WA politician Ben Dawson has quit Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and announced he’ll run as an independent at the 2025 state election.
In September the party announced it was dumping Dawkins from their upper house ticket. At the time he said he remained faithful to the party and would support their push to elect other people to the parliament at the election, but he’s since had a change of heart.
In a statement posted online Dawkins said he still held federal party leader Pauline Hanson in high regard but would now contest the election as an independent, urging voters to shun the major parties.
“The current parliament under Labor has been a disaster for West Australians. We can’t afford either major party to have a majority in both houses, this can only result in bad policy and willful deafness to the voice of the people.
Dawkins originally arrived in parliament as a Labor member when former Minister Alannah MacTiernan retired.
He was immediately dumped by Labor as he was facing multiple charges relating to harassment of his estranged wife. After entering parliament as an independent he was embraced by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson who welcomed him into her party.
A court convicted Dawkins of 35 breaches of a restraining order, over what police described as belittling and abusive emails to his estranged wife. He was fined and given a 10-month community-based order.
When she welcomed Dawkins into the party Senator Hanson denied he had a conviction, and said it was not an issue for the party.
While in parliament Dawkins has focused largely on transgender issues. In March he moved a motion calling for biological sex to recognised as being of more importance than gender identity, a move that no other member in the Legislative Assembly supported.
He’s also questioned the Cook government’s decision to provide funding to organisations that support LGBTIQA+ communities.
During the debate over removing the Gender Reassignment Board he posted a video of a skit to social media where he dressed in female clothing and asked to enter a girl’s changeroom.
Dawkins announced he is banding together with other independent candidates to collectively raise their profiles. A website lists Dawkins alongside serving MLC Sophia Moermond who quit the Legalise Cannabis party mid-term to focus on gender issues, Louise Kingston who quit the National party earlier this year and retail manager and father of eight, Adrian Perrot.
Tania Mihailuk quits One Nation in New South Wales
Dawson wasn’t alone in quitting Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (PHON), New South Wales MLC Tania Mihailuk is also walking away from the party.
“After much careful consideration, I have made the decision to end my membership of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation,” she said in a Facebook post.
The politician said she had concerns over the way administrative funding of the party was handled.
“Despite being the NSW Leader and the only PHON MP in NSW, I feel I can’t continue to be the public face and representative of the party in NSW when I’m not informed fully about the administrative arrangements of the party within the state of NSW,” she said.
The former Mayor of Bankstown first entered the parliament in 2011 as a Labor member representing the lower house seat of Bankstown. She resigned from Labor to sit as an independent in 2022 but switched to One Nation the following year.
At the 2023 state election then One Nation leader Mark Latham resigned from his upper house position halfway through his term creating a casual vacancy that was given to Mihailuk.
Latham remained in the party’s top spot on the upper house ticket and was immediately returned to the upper house at the election, giving the party three MPs in the upper house.
In August 2023 Latham was removed as leader by the federal branch of the party, and he resigned from the party, as did colleague Rod Roberts.
Their departure left Mihailuk as the dole MP in the New South Wales parliament and the leader. With her resignation the party now has no representatives in the state parliament.
The recent resignations leave Sarah Game as the only state-based representative for One Nation, while Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts are in the federal parliament.
