Legal woes grow for right-winger Hanson

Pauline Hanson has vowed to fight the fraud charges, saying they are politically motivated

BRISBANE, Australia (CNN) -- Controversial former Australian politician Pauline Hanson must face trial on three charges of electoral fraud, a magistrate has decided.

Hanson is a co-founder and figurehead of the right-wing One Nation party whose policies attack welfare for Aborigines, the level of Asian immigration and the globalization of the Australian economy.

Hanson's charges stem from the illegal registration of her One Nation party in the state of Queensland in December 1997 and her subsequently accepting $275,000 (Aust. $500,000) in electoral funding.

After a month-long committal hearing, magistrate Michael Halliday found Monday Hanson and fellow party founder David Ettridge had a case to answer.

Hanson has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is vowing to fight them, maintaining the legal action against her is politically and personally motivated.

Hanson told the court after the decision: "Your worship, I still state that I am not guilty of the three charges," Australian Associated Press reports.

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"I wish to make this statement here in this court to you, not only to you, but to the people of Australia and the people behind me who have been my supporters.

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"It was not for my personal gain; it was to give the people of Queensland another choice.

"I gave them that promise in registering a political party. I am innocent and I will fight before a jury. "

If found guilty Hanson faces up to 10 years in jail.

The charges against Hanson and Ettridge follow an earlier court ruling that One Nation had been fraudulently registered as a political party in Queensland prior to its electoral debut.

The Queensland Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that One Nation used supporters who were not fully paid-up members to register as a party in Hanson's home state of Queensland in December 1997.

The charges against Hanson and Ettridge allege that they knew they did not have the 500 paid-up party members necessary for One Nation to be registered as a political party and that electoral funding was therefore accepted fraudulently.

Retired as president

Hanson's party has waxed and waned in the polls since emerging as a political force in 1997.

The party polled poorly -- under 5 percent of the national vote -- in the latest federal election, a far cry from the 11 seats and 22 percent of the vote it gained in Queensland's state election in June 1998.

Hanson herself has retired from official political life, having failed to win a seat in Australia's upper house of Parliament in last November's elections.

Hanson has also resigned as party president and from the national executive of One Nation, however she remains a member of the party and still figures prominently in the political group's media and marketing efforts.

One Nation is also running a campaign to raise funds to help Hanson in her legal fight.