Nick Xenophon candidate Rebekha Sharkie ‘courts Hanson vote’

One of Nick Xenophon’s candidates has aligned herself with a fringe nationalist political group linked to Pauline Hanson.

One of Nick Xenophon’s federal candidates has aligned herself with a fringe nationalist political group which has links to Pauline Hanson and believes the United Nations is using global warming to distract from its plans for depopulation and a global socialist dictatorship.

Rebekha Sharkie, a former Liberal Party staffer who has been ­selected as the Xenophon Team candidate for the Adelaide Hills seat of Mayo, has sought the backing of FLAG Australia (Food Producers Land Owners Action Group), which has previously promoted the views of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

The move prompted senior Liberal Simon Birmingham to ­accuse Senator Xenophon of “courting the Pauline Hanson vote” and issued a warning that his “cult” political party could elect unknown candidates who may contribute to Senate dysfunction.

Speaking at a FLAG event on Saturday, Ms Sharkie asked for volunteers to hand out how-to-vote cards for NXT and revealed she spoke every day to FLAG founder Peter Manuel, who claims to share the political views of Ms Hanson.

“I talk with Peter daily and text message,” Ms Sharkie says in audio of the event obtained by The Australian.

“The man is incredibly passionate and committed and I’ve really enjoyed us two working together.”

In response to a question on foreign investment, Ms Sharkie said she was supportive of a proposal for a $1 limit for overseas ­investment.

“I completely appreciate your point there (and) I will certainly put that to our party. I want every possible protection to keep it in Australian hands, no matter what it is.”

She also spoke out against growing cotton and rice in Australia and said she believed “utterly insane” free-trade agreements were “not a very good idea at all”.

Introducing Ms Sharkie, Mr Manuel warned that the country’s sale of energy, food and land had put Australia on track to a foreign takeover, and “they won’t need guns to take us over”.

He also suggests creating jobs by subsidising bullets for people to kill rabbits that could be eaten and their pelts used “so RM Williams can make Akubra hats”.

Mr Manuel, who described Ms Hanson as a “gutsy woman who cares about all Australians”, also sponsored a visit from climate sceptic Lord Christopher Monckton to talk about Agenda 21 — a conspiracy theory that the United Nations uses climate change as a distraction from its aim of a global socialist dictatorship.

FLAG sponsored the Monckton event with Ann Bressington, a former running mate of Senator Xenophon elected to South Australia’s legislative council on the back of his vote in 2007 who also believes fluoride in water is a “toxic poison”.

Yesterday, Ms Sharkie said she was unaware of Mr Manuel’s links to Ms Hanson, which are made public on the FLAG website, and said there were also Liberal voters at the event.

“Not all of them were members of FLAG,” she said.

Senator Xenophon said neither he nor Ms Sharkie shared the views of Ms Hanson or Lord Monckton and defended requesting FLAG support, saying they were a “group of farmers”.

He also said her political views — including on foreign investment — were from the “common sense, political centre”.

“Just because you speak at an event doesn’t mean you endorse all that their group stands for,” he said.

Senator Birmingham said Ms Sharkie’s pitch to FLAG supporters was courting the Hanson vote.

“How can anyone have confidence that a Xenophon candidate wouldn’t end up being more like Pauline Hanson than Nick Xenophon?” Senator Birmingham said.

Ms Sharkie said it was “utterly ridiculous” to suggest she was ­angling for support from right-wing fringe groups.