One Nation MP David Farley has rejected suggestions that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered him government funding in exchange for support on the Murray-Darling Basin water buybacks, while distancing himself from claims that the government was attempting to “buy cooperation”.
The controversy centres on an unsolicited offer of an additional parliamentary staff member, reportedly a Personal Adviser 3 position with a salary of up to $200,000 a year, and subsequent discussions involving potential grant funding for communities in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Speaking to News24 host Peta Credlin, Farley confirmed that Albanese had offered him a senior staffer, which he said he needed, but indicated he would not accept the position while One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and other crossbenchers continued negotiations over parliamentary staffing arrangements.
“He generously offered me, unsolicited, a staffer, a high-level staffer which, quite frankly, I need.”
However, he said accepting the offer would be “disingenuous” given the unresolved dispute over staffing allocations for other crossbench MPs.
Asked whether Albanese had offered funding for the Murray-Darling Basin through the Sustainable Communities Program in exchange for support for the government’s water buybacks, Farley answered: “No”.
He said his discussions with the Prime Minister had focused on water availability and described his introduction to senior ministers Tony Burke and Murray Watt as “excellent”.
Farley’s comments differ from the account given by Hanson, who accused the government of raising the prospect of grant funding after the Prime Minister initiated private meetings with the newly elected MP.
In a statement, Hanson said Farley had informed One Nation’s leadership on Wednesday night that Albanese had written to him offering a Personal Adviser 3 position outside the party’s unresolved staffing request.
She said Farley had neither requested the appointment nor received an explanation for it, adding that senior ministers subsequently raised grant funding under the Sustainable Communities Program for the Murray-Darling Basin.
Hanson said One Nation was concerned that taxpayer-funded resources were being used to exert political influence over parliamentarians.
“The Prime Minister should not personally control the resources available to his political opponents,” she said, calling for fair, transparent and independently determined staffing allocations.
She also alleged that the government had raised the prospect of grants as compensation for water buybacks, insisting that the party would not allow funding to influence its position on water policy.
“David and One Nation will always fight for Farrer’s fair share of public resources, but we will never allow grant funding to buy cooperation or silence on the issue of water advocacy, implicit or otherwise.”
The dispute comes amid One Nation’s broader campaign for changes to parliamentary staffing arrangements. Hanson said the party had introduced its Safe Staffing Guarantee Bill to prevent what it regards as the potential misuse of the Prime Minister’s control over staffing resources. She said Labor, the Coalition and the Greens had opposed the bill.
Farley was also asked whether Albanese’s private meetings and staff offer could lead to him leaving One Nation and joining Labor.
He did not explicitly address the possibility of switching parties, but reaffirmed his decision to join One Nation, saying he had been looking for “political courage” and “political tenacity” to represent the Farrer electorate.
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