From THE VICTORIAN VIEW*
They Dug Up Warren Pickering’s Past. His Children Told the Part They Left Out.
Warren Pickering walked into today’s press conference knowing he was about to discuss some of the most painful and humiliating chapters of his life in front of the nation.
He did not pretend to be an angel or produce the usual political word salad until everyone forgot the question. He admitted using illegal drugs as a young man, acknowledged drink-driving offences, and spoke openly about the people he had hurt.
At the same time, he firmly denied the most serious allegations against him, including the claim that he smoked ice in a house with children present. That distinction matters. Owning your past does not mean accepting every accusation thrown at you.
Pickering is One Nation’s Victorian leader and is vying to become premier at the state election on 28 November. Anyone seeking to lead Victoria should expect scrutiny.
But scrutiny should reveal the whole person – the mistakes, the denials, the evidence, and everything they have done in the years since.
Instead, The Australian reached straight for “Drugs, Deviance” – a headline seemingly assembled by emptying the tabloid cutlery drawer and selecting the sharpest objects.
Asked to name his greatest mistake, Warren gave an immediate and painfully human answer: “Letting my children down.”
He did not hide behind youth or difficult circumstances. He said he should have provided his children with a better environment and acknowledged the damage his choices had caused.
“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.
That is what owning your past sounds like. It means admitting what you did, accepting the consequences and showing through your actions that you became someone better.
Then Warren’s children spoke, and the story became much bigger than some ancient private correspondence being waved around like the Dead Sea Scrolls. His daughter Jhett said: “My dad’s the greatest father I could ask for. He’s never been anything but perfect.”
The contrast was deeply moving. Warren looked back and saw the ways he believed he had failed, while his daughter saw the father who had loved her, supported her and been there when it counted. His stepson Johnny’s contribution was even more confronting.
He described a childhood marked by trauma and spoke bluntly about his estranged mother, calling her a “narcissistic, compulsive liar” and saying she had been “a junkie for 25 years” and an alcoholic.
Those were Johnny’s claims, made publicly in his own words. They should not automatically be treated as proven, but neither should they be ignored while every allegation against Warren receives a headline and several thousand words.
Johnny said the children’s lives “would have been a lot worse” without Warren. “He has got a past, and he clearly has,” he said. “But that’s his past.”
Then came the line that said more about Warren’s journey than any newspaper profile could: “What he’s done for himself is unbelievable.”
Here was a stepson acknowledging the difficult years while defending the man who helped raise him.
If the welfare of those children is central to the allegations, their voices cannot suddenly become inconvenient when they complicate the chosen storyline.
Warren described joining the Australian Defence Force as the turning point that changed his life.
It gave him discipline, direction and a sense of purpose through serving others. He built a military career, served overseas and later carried that desire to serve into politics.
That journey matters. A person who makes mistakes, recognises the damage and builds a life his children are proud to defend is evidence that people really can change.
Yet, the coverage seemed far more interested in old letters, private sexual matters and women’s lingerie.
Apparently Victoria’s housing crisis, broken roads and struggling health system could take a number – there were underpants requiring urgent national scrutiny.
Legitimate questions about Warren’s conduct could have been asked plainly. Treating consenting adults exploring their sexuality as inherently scandalous adds humiliation without helping voters decide whether he can lead Victoria.
This is why so many Australians regard the Murdoch press as the Liberal Party’s propaganda arm.
When One Nation threatens the comfortable political order, its Victorian leader suddenly finds his private life spread across the pages in lurid detail.
One Nation is forced onto the defensive, the Liberals benefit and the campaign becomes a public autopsy of events from decades ago. Readers do not need proof of instructions from Liberal headquarters to notice whose interests that framing serves.
There is also a glaring contradiction in the coverage. Warren’s former partner is described as having overcome her own struggles, become drug-free and built a successful business. Her recovery deserves recognition. So does Warren’s.
Redemption cannot be reserved for whichever person best suits the article. If her life can be understood as more than addiction and past mistakes, Warren’s life can also be understood as more than drug use, drink-driving and a troubled relationship.
We have all made mistakes. We have hurt people, disappointed ourselves or looked back at our younger selves and wondered what the hell we were thinking. Nobody is perfect – including those judging Warren from the comfort of their spotless imaginary lives.
A person’s character is revealed by what they do after they fall. Warren accepted responsibility, changed direction, served his country and worked to become a man his children could depend upon. That should be applauded.
Warren cannot give his children a different beginning, but he could help build them a better future. On Tuesday, those children stood beside him and told the country what he had meant to them.
Victorians will judge Warren Pickering’s policies, credibility, and ability to lead the state. They should judge the whole man – the mistakes he made, the allegations he denies, the responsibility he accepted, and the life he worked bloody hard to rebuild.
The headline told readers who Warren Pickering once was at his worst. His children told them who he chose to become.
* The Victorian View on Facebook is an alias or contributor profile associated with Shelley Woods / Kylie Hirst and active within regional community discussion groups including The Victorian Goldfields Community (Maryborough & Beyond).
