Man charged over alleged baseball bat assault on One Nation volunteer

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says a Victorian volunteer has suffered a brain bleed after he was assaulted with a baseball bat at his Surf Coast home on Sunday night.

Warning: This story contains a graphic image some readers may find distressing.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said a 37-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy were arrested following the alleged assault on Scorpio Street in Torquay about 7:45pm.

The victim, a 60-year-old man, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The 37-year-old man has been charged with assault offences and has been remanded to appear before court on November 10.

The 14-year-old boy was issued with a caution.

One Nation Victoria leader Warren Pickering said the attack allegedly began after One Nation signs on the victim’s property were interfered with.

Mr Pickering said any kind of political violence or intimidation was unacceptable.

“[If] you don’t like someone’s politics, you vote accordingly. You don’t assault them,” he said.

“Our thoughts are with our volunteer and his family. We’re informed he has serious injuries. This attack is un-Australian and unacceptable.”

Pauline Hanson makes hospital visit

Senator Hanson travelled to University Hospital in Geelong today to visit the victim of the alleged attack.

She said the man was suffering from a brain bleed after being knocked unconscious during the alleged assault, and was now in a serious but stable condition.

“I feel for the family. He’s self-employed. Who knows what is going to happen now?” Senator Hanson said.

A photograph of the man’s injuries provided by One Nation Victoria showed the man sustained serious facial injuries with major bruising and swelling.

Visibly emotional when describing her meeting with the man, Senator Hanson said she was moved by the man’s dedication to the party.

“His resilience, his belief in One Nation and what we represent, and he said he wants to go right back out there and put the signs up,” Senator Hanson said.

The One Nation leader said she did not want to politicise the attack, but said the “slap on the wrist” given to the teenager alleged to be involved in the assault was “the problem with Victoria”.

“Whether … Ben Carroll gets back in as premier or whether it’s Jess Wilson or whether it’s One Nation that we actually have some say in this state … all of us have to be doing better than what is happening now in this state when it comes to crime,” she said.

Senator Hanson said she would personally donate to a crowdfunding page set up for the family.

The alleged attack came on the same day as a vandalism attack on a pub in Ballarat East.

Meaghers Hotel and cars parked outside the pub were spray-painted on Sunday morning with anti-One Nation slogans, which the owner of the pub called “mindless stupidity”.

Politicians denounce ‘shocking’ act of violence

Premier Ben Carroll called the incident “shocking”, and said all volunteers in the lead-up to the election deserved to be safe from the threat of violence.

“Whether you’re wearing a red, a blue, an orange or a green t-shirt, they are volunteers,” Mr Carroll said.

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson similarly condemned the alleged attack as “absolutely appalling”.

“Every Victorian has the right to express their political views and support the party of their choice without fear of violence or intimidation,” she said.

“We can disagree strongly about politics, but violence is never the answer.”

The violent incident is one of several threatening episodes which have marred the early stages of Victoria’s election campaign.

Last month, the husband of Liberal candidate Amanda Dow was hospitalised after an alleged assault during a confrontation over election signs.

Emergency Services Minister Paul Edbrooke also reported receiving a death threat, after a bullet was left on his car bonnet.