "It is something to consider. It really is."

Hanson said she had received a strong personal vote and the New South Wales state election showed that "people are fed up with major political parties. People want an honest vote on the floor of the parliament".

"I can't disregard the vote that I got," she said.

Hanson has made several failed bids to return to politics after losing her federal seat in 1998, including a 2007 run for a national Senate seat in which she campaigned for an end to immigration by Muslims to protect "Australian culture".

Hanson, who in 2003 spent several weeks in jail for fraudulently spending electoral funds before the judgement was quashed, said she had "learned a lot over the years".

She insisted she would remain in her home on the New South Wales north coast, denying that she moved from Queensland simply to be eligible to contest the March election.

09:33 | Labels: , , |

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