One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has breached Senate rules by failing to declare a flight on billionaire Gina Rinehart's private jet within the required timeframe. Guardian Australia revealed on Tuesday that Hanson did not disclose the flight, taken between Melbourne and Sydney in October last year, until more than two months after the 35-day deadline.
The flight was provided after Hanson attended the opening of a student accommodation building at Marcus Oldham College in Geelong, partly funded by Rinehart. Hanson updated the register of interests on Tuesday, but the delay constitutes a breach of Senate rules requiring notification of any sponsored travel or hospitality exceeding $300 within 35 days.
When asked at a press conference in Adelaide on Tuesday whether she had received any flights from Rinehart's company Hancock Prospecting, Hanson initially said no, then later said she could not remember. Hancock Prospecting referred questions to One Nation, which did not respond by midday Tuesday.
Public flight tracking data shows Rinehart's Gulfstream 700 travelled from Perth to Sydney on 19 October, stopping briefly at Melbourne's Essendon airport. It is unclear if Rinehart was on board. Hanson spoke at the event, praising Rinehart and calling for lower taxes and the abolition of net-zero policies.
Senate rules state that knowingly failing to notify an alteration within 35 days is a serious contempt, which can be referred to the Privileges Committee for inquiry. The undeclared flight follows a previous failure by Hanson to declare a flight from Rinehart, reported by Guardian Australia in 2022.
