Pauline Hanson and independent MPs unite to demand more staff

An unlikely political alliance consisting of One Nation's Pauline Hanson, independent senator Fatima Payman, and independent MP Dai Le has petitioned the Prime Minister for increased parliamentary staffing. The trio described the current system as “completely broken,” arguing that the Prime Minister’s control over staffing allocations creates significant disparities.

Modelling indicates that One Nation has 0.83 staff per parliamentarian, significantly lower than the 4.09 for Labor and 1.47 for the Coalition. Senator Payman currently has no personal staff, while Ms. Le has only one. The group accused the Labor government of attempting to punish dissenting voices through these resource constraints.

The coalition marks a rare moment of unity for the politicians, who have previously been involved in public disputes regarding religion, citizenship, and migration policy.