People are rightly jaded with politics at the moment. The government has done a terrible job handling, or rather failing to handle, rising anti-Semitism. The now-broken Coalition has too many men who think their own careers are of interest to us, rather than any policy ideas they may have. It is no wonder Australians are asking themselves: "What else is there?" In this context Pauline Hanson's popularity has risen sharply. A little reflection might be in order.

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Hanson entered Federal Parliament some 30 years ago for a brief stint as the member for Oxley. She likes to use inflammatory language and that may be why she sought and was granted close personal protection (CPP). CPP is considered a status symbol by some that have it. I had it during one election and found a person waiting outside the toilet a little intrusive.

One colleague once smugly asked why I didn't have CPP as he did. I simply replied with a smile: "Because nobody wants to kill me". One might think an MP would tone it down a bit. Hanson didn't. As the relevant minister at the time it seemed as though she was revelling in the perceived status of needing protection. She absolutely loved it. It fuelled her desired image of being the underdog.

Hanson entered the Senate in 2016 and remains there. What do you think you've got for your money? When people jump between the House of Representatives and the Senate and seek election in a variety of seats it is a bad sign. It says they are so convinced of their value that they must be in parliament so that we can all recognise their genius. Seems to me a tad egocentric. She's not alone. Nonetheless, make no mistake, her being on the political stage is what's important to her.

Over that time she has teamed up with and then fallen out with a number of men. Starting with David Oldfield when he was working for Tony Abbott in the Howard government. Toss in Mark Latham and a few others. She's had bust-ups with women as well, although not as high profile. Various iterations of parties associated with her in a number of states have had nasty fallouts.

Now she has teamed up with Barnaby Joyce. Barnaby is a great retail politician. If you think he is completely stupid I suggest you think again. However, his ego is largely unchecked. He too has a history of shopping around for the........

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