Courier Mail editorial, November 6th 1998
The resignation of One Nation MP Charles Rappolt was as much a shock for One Nation as it was a surprise for everyone else. Mr Rappolt clearly did not take his former colleagues into his confidence before he wrote to the Premier and the Speaker saying he was resigning from the Parliament due to stress. His decision to quit Parliament was understandable. He had apparently been unable to cope with the public exposure that is an essential part of seeking and acquiring political office. Politics is not an occupation for the shy and retiring.
Mr Rappolt also told the Premier he had resigned from his political party, One Nation. He said he now realised he did not give enough thought to his decision to go into politics, and while he agreed with some One Nation ideologies, "I don't feel that the party has been going long enough to sort out their own problems".
One Nation's various representatives at the state and national level responded by trying to divert attention from this potentially damaging confession by one of its party's inner circle. First they revealed Mr Rappolt had received 15 death threats in the past month. But he seems not to have taken them seriously --he did not report them to the police. Such threats are a regrettable but not unfamiliar part of public life in Australia. Pauline Hanson was less reticent than Mr Rappolt about publicising threats directed at her - she demanded police protection. Most people (including journalists) ignore crank calls. Fortunately political violence is rare in Australia.
The second diversionary tactic by One Nation was to blame the media for Mr Rappolt's resignation. The Murdoch press (including The Courier Mail) was accused of a "vindictive campaign", which had destroyed his family life "in their biased and unswerving agenda to destroy Charlie and denigrate One Nation". State Parliamentary leader Bill Feldman accused this newspaper of being "paranoid" about the enormous support for One Nation, of being in contempt of court and of character assassination of "this quiet and dedicated man".
What Mr Feldman's outburst was directed at was a report by The Courier Mail that the "quiet and dedicated" Mr Rappolt had been the subject of a domestic violence order, taken out by the woman with whom he and their respective children shared a house, Sandra Higgins. Ms Higgins was not only his live in housekeeper, but had been listed on One Nation's Internet site as Mr Rappolt's partner. That relationship was denied, however, and Mr Rappolt appointed Ms Higgins as his electorate secretary. Prior to the State Election, One Nation had criticised MPs who put members of their families on the public payroll and insisted it would adopt a more ethical approach to public life.
The Courier Mail makes no apology for its reporting on Mr Rappolt's conduct. Politicians are responsible for making our laws, including domestic violence laws. Voters are entitled to know if an MP's own behaviour is likely to affect the laws that he or she makes and whether the MPs abide by the laws.
We have reported previously on activities by Liberal and national MPs (such as Tony Smith and Trevor Perrett) whose conduct was questionable and a Labor MP who is facing sex charges. No less an authority than the High Court says the media has a duty to disseminate relevant information about government and our elected politicians.
Mr Rappolt was a public figure on the public payroll, as was the woman whom he employed in his electorate office. In the last election, One Nation campaigned hard on the integrity of politicians and the foibles of their opponents, including people such as Michael Cobbs and Mal Colston who faced criminal charges over travel rorts. Those who represent One Nation must be prepared to be publicly accountable in precisely the same way as all other MPs.