Ordinary People

2002, 55 Minutes

One woman, One Nation - two forces collide.

Far right and anti-immigration politics are on the rise worldwide. In Australia, as in many other western countries, a new political force is drawing on the discontent of those who feel excluded from the promised benefits of globalisation. Rejecting the new world order and its transformation of their economies and cultures, these people are convinced that traditional political parties no longer represent them or their interests. They are desperate to make their voices heard.

For Colene Hughes and her supporters, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party initially appears to offer a solution. It seems to promise true democracy, a way of knocking the country back into shape - giving people like them some power again. However, over time, their belief in the moral rightness of One Nation is confronted by the realities of the party’s internal politics. Once Colene starts to question the authoritarian control of the party’s executive members, the gloves come off. At the annual general meeting, the two forces collide.

This revealing documentary follows Colene through two years and two election campaigns as a One Nation candidate in Ipswich, Queensland, heartland of One Nation. It travels with her on the campaign trail as her idealistic fervour slowly turns to disillusionment. It also gives the viewer an unparalleled look at One Nation - from the inside. As the film takes us into homes, member gatherings, party rallies, branch meetings and social events, we meet the "ordinary people" who have flocked to Pauline Hanson’s call to save the nation and we hear, in their own words, their grievances and aspirations.

A Film Australia National Interest Program produced with the assistance of the Australian Film Commission, the NSW Film and Television Office and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. © 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.

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