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Pauline Hanson has demanded the prime minister double One Nation’s allocation of political staffers, pointing out the Greens have received more than double her party’s allocation.
In a letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dated August 11, Hanson has again asked for extra staff and argued the allocation of just four advisers – who are paid higher salaries than electorate officers and are typically more senior and experienced operatives – is unfair.
One Nation has six MPs in parliament and just four advisers, while the Greens, with 11 MPs, have 17 advisers. Every MP can employ five electorate officers.
Labor has 124 MPs and 504 advisers, though most of those advisers are allocated to the 30-member ministry, and the opposition has 68 MPs and 96 advisers. That five-to-one ratio of government to opposition advisers has been standard for decades.
In her letter, Hanson asks for the number of advisers allocated to One Nation to increase from four to nine, an increase that is proportional to the number of advisers allocated to the Greens.
“Commonwealth law uses five members as the threshold for a recognised non-government minority party. The Australian Greens meet that threshold and you have allocated their adviser staffing on that basis. One Nation now meets this threshold,” she wrote.
“This is a modest request based on the staffing allocation you have already provided to another minority party. It would provide One Nation with staffing proportionate to your allocation to the Australian Greens, without reducing any other party’s allocation or giving One Nation more favourable treatment.”
James Ashby, Hanson’s long-time chief of staff, recently shifted out of that role and into a new position as national director of the party. The One Nation leader has brought in experienced lawyer and former Scott Morrison adviser Chris Taylor to Ashby’s former position.
Soon after winning the 2022 election, Albanese slashed the number of adviser-level staff allocated to most crossbenchers – which had grown to four per MP under Scott Morrison – back down to one, provoking an outcry from the crossbench.
The defection of Barnaby Joyce to One Nation from the Nationals last December, followed by the election of David Farley in the Farrer byelection in May, lifted the number of MPs One Nation has from four to six.
A minimum of five MPs are required for a party to be granted minor party status in the parliament, at which point it is eligible for additional staffing, a higher salary for the leader, more offices and additional travel benefits.
Federal politicians’ base salaries, for example, are determined independently by the Remuneration Tribunal but it is up to the prime minister alone to allocate extra advisers to minor parties.
Hanson, who first wrote to the prime minister in February to ask for extra staff, has received no response from Albanese.
In May, Hanson said that some of her staff were on the brink of collapse because of the demands placed on her small team.
A government spokesperson said at the time that Labor had already provided extra staff to assist with increasing workloads, increasing the number of lower-paid electoral staffers from four to five for each MP.
“Staffing allocations are made based on a range of considerations. Where additional resources are allocated, they are done so with careful consideration,” the spokesperson said.
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James Massola is Chief Political Commentator. He has previously been National AffairsEditor and South-East Asia Correspondent, and has won Quill and Kennedy awards and is the 2026 Press Gallery Journalist of the Year. Connect securely on Signal @jamesmassola.01Connect via X or email.
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