Pauline Hanson: How success (and failure) has resulted in $1.2 million payday, by Adam Gartrell in the Sydney Morning Herald.

As Judith Sloan points out, the article includes a very unflattering photo of Pauline Hanson. The headline was originally “Pauline Hanson’s $1.2m Pay Day,” which, together with the photo, suggests that she got the money by “nefarious means.”

The same article has flattering photos of Windsor, Xenophon, Oakeshott, and Hinch. “No nasty sneering going on there.” As well as the nasty photo of Hanson (above) it also now includes a faltering photo of Hanson, which the original presumably did not.

This is real gutter journalism — the SMH instructing its readers in its PC prejudices, to hate Hanson. Apparently they were ashamed when it was pointed it out, and subsequently cleaned up the article.

From the story in the SMH:

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party is on track to get almost $1.2 million in electoral funding from taxpayers.

The right-wing firebrand will get the cash no matter how many senators she ends up with and regardless of how much the party actually spent on campaigning.

The money will add to an estimated $6 million in public funding she and her party has received since first entering politics in 1996.

Under election rules, the Australian Electoral Commission pays parties and candidates $2.62 for every first-preference vote they get in each state or division in which they attract more than 4 per cent support.

Ms Hanson’s party got 9 per cent of the upper house vote in Queensland and just over 4 per cent in NSW. As long as her NSW vote doesn’t dip below the threshold as counting continues she will get about $765,000 for her Senate vote. Each of her 15 lower house candidates also got more than 4 per cent of the vote, giving her a further $400,000.