One Nation candidate David Farley sought Labor endorsement and donated to party fund
Pauline Hanson’s candidate in next month’s Farrer by-election sought to run for Labor under Anthony Albanese and has personally donated to the party’s election fund in a blow to its One Nation campaign, which is built on attacking the major parties.
Narrandera-based irrigation expert David Farley, chosen by One Nation for the May 9 contest triggered by the resignation of deposed Liberal leader Sussan Ley, is leading for the seat in both published opinion polls and corporate betting markets.
But the imprint confirmed that the 69-year-old, himself a one-time member of the NSW Nationals, is approaching state Labor figures in 2021 to help topple the Coalition government in the 2022 federal election by applying to join the branch a year ago.
Labor sources, who are not authorized to speak on behalf of the party, said the former chief executive of the Australian Agricultural Corporation (AACo), the country’s largest cattle operation, had met with local branch members and even completed a candidate’s expression of interest at the NSW party’s Sussex Street headquarters in Sydney.
The ALP’s 2022 platform included support for net-zero emissions by 2050, Indigenous Voices in Parliament and doubling the country’s refugee intake; all policies strongly opposed by Hanson.
Farley’s potential candidacy was deemed not viable by party officials after low-level review, sources said.
His concerns were linked to former prime minister Julia Gillard’s personal background and past, including her 2012 remarks about being an “unproductive old cow” and campaigning to fill hundreds of jobs at a Northern Territory abattoir. Workers recruited from India on 457 visas. His application for membership was also rejected.
Sources said that despite failing to gain Labour’s approval, someone with the same information as Farley donated to Labor as recently as March 2023 and made a small personal contribution to the party’s Aston by-election campaign, which saw the Albanian government increase its majority in a shock victory. A source said Farley donated about $100 in response to an appeal for donations from Labor Party HQ following claims that more was spent by the Liberals.
Farley did not respond to calls or messages Sunday except for a message saying “he’s at church. Talk to you later.” [sic].
ALP national secretary Paul Erickson refused to comment when asked about Farley’s applications and donor history.
That statement contrasts with One Nation’s external message in a closely watched byelection as a test of the party’s growing support across the country and Opposition Leader Angus Taylor as the Liberals fight to hold on to the sprawling rural seat in southern NSW.
Farley’s main rival for the seat is Michelle Milthorpe, a Climate 200-backed independent from the community who narrowed Ley’s lead to just 6.2 per cent in last May’s federal election. He has fought back hard against claims that he is committed to Climate 200, arguing that only 2 percent of donations to his campaign come from his funding vehicle.
According to various published polls, support for Liberal candidate Raissa Butkowski has fallen to 16.1 per cent, well behind One Nation (30.9 per cent) and Milthorpe (30 per cent) in last week’s uComms poll. Speech. Both Coalition parties placed their preferences on Farley ahead of Milthorpe.
Farley is campaigning as a regional conservative focused on irrigation, energy and cost-of-living pressures, while One Nation is trying to turn its poll momentum into a breakthrough result on Farrer.
His Labor Party connections are not his only links to a major party, and he was reportedly chosen to potentially replace Barnaby Joyce in the Senate in 2013.
After abruptly leaving the AACo in 2013, he was a fiscal member of the NSW National Party from November 2015 to November 2020, allowing his membership to lapse.
A senior National member said relations within the party were not always cordial. In May 2018, he wrote an email to party officials demanding a commission in exchange for the number of new members he signed in the region. In August 2019, she failed to be nominated for a vacant position in the NSW upper house following the retirement of Niall Blair, who was a cabinet minister in both the Berejiklian and Baird governments.
Pre-voting in Farrer begins Tuesday.
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Rob Harris is a national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Canberra. He is a former European correspondent.Connect via email.
