David Oldfield (politician)

David Ernest Oldfield (born 25 June 1958) is a former Australian politician who co-founded and was deputy leader of the Pauline Hanson's One Nation party.

Oldfield was initially involved in politics as a member of the City of Manly Council, a Liberal candidate for Manly and a political advisor to then-Liberal Party minister (and future Prime Minister of Australia), Tony Abbott. He later became acquainted with parliamentary newcomer Pauline Hanson, who in the wake of her election to the Australian House of Representatives gained notoriety for comments about Indigenous Australians, Asians, immigration and multiculturalism. While working for Abbott, Oldfield began to construct Pauline Hanson's One Nation. One Nation was formed in 1997, and Oldfield was appointed an informal deputy leader, serving with David Ettridge.

The structural basis of One Nation was orchestrated solely by Ettridge and Oldfield, who acted as the policy masterminds behind Pauline Hanson's image and political style. However, in 2000 Oldfield was expelled from One Nation after a dispute with Hanson and formed the splinter group One Nation NSW, serving as its leader from its creation in 2000, to its dissolution in 2004.

Oldfield was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1999 to 2007, under One Nation, One Nation NSW and briefly as an independent twice. In 2006, Oldfield announced that he would not recontest the 2007 New South Wales election.

Today, he lives in Sydney with his family. He formerly hosted radio programs on radio 2UE and radio 2GB.

Early life and early political career

Oldfield grew up in Manly, a beachside suburb of Sydney. He was attended Balgowlah Boys School. Manly is part of the federal constituency of Warringah, which became occupied in 1994 by Oldfield's future employer, the then-Liberal minister and future Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. In 1996, Oldfield became employed as a staff member for Tony Abbott.^[1] Oldfield later become one of his advisors. While in that position, Oldfield secretly co-founded the right wing One Nation Party in concert with independent Queensland MP Pauline Hanson and campaign specialist David Ettridge. He and Ettridge were seen as the masterminds of the structure of One Nation behind Hanson's image and style.

Political career

After One Nation was formed, Oldfield acted as an informal deputy leader alongside David Ettridge, and both held the position of senior advisors to Pauline Hanson in relation to the party policies. One Nation was described as a 'phenomenon'. At the 1998 Queensland election, the party gained 22% of the vote, winning 11 out of 89 seats in the unicameral Legislative Assembly. At the 2001 Western Australian election, One Nation gained 10% of the vote, winning 3 seats in the Legislative Council. Oldfield himself won a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Council at the March 1999 state election.

Both Oldfield and Ettridge went to extreme lengths to secure the party's survival, forcing members to prematurely sign resignation forms, and disendorsing anyone who refused to sign or who disagreed with party policies. As well, Oldfield disendorsed anyone who crossed him. Due to the conduct of Oldfield and Ettridge, the Australian public came to view Hanson as a puppet, controlled by the masterminds Oldfield and Ettridge, even though Hanson frequently denied it.

The popularity of One Nation began to decline after the 1998 federal election, in which Pauline Hanson lost her seat and only one senator was elected. In 2000, Oldfield was expelled from One Nation by Hanson. He later founded a separate party, One Nation NSW. It achieved little success, and in 2004 Oldfield left the party and sat as an independent. In August 2006 he announced that he would not contest the March 2007 election.

Media career

In 2006 he was a contestant on Australia's Celebrity Survivor.

Oldfield commenced as a talkback radio host with Sydney radio station 2GB in November 2007.^[2] In 2009, Oldfield became the highest rating radio presenter in Sydney with 25.2% of the overnight audience. In 2010, Oldfield was fired by 2GB.

In May 2010, he began hosting the afternoon shift as a relief presenter on 2UE. After three days, Oldfield was suspended by the station for making inflammatory remarks with respect to asylum seekers. In his on-air comments, Oldfield suggested an immigration policy whereby:

"We’ll turn on the electric fences, we’ll stop them from coming, and the ones that are here: we’ll make sure they can’t escape, and if they do try it, they’ll be fried."^[3]

In December 2010, Oldfield replaced Steve Liebmann as the host of the Mornings program on 2UE.

In April 2012, Oldfield moved from the Mornings program to present Nights on 2UE.

In November, 2016, Oldfield appeared on the SBS television program First Contact, a series that takes a group of Australians who have had limited contact with indigenous people and brings them into contact with them. In the first episode he stated that Aboriginal culture "should have died out, like the Stone Age died out". He also expressed the view that the Australian constitution is not racist for omitting mention of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. He also was seen making an emotional connection with an indigenous man over something they had in common; the death of their fathers.

Personal life

Oldfield is married to Lisa Oldfield, a former co-host of Channel 9's daytime television program, The Catch-Up, and now a castmate on The Real Housewives of Sydney.^[4][5][6] In August 2010 the couple had their first child, Henry (Harry), and in July 2012 welcomed another boy, Albert (Bert).^[7]

In her autobiography, Pauline Hanson describes a two-week affair she states she had with David Oldfield.^[8] Oldfield initially denied the affair but later failed a lie detector test and subsequently apologised to his wife for his deception, which led to a temporary separation. They reconciled in 2009.^[9]

In the documentary Pauline Hanson: Please Explain!, Oldfield describes himself as "not a fan of multiculturalism".^[10]

References

1. ↑ "Mr Lonely Hearts: Cruising With David Oldfield". Sydney Morning Herald. 11 July 1998. Archived from the original on 18 June 2011. 
2. ↑ "Overnight with David Oldfield". 2GB. Retrieved 28 November 2007. 
3. ↑ "David Oldfield suspended by 2UE". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2010. 
4. ↑ "The Real Housewives of Sydney is Coming in 2017!". Arena. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016. 
5. ↑ Sean, Dillion. "The 'Real Housewives of Sydney' Have Been Revealed & Our Bodies Are Ready". Pedestrian. Retrieved 22 July 2016. 
6. ↑ Skelly, Katie. "The Real Housewives of Sydney cast has been revealed!". Woman's Day. Retrieved 22 July 2016. 
7. ↑ Davies, Rebecca (19 October 2010). "David, Lisa Oldfield welcome first child". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
8. ↑ Ellen Connolly (18 March 2007). "Pauline Hanson tells all". The Daily Telegraph. 
9. ↑ "Oldfield apologises to wife after failing lie detector". The West Australian. 29 March 2007. 
10. ↑ timestamp: 25 min, 20 sec

External links

• Parliamentary biography: The Hon. David Ernest OLDFIELD (1958 - )
• Maiden Speech in NSW Parliament: 26 October 1999
• Sydney Morning Herald Saturday 11 July 1998