Financial records lodged by Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party have revealed more than $1 million in missing or worthless assets over a period of more than six years, prompting criticism from a leading accounting expert and raising questions about the party’s financial management.
Documents filed with Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading between 2016 and 2022, obtained by Guardian Australia, show repeated failures by the party to meet regulatory obligations, including late annual reports, delayed annual general meetings and incomplete filings.
The records also show the party has not lodged annual returns with the regulator since 2022.
Expert criticises reporting standards
Matthew Pinnuck, who reviewed the financial statements for Guardian Australia, described the reports as “incredibly sloppy” and said their quality was “very poor and unprofessional”.
“The overall quality of the preparation and presentation of the financial statements is very poor and unprofessional,” Pinnuck said.
He highlighted accounting entries that showed substantial purchases and sales of assets that did not appear to align with the party’s reported balance sheet.
According to the 2021 accounts, the Queensland division of One Nation reported property and equipment worth $93,000, up from $10,307 a year earlier. In the same year, however, the party reported purchasing property and equipment worth $575,710 and selling property, plant and equipment worth $492,491.
Pinnuck described the figures as “highly unusual”.
Questions over asset valuations
The accounts also show the party purchased more than $100,000 worth of office equipment in 2020 and depreciated the assets to zero value in the same year.
Pinnuck said office equipment would normally be expected to retain value over a useful life of between five and 10 years.
The party also reported significant financial losses in three of the four most recent years covered by the filings.
In 2022, One Nation recorded a deficit of $1.05 million, compared with a deficit of $517,000 in 2021. The result represented a reversal from the $2.2 million surplus reported in 2020.
“These recurring losses may raise questions about the organisation’s ability to manage its financial affairs effectively,” Pinnuck said.
Reporting and compliance concerns
Pinnuck also questioned the party’s decision to prepare financial statements as a “special purpose entity”, a reporting category commonly used by smaller organisations that requires less disclosure.
He argued there was a strong case that One Nation should be considered publicly accountable and therefore provide fuller financial disclosure.
The expert also said a non-director signing a director’s declaration could potentially raise legal concerns.
Documents obtained through right-to-information laws show Queensland’s Office of Fair Trading issued a show-cause notice after the party failed to submit annual reports and financial statements within required timeframes.
When overdue reports were eventually lodged, records showed annual general meetings for 2021 and 2022 were held on 18 February 2023, later than required under the Associations Incorporated Act.
Mayfair investment scrutiny
The records also reveal One Nation invested in Mayfair Platinum, an investment company linked to a development proposal at Mission Beach and Dunk Island in Queensland.
The party reportedly invested $500,000 in the scheme. The investment was frozen in early 2020, and the Federal Court later found the company had engaged in misleading and deceptive advertising.
Despite the collapse of the scheme, Mayfair Platinum investments remained listed as current assets in One Nation’s 2021 and 2022 financial statements, valued at between $265,000 and $300,000.
In 2020, Pauline Hanson said the investment had been made by the party executive without her knowledge despite her role as party president at the time.
Her chief of staff, James Ashby, said at the time: “We have never ever risked our members’ money.”
Guardian Australia reported that One Nation did not respond to questions regarding the financial records.