One Nation: LNP MP Steve Dickson to lead Pauline Hanson's party in Queensland state election

Queensland MP Steve Dickson, who defected from the Liberal National Party to join One Nation, will be leading Pauline Hanson’s party in the upcoming Queensland state election. Dickson’s defection from LNP had come less than two weeks ago.

With Dickson’s defection, One Nation was able to bag a seat on the Queensland parliament floor. "I believe under Steve's knowledge, experience and under his leadership that the state will power ahead... I believe people are screaming out in Queensland for someone other than the major political parties and the national party to vote for," Hanson said. She added it was up to Dickson "to lead the candidates in policy and on the floor of Parliament.”

Dickson, who cited medicinal cannabis as the reason for his transfer, said he was unable to represent the interests of the people in his electorate as an LNP member. He added that “the two major parties have lost their way.”

Following Hanson’s announcement, the Sunshine Coast MP said, "I think there is a groundswell out in the Australian community as there was in the United States, in the UK, and I can see this happening in Germany and also in France." He added, "The world is changing. The people are speaking up for themselves and they want to be put before politics."

Dickson said he would undertake the vetting of all candidates himself. This comes following candidate Shan Ju Lin’s sacking over her Facebook posts saying "gays should be treated as patients" and "abnormal sex behaviour leads to abnormal crime." According to the ABC, a spokesperson for Hanson had said the party was doing well and it doesn’t want “ratbags.”

"There are people who have put their hand up who have proven to have fallen short, but this is with all political parties, with all walks of life," Dickson said. "I will be going through those lists of people, and I will be doing the best I can, but somebody may fall through the cracks, as they have with Labor and they do with the LNP."

With Dickson’s move, One Nation gets a presence in Queensland’s state parliament. In an interview with News Corp, Hanson had revealed she was planning for as far as 2019 regarding her party’s representation in Australian state governments.