The Sauce: Last of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation NSW MPs quits

And then there were none. The final remaining NSW MP representing Pauline Hanson’s One Nation has quit the party. Plus, Kevin Rudd’s festive bill. Details in this week’s The Sauce.

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is on its knees in NSW, with its sole remaining representative in state parliament quitting the troubled party after a blow-up over being shut-out about key decisions.

The resignation of firebrand MP and NSW One Nation leader Tania Mihailuk this week follows the departures of Rod Roberts and Mark Latham, both of whom are now independents.

Mihailuk had been a long-serving Labor MP until she sensationally quit in the lead-up to the last state election after earlier being sacked from the frontbench following a late-night speech targeting then-Canterbury mayor, Khal Asfour.

Following the election, Mihailuk re-entered state parliament after being appointed to the NSW Upper House as part of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (PHON)

In the past few months there has been ongoing chatter about discontent within the party, with multiple sources speculating Mihailuk would soon quit.

On Friday, the southwestern Sydney pollie confirmed she was no longer associated with PHON following an “impasse” with the party over its failure to “fully” inform her of its administrative arrangements within NSW.

While she said she respected that One Nation was Pauline Hanson’s party, Mihailuk felt she could not continue to be “the public face” of the party in NSW “when I’m not informed fully”.

“After much careful consideration, I have made the decision to end my membership of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation,” she said.

“Despite being the NSW leader and the only PHON MP in NSW, I feel I can’t continue to be the public face and representative of the party in NSW when I’m not informed fully about the administrative arrangements of the party within the state of NSW.”

Mihailuk said her values remained unchanged and that she would sit on the “right wing crossbench” as a conservative independent MLC.

MERRY KEV-MASS

Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has embraced the Christmas spirit, spending almost $1500 on decorations and “holiday cards” to “VIP recipients”.

The details are contained in Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) quarterly expense documents released to the Opposition under FOI, which have also tantalisingly revealed who the Washington DC-based Rudd has met with since the start of 2023.

While most of the names are redacted, DFAT has curiously allowed for Rudd’s meetings with “DC-based China experts” to be shown.

The documents show there were eight “breakfast” meetings with these “experts” at a cost of $2523.

Rudd is fluent in Mandarin and recently released his book “On Xi Jinping: How Xi’s Marxist Nationalism is Shaping China and the World”.

There were two dinners with Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus costing just over $1000, and another with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for $649.

Another dinner with South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas cost $640.

There were a bunch of receptions, including for AusTalks with ex-PM Scott Morrison and the Sydney Dance Company.

The Christmas decorations were for the 2023 end-of-year period, with Rudd also sending out 500 cards at a cost of $1476.

In total, Rudd spent just under $54,000 on dinners, almost $38,000 on receptions, $7778 on breakfasts and $7264 on lunches.

Opposition waste spokesman James Stevens, who has taken aim at Rudd previously, recently exposing how much Rudd was spending on Pride parties, said: “While the festive season is just beginning for most Australians, it seems Ambassador Rudd has been in a festive mood all year.

“In addition to the regular program of fun and frivolity at Rudd’s Party Palace, it’s remarkable he’s found the time to bill taxpayers a further $70,000 for private meals.

“While Labor’s cost-of-living crisis is forcing many Australians to cut back this Christmas, Kevin Rudd has spent almost $1500 of taxpayers’ money on Christmas cards and decorations for his private residence.”

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Originally published as The Sauce: Last of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation NSW MPs quits