One Nation candidate Steve Dickson quits over strip club video
One Nation Senate candidate Steve Dickson has resigned after he was filmed at a strip club groping an exotic dancer.
A Current Affair broadcast video last night showing Mr Dickson, who is also One Nation's leader in Queensland, also making disparaging and racist remarks to the dancers at the Washington DC venue.
Mr Dickson released a statement this morning confirming he had offered his resignation to party leader Pauline Hanson.
"The footage shown does not reflect the person I am. It shows a person who was drunk and not in control of his actions and I take full responsibility for allowing that to happen," he said.
One Nation Senate candidate Steve Dickson has been filmed in a US strip club. A Current Affair
Mr Dickson was recorded groping a dancer and requesting sexual favours. A Current Affair
The statement said that Mr Dickson's wife is standing by him and he is "deeply remorseful for my disrespectful comments towards women".
"I found the footage difficult to watch as my words and actions under intoxication and in that environment, are not a true reflection of myself," Mr Dickson said.
Senator Hanson said this morning she was "upset" at her right-hand man's actions and had accepted his resignation.
"I have always spoken very highly of Steve Dickson, but the footage I saw last night cannot be ignored or condoned," she said.
"I am both a mother of three boys and the only female leader of a political party in this country.
"I wouldn't tolerate my own children behaving this way towards women, and I cannot and will not condone my own candidates dealing with women in this fashion either."
The video was filmed by Al Jazeera during their investigation into gun lobbying. A Current Affair
Steve Dickson was a One Nation candidate for the Senate in Queensland. A Current Affair
Senator Hanson said it was Mr Dickson's language that led her to accept his offer to resign.
"I am aware that strip clubs are a perfectly legal business and that many men in this country have visited one just like women hire strippers for hen's nights," Senator Hanson said.
"But Steve's language and behaviour was unacceptable and does not meet my expectations, nor the greater public's expectation of a person who is standing for public office.
"Steve Dickson yesterday offered his resignation from all positions within the party which I have accepted."
Pauline Hanson has accepted Steve Dickson's resignation after the strip club scandal. Nine
Despite his resignation, Mr Dickson's name will still appear on the Senate ballot.
The video, recorded by Al Jazeera during an undercover investigation into gun lobbying, comes more than a month after the broadcaster released footage from a meeting between Mr Dickson, Senator Hanson's chief of staff James Ashby and the National Rifle Association.
Mr Dickson and Mr Ashby later blamed their actions on being "on the sauce".
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