Politics live updates: Jane Hume questions Albanese’s Farley offer as Hanson accuses PM of political meddling

Labor MP Jagadish Krishnan is under pressure to explain a business loan that has sparked a $1 million legal battle, but has vowed to “vigorously defend” his reputation in court.

The Member for Riverton, who co-founded Spectrum Health in 2014, has launched a counter-suit over an American businessman’s claim that Dr Krishnan, his wife and companies linked to them have failed to “timely repay” a six-figure loan that was secured during a visit to New York in May 2024.

Court documents filed in New Jersey on October 20 by Kannan Amalraj and Kenyan Consulting LLC accuse Dr Krishnan of a “breach of contract” and of “unjustly enriching” himself.

This masthead does not suggest any of the allegations made in the New Jersey court documents are true.

In a writ filed in the WA Supreme Court this week, Dr Krishnan claims that emails from Mr Amalraj and his wife Gokila to Premier Roger Cook and Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson “falsely and maliciously defamed” him.

On Thursday, Dr Krishnan denied any wrongdoing.

“I’m confident I have acted appropriately, and I stand by the position I’ve taken,” he told reporters outside his electorate office in Willetton.

“I understand there’s interest in this matter, but given it’s now before the courts, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to go into details or comment on the claims.”

He said his visit to New York while parliamentary secretary to the Premier was a “private trip” and did not include any parliamentary business.

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Deputy leader of the Opposition Jane Hume has questioned the Prime Minister’s decision to approach politicians individually over parliamentary staffing after Pauline Hanson slammed Anthony Albanese over allegations taxpayer funds were being used to woo One Nation MP David Farley.

The controversy centres on the Prime Minister’s offer to Mr Farley of an additional taxpayer-funded parliamentary staffer, a position with a potential salary package of $200,000 a year.

Speaking to Sunrise, Ms Hume said the issue was not whether Mr Farley should receive additional staff support, but why the Prime Minister wasn’t negotiating with political parties as a whole.

“It’s really important that politicians are resourced appropriately, and there’s been longstanding conventions as to how that should happen,” Ms Hume said on Friday morning.

“I think the question here is, for the Prime Minister, is why he was approaching politicians from different parties on an individual basis, rather than on the basis of their party.

“The Prime Minister has famously cut the resources to both the crossbench and to the opposition, breaching long standing conventions that have been around since the time of Bob Hawke.

“And it’s really up to the Prime Minister to explain why he’s cut the resources to those that would impose scrutiny on the government, and yet maintained resources for his own side.”

Mr Farley had not requested the role and ultimately rejected it, saying it would be inappropriate to accept while Senator Hanson was seeking a broader agreement with the government over staffing allegations.

“The attributes that I was looking for in a political party to represent Farrer is that I need political courage, I need political tenacity, and I made my decision to join One Nation,” he told News24 on Thursday.

“I know that I’ve still got that courage and tenacity in behind me. I have got a very, very clear and defined mandate.”

In a social media post, Senator Hanson labelled the “unsolicited” move an attempt to “exert undue political influence”.

“David did not request this allocation of staff. No reason was provided by the prime minister for the provision of this staff,” Senator Hanson said.

WA Premier Roger Cook has demanded the Albanese Government scrap its controversial plan to crackdown on backpackers as its way to rein in migration, telling his Federal colleagues it could decimate West Australian tourism and hospitality.

Premier Cook brought his fight for the State’s jobs to Canberra on Thursday, weeks after Immigration Minister Tony Burke announced Labor would target working holiday visas as a major part of its push to reduce net overseas arrivals by about 75,000 per year.

The scheme — which the SA Labor Premier has also hit out at — came amid One Nation’s surge in popularity, with cutting migration at the centre of the minor party’s plan to reduce pressure on housing and services.

Mr Cook — who was joined by Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive Bradley Woods and Tourism Council WA boss Evan Hall — met with Mr Burke on Thursday to argue the changes risked losing about 4500 jobs primarily in regional areas.

The Premier, who had written to the Albanese Government earlier in the week, said second and third-year working holiday visa holders were heavily relied on in the State, with roughly two thirds arriving over east and taking about a year to reach WA.

He described his conversations with Mr Burke as “very, very positive” and said details about extending second and third year backpacker visas, specifically concerning regional stay requirements, were “being worked through”.

“WA wants workers,” he said. “It’s important that our national leaders work together to reach an appropriate balance,” he said.

NSW Transport Minister John Graham joined south-west Sydney locals before the crack of dawn to ride the first passenger service on the Southwest Metro at 4:31am on Friday morning.

The M2 train doors opened on the platforms at Bankstown Train Station, with bleary-eyed MPs, reporters, tradies, city workers and train enthusiasts all piling on board to get a first glimpse at Sydney’s newest piece of major public infrastructure.

Cheers erupted as it pulled out of Bankstown for the first time, then there were more cheers as new commuters got on at all stops to Central.

Metro stations in Bankstown, Punchbowl, Wiley Park, Lakemba, Belmore, Campsie, Canterbury, Hurlstone Park, Dulwich Hill and Marrickville all opened simultaneously, granting passengers from throughout Sydney’s west quick and easy access to the CBD and Sydney’s northern suburbs.

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​with NCA Newswire​