View from The Hill: Albanese puts cat among One Nation pigeons with staff offer

Pauline Hanson has accused Anthony Albanese of “grubby dealings” in regard to an extra staffer to One Nation’s David Farley.

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Pauline Hanson has accused Anthony Albanese of “grubby dealings” after he offered an extra staffer to One Nation’s David Farley, and the government allegedly held out the prospect of grant money for water, a central issue with the MP.

But the government and some in One Nation itself quickly pointed out the offer to Farley is in line with what was provided to Barnaby Joyce after he defected from the Nationals to One Nation.

Farley has been left in an awkward position. He has rejected the offer but he says he needs more help and is open to another offer once One Nation completes negotiations with the government on the party’s staffing.

Farley also says he needs to have a relationship with the government from the prime minister down. He says he has known Albanese “for a long time – he helped me in the live cattle dispute”.

“Any suggestion that staffing resources or water policy outcomes could be used as an inducement to influence my political position is both disrespectful and misguided. ” Farley said..

“This is not my first rodeo in politics. My decisions are guided by my values, my principles, and the commitments I have made to the people who elected me.”

A statement posted on social media by Hanson said Albanese in recent weeks had initiated meetings with Farley, who won the Farrer byelection earlier this year.

This week Albanese wrote to Farley saying he had allocated him a personal staff position. The position carried a salary of up to $200,000. This staffer would be outside One Nation’s staffing request for more staff.

“David did not request this allocation of staff. No reason was provided by the Prime Minister for the provision of this staff,” the statement said.

Also, senior ministers had “raised grant funding under the Sustainable Communities Program for the Murray Darling Basin. David did not initiate the discussion regarding this program”.

Taken together, these actions have left David and One Nation deeply concerned that the government is seeking to use taxpayer funds to exert undue political influence over politicians.

We have decided to expose these grubby dealings because the public deserves to know what the Albanese Labor government is doing behind closed doors.“

Some One Nation sources are critical of the party’s reaction,. given the parliamentary party’s overall shortage of staff.

The row feeds into the wider argument about the fact power to allocate parliamentary personal staff rests solely with the prime minister, and Albanese has been arbitrary in his decisions about who receives, or is denied, extra staff.

The personal staff allocations are separate from parliamentarians’ electorate staff.

Crossbench senator Fatima Payman, who defected from Labor last term, attacked the prime minister during Senate estimates hearings this week over his refusal to give her any personal staff, which is seen as payback for her leaving Labor.

In the past, Payman and Hanson have joined forces, together with lower house independent Dai Le, to publicly call for change to the system for determining staffing.

With Albanese’s action prompting speculation he might be trying to encourage Farley to leave the party, Farley again rejected any suggestion he would jump ship. “I won’t be leaving One Nation,” he said, adding the voters of Farrer knew “what colour shirt I had on and what brand I had on the front of me”.

Joyce said that offers of staff should go from “leader’s office to leader’s office”. He thought Albanese “knows what he’s up to. Ten out of ten for trying.”

Albanese has secured two extra senators in defections this term: Dorinda Cox from the Greens and Tammy Tyrrell, originally part of the Jacqui Lambie Network, from the crossbench. In the Gillard government he was a central figure in the defection of Peter Sipper from the Coalition – Slipper became an independent and served as speaker, helping Labor’s numbers.
Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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