Fraser Anning registers own political party, will run candidates in 'most' lower house seats

Senator Fraser Anning will run candidates in most lower house seats and every state Senate ballot at the upcoming federal election after his own political party's registration was approved by the Australian Electoral Commission on Wednesday, the same day he was censured in a rare bipartisan motion.

The registration of Fraser Anning's Conservative National Party by the Queensland senator, who was internationally condemned for comments made following the Christchurch terrorist attack, puts pressure on the Coalition and Labor to clarify where they will place the party, One Nation, and other minor right-wing outfits on their election how-to-vote guides.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week declared the Liberal Party would preference One Nation below Labor, following an Al Jazeera investigation that caught two top One Nation aides on camera soliciting money from the United States' National Rifle Association and recorded party leader Pauline Hanson seemingly endorsing Port Arthur massacre conspiracy theories.

In the week leading up to the decision, the Prime Minister deflected questions on preferences by saying he would not want to put One Nation last on how-to-vote cards if Senator Anning ran candidates at the federal election.

On Thursday, Senator Anning said he would "be announcing candidates across most lower house seats" and would be "running a Senate team in every state".

The senator, who received 19 first-preference votes at the 2016 election when he ran under One Nation's banner, was declared elected to fill the vacancy left by the disqualification of One Nation's Malcolm Roberts in 2017.

Senator Fraser Anning's political party was approved the same day he was censured by the Senate.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

He immediately left Pauline Hanson's party and briefly joined Katter's Australian Party before sitting as an independent. His term expires at the imminent election.

Last month when a man – allegedly an Australian white supremacist – opened fire on two New Zealand mosques, Senator Anning released a statement that argued the "real cause of [the] bloodshed" was Muslim immigration.

The comments earned him condemnation, but also worldwide notoriety, which he has used to build a massive social media following that includes a Facebook page with more than 117,000 likes.

A spokesman for Senator Anning said the senator had received a significant uptick in donations and more than 50 candidate nominations since his party's registration was approved late on Wednesday afternoon.

The senator ruled out nominating any white nationalist or far-right candidates, including Neil Erikson and Blair Cottrell, two anti-Islam figureheads who have agitated for nationalist change in Australia in recent years.

Senator Anning said on Thursday that his party would go to the election on a platform including a "predominantly European immigration policy", the deportation of refugees, the removal of sex education program Safe Schools, and an emphasis on rising energy prices.

Mr Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's offices declined to say where they would preference Senator Anning's party.

Liberal backbencher Tim Wilson, who pushed for his party to preference One Nation last, refrained from calling on his party to do so with Senator Anning.

"Between Anning, the Greens and One Nation, the sewer is getting very full, and it's getting very difficult to pick which turd should be flushed first."