Hanson riles Nationals rivals with surprise move

Pauline Hanson has previously expressed interest in moving to the lower house. Photo: Mike Bowers
The Nationals are spoiling for a fight with Pauline Hanson over one of their prized regional seats after revelations the One Nation leader is hoping to establish a foothold in central Queensland.
Hanson has asked the Department of Finance to investigate whether she can set up an additional electorate office in Yeppoon, which sits in the seat of Capricornia.
But the move may not be allowed, given departmental rules specify senators are generally only allowed one office outside parliament house.
A spokesman for Hanson confirmed she was in talks with the department, which is responsible for politiciansâ offices, and did not rule out the One Nation leader running in Capricornia at the 2028 election.
Hanson has previously expressed interest in moving to the lower house, but the spokesman said no decision had been made on which, if any, electorate she would contest.
Capricorniaâs current Nationals MP, Michelle Landry, accused the senator of playing âlittle gamesâ and said she would stand by her record if One Nation decided to run.
âItâs interesting when you have a celebrity politician that thinks theyâre going to drop in and take the seat off a hard-working member thatâs been in her fifth term,â she told AAP.
âI donât appreciate it when people want to play these little games theyâre playing.â

Nationals MP Michelle Landry says she wonât be âpushed outâ by Hanson. Photo: AAP
While lower-house MPs representing large electorates are allowed additional offices, senators are only allowed one electorate office within the state or territory they represent.
Hansonâs current office is located in the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices in Brisbane.
Relocating a senatorâs office could cost taxpayers as much as $1 million.
According to her register of interests, the One Nation leader already owns a property in Cooee Bay, in the south of Yeppoon.
But Landry said the property was a âvacant block of landâ, with Hanson having previously sold a house in the area.
Nationals leader Matt Canavan, who is in the senate as well, has also been the subject of speculation about a potential tilt for Capricornia.
If he and Hanson were to go head-to-head in the electorate, it would shape up as a bombshell contest at the next federal election, due by 2028.
Landry said she hadnât decided whether to run at the election, but any move would be determined by what was best for the community and her family.
âI can tell you one thing, I wonât be pushed out by Pauline Hanson and (her chief of staff) James Ashby, because youâve got to be very tough in seats like this,â she said.
ÂâAAP
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