'Gutter politics' and rape: The Black history of One Nation

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party has thrown a "warm protective blanket" over Sean Black — violent convicted rapist, wife-beater and purveyor of chaos. Investigations editor Ross Jones reports.

According to The Australian:

'The quarterly analysis of Newspolls published between January 12 and March 26 reveals rising support for One Nation across all demographics.'

The Canberra bubble’s assumption of what the stereotypical One Nation voter looks like is being blown out of the water. For example, more women than men support One Nation.

If this is true, it's probably because the women polled had never heard of Sean Black and are unaware of the warm protective blanket Pauline Hanson’s One Nation affords this violent, convicted rapist, wife-beater and purveyor of chaos.

Until very recently, Black was PHON’s campaign director, one of the party’s innermost inner circle.

Sky News on 13 April 2026 reported:

'Pauline Hanson says she has sacked the convicted rapist who worked as One Nation’s campaign manager, but accused Coalition MPs of playing “gutter politics” by criticising her decision to rehire him.'

All we have is Hanson’s word that Black was sacked — and she does have a way with words.

According to Sky:

'Talking to Sky News on Sunday evening, Ms Hanson said she “shot this man in question in front of his wife, with his two children in the other room” earlier that day.'

That’s one way of dealing with staff.

Pauline’s not happy about sacking Black, though:

"It’s gutter politics … and it sickens me to what has happened,” Hanson said.

 

"[Black] did his time for the crime he was convicted of and that, and now he was trying to get on with his life..."

What now? What happens? Put him on the scrapheap? Or should we bring in the death penalty for anyone who commits a crime?

According to the Sydney Morning Herald:

'One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce says the convicted rapist sacked from the minor party’s headquarters on Sunday was the victim of a political smear job as he had served his time.'

Before his conviction for the rape and violent assault of his first wife, Black had led a "colourful" career — including, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, accusations of:

'...bullying and flying into fits of uncontrollable rage during his years as a Queensland local councillor, tried to set up the Australian version of the U.S. Tea Party fringe group and was kicked out of a restaurant when he threw a coaster at a man wearing a T-shirt insulting Tony Abbott.'

During his years as a real estate agent, Mr Black was also accused of rent-bidding — and was named in Queensland Parliament by former Labor Housing Minister Robert Schwarten for engaging in the "un-Australian" activity.

July 2016 saw four PHON senators elected — undischarged bankrupt Rodney Culleton in WA, Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts in Queensland and Brian Burston in NSW.

By October 2016, Black had been hired as a staffer for Roberts.

Brian Burston, who as a new Senator, was closely involved with the workings of PHON at that time, told IA:

“Black is a close mate of James Ashby and it was Ashby who got him hired. It was his decision. Pauline will do whatever Ashby says. He controls her, even answers her phone.”

Then-minister Schwarten reportedly said of Black’s first stint as a One Nation staffer to Senator Roberts:

"Every organisation he has ever touched he has blighted. It's hard to believe anyone could discredit One Nation but believe me he will do that. It will prove to be an own goal for them, having him there."

On 24 May 2017, Black was charged by Queensland Police with rape and six counts of assault.

'Black’s arrest was widely reported but the rape charge, confirmed at the time by Queensland police to Guardian Australia, could not be made public for legal rasons.'

Whether Black confided the nature of his charges to Roberts is unclear, but Roberts kept him on until he himself was turfed out of the Senate in October 2017, in the great s44 debacle. 

In July 2018, the ABC reported:

Former One Nation adviser Sean Black sentenced to five years' jail for raping his former wife.

 

In sentencing, Judge Glen Cash said it was clear Black was willing to use violence to dominate his relationship.

The ABC report also detailed the nature of the violence:

Earlier this month Black was convicted of raping his former wife Tanya in a bathroom in 2007, pushing her down stairs and crushing her hand in a door.

 

The judge said Black dragged her out by the hair from the shower and raped her.

 

"That night … you told her it wasn't rape, because she was your wife," he said.

The trial judge noted Black showed no remorse for his crimes:

“Ex-wife of former One Nation adviser says being grilled over her rape 're-traumatised' her.”

Black’s ex-wife Tanya endured further torture at his trial, because:

Black did not take the stand, but Tanya faced more than 12 hours of questioning.

 

Her vindication by a jury followed years of threats from a man who claimed he was protected by powerful connections from a career that took him from the state Labor party to Logan City Council, the LNP and Canberra in One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts's office.

 

She was concerned about her former partner's aggressive behaviour escalating.

 

"The threat had always been, if this ever goes to court, I will kill you," she said. "It was a very real threat to me."

Even after the pair split, Tanya took Black’s threats of further harm seriously and lived in fear, telling the ABC she:

“... did not go to police until nine years after the attacks, which she said was a last resort at the urging of a social worker.”

Black served two years and three months in the can, getting out in October 2020, and walking straight back into his old job:

'Sean Black, who in 2018 was gaoled for rape and subsequently lost his appeal against the conviction, was initially rehired by One Nation in 2020 as a campaign director after serving his time.'

By the time Black was re-hired, the details of his domestic violence had been public for some time and were well-known to the upper party echelons.

Government figures show that in 2023–2024, one Australian woman was killed every eight days by intimate partner violence.

One in four Australian women has experienced intimate partner violence. In 2023-2024, nine out of ten hospitalisations as a result of intimate partner violence were women.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation does not care about the thousands of Australian women who live in constant fear or worse.

It does not care about the thousands of traumatised children who witness their mother being bashed by a coward.

All it does is bleat about the outcry over Black being "gutter politics".

The principle that former criminals deserve the chance of re-admittance into civilised life once they have served their sentence is sound and necessary – we can all make mistakes.

But men who beat women in front of their children are not in that category.

Ross Jones is IA's investigations editor and the author of the two-year investigation, Ashbygate: the plot to destroy Australia's Speaker, published by IA in 2015 and available HERE.