One Nation to move headquarters into Brisbane office bought by Gina Rinehart
Australia's One Nation party is relocating its national headquarters to a Brisbane building recently purchased by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart, with MP Barnaby Joyce insisting the party will pay commercial rent. The move adds to scrutiny of the party's close ties to Rinehart.
One Nation is set to move its national headquarters to a three-storey office building in the Brisbane suburb of Spring Hill, which mining billionaire Gina Rinehart's property company Hanrine purchased last week. The purchase was first reported by The Australian and is confirmed by Queensland property title records.
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce defended the arrangement, saying the party would pay Rinehart's company the market rate for the lease rather than receiving any special discount. He stressed that the party funds its office space itself rather than relying on taxpayer money, noting that parliamentary business resources only cover office costs for elected officials, not political parties themselves. The party's headquarters will move from its current location at Brisbane airport once renovations to the new building are finished.
The Spring Hill property is reportedly valued at around $8m, having last sold for $2.4m back in 2003. A spokesperson for Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting said the company holds various commercial properties and does not offer free or discounted space to any tenant, political or otherwise.
The relocation comes amid wider scrutiny of the relationship between One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and Rinehart, which is examined in a new Guardian Australia podcast about the party. Guardian Australia had previously revealed that Hanson and Joyce spent a night at Rinehart's $20m Brisbane mansion last April following fundraising events, during which Joyce gave a live television interview apparently from a bedroom in the house. It was also reported that Hanson uses one of Rinehart's longtime bodyguards for her own personal security.
One Nation has separately breached Senate disclosure rules by failing to declare flights gifted by Hancock Prospecting to Hanson, including trips to a conservative conference in the US and a Trump-hosted event at Mar-a-Lago. In April, Rinehart also gave Hanson a private plane worth more than $1.5m. Hanson has previously described Rinehart as an unofficial policy adviser to her and the party.
