Former Coalition MP George Christensen will stand as a candidate for One Nation at the upcoming federal election, having changed his mind about retiring from politics. On Wednesday morning, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson announced Christensen will run in the Senate.
Last year, Christensen announced he would be leaving politics to spend more time with his family.
Last week, he announced his resignation from the LNP, saying he had been disenchanted by the direction of the party, including its “support of a net zero target” and its failure to act against “vaccine mandates and destructive pandemic policies”.
“I joined the then National Party in the late 1990s because it was the party for conservatives,” Christensen wrote on his website.
“In 2022, the Liberal National Party – as an extension of the Liberal Party – seems anything but conservative … and thus, it is no longer my party.
“The party needs to undertake some serious soul-searching about what — and who — it stands for.”
Christensen has been a vocal critic of COVID-19 restrictions and vaccinations throughout the pandemic, causing multiple headaches for Prime Minister Scott Morrison during the last term of parliament.
In an interview with the Courier Mail, Christensen said: “The more I queried into One Nation’s policies and looked at their constitution, their core beliefs, the things that Pauline has been campaigning on recently, just about everything aligned with my views.”
“Bizarrely the question really didn’t float into my mind as to why am I doing this, the question that floated into my mind was, why hadn’t I done this a long time ago?”
During his time as a member of the Morrison government, Christensen has created many controversies, especially by spreading misinformation throughout the pandemic. Last year, he likened COVID-19 restrictions to the regimes of Nazi Germany and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. He also encouraged parents to avoid getting their children vaccinated against COVID-19.
Christensen’s comments forced Scott Morrison to urge Australians not to listen to him.
“Don’t listen to George Christensen — he’s not a doctor, he can’t tell you what to do with vaccines,” Morrison said at the time.
“His views are not the government’s views, they have in no way whatsoever influenced government policy at all.”
At the 2019 federal election, Christensen won the seat of Dawson with a large swing of 11.3 per cent toward him and his personal profile remains large in the Mackay region. He also has a large social media following.
One Nation has announced it will field candidates in 151 lower house electorates ahead of the election.