'Cash grab': One Nation faces claims it is charging Victorian candidates huge fees
Australia's One Nation party could collect as much as $633,000 from people who applied to run in Victoria's state election, according to a Guardian Australia investigation. Several rejected applicants say the process was pay-to-play and lacked transparency.
Australia's One Nation party stands to collect as much as $633,000 from people who applied to become candidates in Victoria's upcoming state election, a Guardian Australia investigation has found. Several former local councillors, mayors and deputy mayors who sought to run for the party say they went through what they describe as a "pay-to-play" process, only to be rejected afterward.
Applicants were charged a non-refundable $150 fee just to be considered. One Nation said 1,209 people submitted expressions of interest, with about 220 advancing to the final stage — generating an estimated $33,000. Applicants were also required to hold party membership, adding roughly $72,000 based on the minimum $60 annual fee.
Those who made it onto the candidate list were told in interviews they would need to personally contribute $5,500 to run, even though most lower house seats are considered unwinnable for the party. With 88 lower house and eight upper house candidates, the campaign fees alone could bring in $528,000, pushing the total potential haul to $633,000.
Concerns over process
Political consultant Aidan McLindon, who worked with One Nation in Victoria last year, said the party appeared focused on profit rather than policy. Applicants have questioned the legitimacy of the selection process, which involved 15-minute video interviews, and all candidates were required to sign non-disclosure agreements.
A former mayor's complaint letter to the party alleges the process left candidates feeling used and misled, arguing it created a false impression of an open, merit-based search while decisions had effectively already been made. Based on current polling, One Nation could also receive up to $10m through Victoria's public electoral funding scheme.
A party spokesperson said One Nation uses a "nominal cost recovery model" to conduct background checks on nominees, and that all fees were deposited into the Victorian campaign account in line with electoral commission rules.
