Pauline Hanson tells senator Rod Culleton to 'make informed decision on his future'
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Version 0 of 1. The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, has issued a cryptic statement encouraging her Senate colleague Rod Culleton “to make an informed decision on his future”. Hanson issued the statement after a day of confusion about whether Culleton intended to vote in the Senate once parliament resumes next week despite facing the prospect of a high court proceeding to determine whether he is eligible to sit in parliament. The One Nation leader has been on the road in Queensland this week and on Thursday night issued a statement saying she had finalised briefings on Culleton’s legal position. The government this week said it would ask the Senate to refer the question of Culleton’s eligibility to the high court. His eligibility to sit as a senator is being challenged by Bruce Bell, a former associate who claims that since Culleton had a larceny conviction at the July election, he was disqualified from being chosen by the voters in the 2016 election. Hanson said in the statement she had received advice from the clerk of the Senate that “until a senator is declared not to be a senator, then section 23 of the constitution provides for each senator to have one vote”. She said previous cases similar to Culleton’s indicated he had a few options available to him, including taking a leave of absence, or staying on in the chamber and voting in divisions. Hanson noted that this was “not an easy time for Senator Culleton and his family and I have encouraged him to make an informed decision on his future”. Hanson’s statement follows a confusing 48 hours where Culleton indicated he would not vote on contentious government legislation, including two industrial relations bills, until his legal position was resolved. Then on Thursday, he appeared to backtrack on that position. Hanson’s office told Guardian Australia Culleton had asked the attorney general, George Brandis, for a written commitment that if he casts votes in the Senate he will face no further legal challenge. The spokesman said Culleton wanted the confirmation in writing “to ensure his vote remains within the law, so he can vote on the Australian Building and Construction Commission and Registered Organisations Commission legislation without further legal ramifications”. A spokeswoman for Culleton later denied he had asked for a guarantee from Brandis that he would not face further legal challenge if he voted. The spokeswoman said Culleton was preparing to write to the clerk and president of the Senate seeking advice about his eligibility to vote. The issue was discussed by Culleton and Hanson on Wednesday night. Culleton’s spokeswoman told Guardian Australia on Thursday the conversation “remains confidential”. She said no decision had been made about whether or not he would vote in the Senate in the coming weeks. The government signalled early on Thursday it may not bring on the two industrial bills for a vote in the final sitting weeks of the year, which kick off next week. The resignation of Bob Day, the Family First senator, and Culleton’s initial suggestion that he may sit out votes, has thrown the government’s carefully planned legislative program into chaos. Mitch Fifield, the manager for government business in the Senate, told ABC on Thursday morning the government was “absolutely committed” to the Australian Building and Construction Commission bill but he also refused to commit to bring it to a vote this year. The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, told reporters in Sydney the government’s agenda was not in chaos. Laughing at the suggestion, Turnbull said: “Seriously, there are two crossbenchers whose eligibility will be considered by the high court. The rest of the crossbench are unaffected.” He said the votes would be brought on when the Coalition had a good prospect of success. Turnbull said the government would bring on the bills “when we believe there is a majority that will support it and on terms that we will accept”. |