One Nation Anti-Leak Memo Immediately Leaked to Daily Mail

A leaked internal email has revealed One Nation has imposed a sweeping media blackout on its branch managers, instructing them not to speak with journalists.

The firm instruction was circulated to every branch shortly before 3pm on Monday on behalf of the party’s new general manager, Kelvin Morton.

Less than 30 minutes later, the email had been leaked to the Daily Mail.

The memo was headed: ‘Media enquiries branch meetings and public statements – rules every branch must follow.’

It warned that One Nation branches, office holders, meetings and members had attracted significant attention from media organisations across Australia.

The directive acknowledged that such scrutiny may be expected, noting journalists could claim there was a public interest in reporting on branch meetings, but said one message had to be made “abundantly clear”.

A highlighted red box under the subheading ‘The rule – no exceptions’ stated: ‘No media outlet or journalist is ever entitled to attend a One Nation branch meeting, and none is to be permitted to do so.’

The email also set out instructions for branch managers approached by reporters, telling them: ‘You are to decline to comment. Do not confirm, deny, or elaborate on any matter, however trivial it may seem.’

‘Do not agree to speak “off the record”. There is no such thing in practice. 

‘Refer the enquiry immediately to the national office.’

The directive also said that One Nation supports the principle that democratically elected representatives are accountable to the Australian people. 

‘We equally support the principle that political parties are accountable for the taxpayer funding they receive, and that they are required by law to disclose donations and campaign spending.

‘One Nation is not, however, required to disclose the proceedings of any of its meetings – whether at national executive level, state executive level, or branch level.’

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Under a subheading titled ‘why this matters’, it was explained that comments can be misconstrued.

‘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.

‘One person speaking out of turn can undo the disciplined work of every other branch in the country. That is why compliance with these rules is not optional.’

A similar directive was issued in April, ordering committee members to reconstitute their branches after an internal review found ‘significant risks’. 

All committee members and nominees were ordered to sign non-disclosure agreements, while branches had to agree to a ‘media silence’ policy and a social media ban. 

The Mail understands the directive was issued in response to Seven Network’s hour-long special on Sunday night, during which party leader Pauline Hanson was filmed recording a podcast with far-right UK figure Tommy Robinson.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has an extensive criminal record and has served prison sentences for fraud and assault. 

During the interview, Hanson said she ‘loved’ the idea of mass deportation, claimed the end of the White Australia Policy was problematic for the nation, and claimed migrants wanted to rort Australia’s welfare system.

It follows One Nation’s surge in the latest opinion polls after a brief downturn, with Newspoll on Sunday showing the party’s primary vote rising by one percentage point to 30 per cent, level with Labor.

Labor’s primary vote fell three points over the same period.

The Coalition also posted a modest improvement, with its primary vote climbing to 19 per cent, up from a historic low of 17 per cent.

One Nation has been contacted for comment.