One Nation MP David Farley open to breaking with party, Pauline Hanson, on some votes
Ahead of being officially sworn into Parliament, Pauline Hanson's newest MP has indicated he could break with his leader on major points.
The first One Nation MP to be elected to the lower house has left the door open to voting against his party if that best represents his constituents, as he prepares to be sworn into Parliament.
David Farley also says he plans to attend all parliamentary sittings unless he’s called away with “great urgency”, after questions were raised about One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s lack of attendance at many parliamentary sitting days.
Asked whether he was prepared to vote according to his electorate’s view and personal beliefs, even if that meant disagreeing with Senator Hanson’s position, Mr Farley didn’t rule it out.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“It’ll be rare that we find ourselves in disagreement, but then again, I’ve got one job to do - it’s to represent Farrer and represent it the best I can,” he told ABC Radio.
Mr Farley will be sworn in on Tuesday afternoon, but a date is yet to be set for his first speech to Parliament.
Pressed on Senator Hanson’s attendance record, which shows she missed 88 per cent of Senate estimates hearings since returning to parliament in 2016, Mr Farley said his goal was to be present for all parliamentary sittings.
“I’ve got a two-year window to be able to report back to the constituency of Farrer and say here was the platform that we went in on ... and at the end of that two-year period ... show them the scorecard,” he said.
Mr Farley said it was up to Senator Hanson to decide what events to attend and to explain her record.
Liberal frontbencher James Paterson said it was important to shine a spotlight on Senator Hanson’s attendance at Parliament.
“If, 88 per cent of the time, Senator Hanson can’t even be bothered showing up to do her job, to advocate for her constituents, I think that reflects badly on her commitment to her job,” he told ABC Radio.
Senator Hanson has previously said she did not want to attend hearings regularly because government officials often did not answer her questions.
The One Nation MP, who won the southern NSW seat of Farrer off the Liberals in a vote triggered by former opposition leader Sussan Ley’s resignation, said recent polls showing a surge in support for One Nation were encouraging but warned against reading too much into the figures.
“It is a poll, it’s not a ballot ... polls have got elasticity to them,” he said.
But Mr Farley said economic issues were driving voters from the major parties towards One Nation.
“Australians ... are very, very uncomfortable and feeling a lot of personal discomfort, family discomfort and commerce discomfort, just in the policies that are running and driving our country at the moment,” he said.
