George Christensen joins One Nation in bid for Senate
Controversial outgoing MP George Christensen will run for the Senate for One Nation at the May 21 federal election – but he says that decision has nothing to do with the six-figure sum he’ll receive for doing so.
Outgoing Dawson MP George Christensen will run for the Senate on the One Nation ticket.
But the former LNP MP will be third on the ticket – putting him in a tough position to win the job.
There was speculation he would seek re-selection in his North Queensland seat after he announced his plan to run with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation in an exclusive interview with The Courier-Mail.
His personal popularity would have been a serious threat to the LNP’s hold on the electorate.
Senator Pauline Hanson also announced that her party will run in all 151 seats in the House of Representatives.
Mr Christensen said he had decided he could no longer stay in the LNP, saying he had diverged from the government on a range of issues.
He said Senator Hanson had approached him about running for parliament with One Nation.
Mr Christensen said he decided to join One Nation’s Senate ticket instead of making another run for Dawson.
He conceded it would be difficult for him to win the Senate seat, but insisted there was a prospect.
Senator Hanson, who will lead One Nation’s ticket, said people should not “underestimate” the party’s support base.
Mr Christensen told The Courier-Mail his decision to run for One Nation was not about securing a six-figure payout reserved for politicians who run for election and lose.
Federal politicians who retire involuntarily from parliament — including through loss of party endorsement or for reasons other than misconduct — may be eligible for the one-off handout.
The taxpayer-funded payment of $105,600, or six months’ salary, is known as a “resettlement allowance”.
“I’ve already had conversations with the clerk of the parliament and it’s highly likely given there is a recorded motion from the Dawson federal divisional council of the LNP to not proceed with my nomination that I would be entitled to that anyway, so this is happening regardless of that issue,” Mr Christensen said.
This is contradictory to news reports last year when people within the LNP claimed they had quashed a manoeuvre by Mr Christensen to be disendorsed from the party in a bid to secure the payout.
The LNP has been approached for comment.
Originally published as George Christensen joins One Nation in bid for Senate
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