One Nation’s Victorian leader Warren Pickering has acknowledged using illegal drugs during his twenties and has also disclosed that he was once part of an open relationship.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the former Australian Defence Force member said he had experimented with marijuana, ecstasy and amphetamines when he was younger, while firmly denying allegations that he had ever used ice.
Pickering addressed the media after claims about his past were raised by his former partner, Jo Scott.
“I had utilised illegal drugs in my 20s. Never would I have said… that I was a drug addict,” Pickering told reporters.
“I did use them as a young man. And I’m not proud of that,” he said.
Pressed on which substances he had taken, he said: ‘We’re talking about speed, amphetamines, ecstasy and marijuana.’
Pickering insisted he was not a habitual drug user and dismissed suggestions he was heavily involved in drugs.
‘I wasn’t an experienced drug taker,’ he said.
Warren Pickering (centre) appearing alongside his family (daughter Jhett and stepson Johnny) and James Ashby (right) at a press conference on Tuesday
Asked if he had ever used ice, Pickering was adamant he did not.
‘Ice is not on that list. Never,’ he said.
He also strongly denied allegations he had used methamphetamine in a house while children were present.
‘It’s wrong. It’s the worst accusation, that I smoked ice in a house with children,’ he said.
Pauline Hanson’s former chief of staff and One Nation director James Ashby stood alongside him, defending Pickering and highlighting that the claims related to events nearly two decades ago.
Ashby also addressed claims relating to a note Pickering allegedly gave Ms Scott, in which he referred to acting in a ‘sexual’ and ‘devious’ manner.
‘Pickering was referring to behaviour that involved the couple’s open relationship,’ Ashby said.
‘They opened that relationship to a third person, and at the same time, Pickering was exploring his own sexuality.’
Pickering (pictured on Tuesday) denied that he had ever taken the drug ice
Pickering said one of his greatest regrets was failing to give his children the best possible environment.
‘I should have been able to provide them, regardless of being a young man, the best possible environment to thrive, as they deserved,’ he said.
‘You would not wish the trauma that these kids, these poor kids had to endure to have the type of relationship we’ve got. I’m just very blessed that they are made of the right stuff, and they have become more tenacious as a result.’
Pickering said he had spent years rebuilding his life and accepted responsibility for the harm caused by his actions.
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‘The mistakes I made in my 20s hurt people. They hurt me. They hurt people I loved. And I will live with that forever,’ he said.
He said his life changed dramatically after joining the Australian Defence Force at age 28.
‘What I did since then was change my life dramatically, for the benefit of not only my children, but for myself, and those around me,’ he said.
‘By joining the Australian Defence Force and starting on that path, I changed the entire course of my life.’
Pickering also admitted to drink-driving offences as a young man.
Pickerings’s daughter Jhett (centre) defended her father and said he had been there for them
‘I believe I lost my licence for drink driving as an 18-year-old, and again, as a 20-year-old,’ he said.
‘Again, things I’m not proud of.’
He rejected other allegations made against him and said he stopped using drugs long before joining the military.
‘I stopped long before I joined the Australian Defence Force,’ he said.
Asked why voters should judge him differently from his critics, Pickering said people should be assessed on how they respond to mistakes, not only the mistakes themselves.
‘It depends how, as a matter of perspective, how you want to judge someone, by their past, or by the direction they’ve taken since,’ he said.
‘What have they done to redeem themselves? Not only their family, but their community, but within themselves. I’m proud of the man I am today.’
Ashby stood by his colleague’s record, saying Pickering’s experiences are similar to the backgrounds of many One Nation candidates.
Warren Pickering (centre) is One Nation’s Victorian leader and lead Upper House candidate
‘People with lived experience. People that refuse to be a victim of their own past, and people that can hold themselves to a higher standard now,’ he said.
Pickering’s children also mounted a strong defence of him, accusing their mother of a years-long campaign against him.
His eldest stepson Johnny told reporters his mother was a ‘narcissistic, compulsive liar’ who had been targeting Pickering for years.
He claimed she had a history of substance abuse and said she was ‘loving what she’s doing at the moment to Warren and One Nation’.
Despite Pickering’s past mistakes, he said the One Nation leader had transformed his life and remained a positive influence on the family.
‘What he’s done for himself is unbelievable,’ he said.