Conservative minor party Family First has ruled out preferencing One Nation in the May 9 Farrer by-election, potentially costing the populist party key votes as it tries to win its first federal seat at the ballot box.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has vowed to fight hard for Farrer since Sussan Ley’s speedy exit from politics after being booted from the Liberal Party’s top job.
Ms Ley held the NSW seat for 25 years, but polling since her departure has put One Nation’s David Farley and independent Michelle Milthorpe well ahead of both Coalition parties.
But Ms Hanson’s efforts could be for nothing after her candidate’s raunchy social media posts landed him in hot water.
Family First announced overnight it would not preference One Nation over Mr Farley’s “view of women”, saying “sharing of sexually suggestive content involving young women, raised serious questions about his judgement and respect for women”.
“Family First will not be preferencing One Nation in Farrer because we believe in respecting women and girls,” national director Lyle Shelton said.
“We reject the sex industry’s online platforms designed to deceive young women into thinking posting pornographic images of themselves is ‘empowering’.
“Politics should be about lifting standards, not lowering them. The character of candidates matters.”
The Daily Telegraph revealed last month that Mr Farley shared a series of racy reels by OnlyFans models on his Instagram account.
Mr Farley told the paper he inadvertently shared the content and that he has “no idea what OnlyFans is”.
Mr Shelton, previously a managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, also took issue with Mr Farley’s past remarks about former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard.
The One Nation candidate likened Ms Gillard to a “nonproductive old cow”.
“Comments previously attributed to Mr Farley about former prime minister Julia Gillard were offensive and demeaning – not just to her, but to all women,” he said.
“This points to a deeper problem.”
Nationals-turned-One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce is the party’s sole representative in the Lower House and Farrer is broadly seen as a test for One Nation’s ability to turn poll power into ballots following its success at the South Australian election.
https://thewest.com.au/news/conservative-minor-party-refuses-to-preference-one-nation-in-farrer-over-candidate-social-posts-c-22078578
