Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has offered One Nation MP David Farley an additional staff member on a $200,000 salary package, an unsolicited proposal the party has rejected as an attempt to use taxpayer money to win favour with the new crossbench MP.
A letter authorising Farley to hire an additional staff member was hand-delivered to the MP's Parliament House office on Monday by a member of Albanese's team. It was swiftly discarded, with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson saying she was concerned the Prime Minister was "seeking to use taxpayer funds to exert undue political influence over politicians".
Under federal legislation, the Prime Minister has the power to decide how many staff members each MP gets beyond the five electorate officers afforded to every politician. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has repeatedly petitioned Albanese to let her hire five more staffers now that her party has achieved minor party status, following the defection of former National Party leader Barnaby Joyce last December.
Hanson has twice written to Albanese to request staffing equity with the Greens, which would increase One Nation's allocation from four to nine and raise salaries so the party could attract more experienced staff. Her requests have not received a formal response.
"While this power has always been open to abuse, it has, in our view, been weaponised to an unprecedented extent under this Labor government and this prime minister," Hanson told this masthead in a statement. "This is the type of politics that Australians are sick of. The Prime Minister is trying to drag One Nation down to his level of grubby politics. One Nation will have no part of it."
Albanese has been criticised for the way he grants extra hires following revelations in this masthead that he allowed Senator Tammy Tyrrell to retain additional staff when she joined Labor in May, and offered then-opposition leader Sussan Ley additional staff for support of the government's attempt to change freedom of information laws.
Farley's rejection of the offer comes a fortnight after Albanese wrote a letter guaranteeing 15 staff to the Greens three days before the party teamed up with Labor to reject an inquiry into his power to allocate staff. The One Nation MP is currently the only member of the House of Representatives crossbench who does not have additional staff.
The letter addressed to Farley was copied to Special Minister of State Don Farrell, who on Wednesday rejected claims that Albanese had unfairly assigned staff, and said the Prime Minister was the most appropriate person to make such decisions, citing historical precedent.
Albanese offered Farley an "adviser 3 (non-ministerial)" staffer, a position with a base salary of up to $160,043, plus an additional "personal staff allowance" of up to $35,387. The Prime Minister's office did not respond to questions about why the staff member was allocated or whether Farley had ever discussed staffing with Albanese.
In a separate letter sent to the Prime Minister and seen by this masthead, Farley rejected the allocation pending broader negotiations between One Nation and the Prime Minister's office. One Nation said Farley had also been approached by senior ministers regarding grants for his electorate.
Dr Catherine Williams, executive director of the Centre for Public Integrity, said the government "urgently" need to "explain the rational that has been used to determine current staffing allocations". "The system which sees the Prime Minister able to determine staffing allocations is deeply and inherently problematic, untenable, and must be overhauled," Williams said.
Immediately after Labor won government in 2022, Albanese cut staffing levels to the expanded crossbench, saying the bloc had swelled to a historic size, and then backtracked. Albanese also cut the Coalition's staffing following the 2025 election, citing their significant loss of seats.
Hanson and independent senator Fatima Payman stood side by side last month to demand a change to the system. Joined by independent MP Dai Le, the trio said they were unable to effectively carry out their duties with understaffed offices. On Thursday, Albanese told journalists that Payman, who claims she is being punished for quitting Labor, has been given one more staffer.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The allocation of additional staff to crossbench MPs is at the Prime Minister's discretion, raising concerns about potential political influence over independent and minor-party representatives.
- One Nation's rejection escalates a broader dispute over staffing equity, with Hanson demanding parity with the Greens and a formal response to her requests.
- The episode underscores ongoing criticism of the system, with transparency advocates calling for an overhaul of how taxpayer-funded staff are assigned.
Background
Under federal legislation, Australia's Prime Minister has the power to determine staff numbers for MPs beyond the five electorate officers each receives. This discretionary power has been used to grant additional staff to crossbench MPs and has been a recurring source of political tension. It flared after the 2022 election when Albanese initially cut crossbench staffing levels before backtracking, and again in 2025 after cutting Coalition staffing. The current controversy follows a request by Hanson for equal staffing to the Greens, who enjoy nine staffers, and a recent alliance with independent senators to demand reform.
Key Perspectives
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (via his office): The Prime Minister's office did not respond to questions about why the staff member was allocated or whether Farley had ever discussed staffing with Albanese.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson: Accused the Prime Minister of "seeking to use taxpayer funds to exert undue political influence over politicians", calling the offer "grubby politics" that One Nation will have no part of.
One Nation MP David Farley (via letter): Rejected the allocation pending broader negotiations between One Nation and the Prime Minister's office.
Special Minister of State Don Farrell: Rejected claims that Albanese had unfairly assigned staff, saying the Prime Minister was the most appropriate person to make such decisions, citing historical precedent.
Dr Catherine Williams, executive director of the Centre for Public Integrity: Said the government must urgently "explain the rational that has been used to determine current staffing allocations" and described the system as "deeply and inherently problematic, untenable, and must be overhauled".
What to Watch
- Whether Hanson receives a formal response to her two letters requesting staffing equity with the Greens.
- The outcome of broader negotiations between One Nation and the Prime Minister's office over future staff allocations.
- Any further parliamentary moves to reform the Prime Minister's discretionary power over staffing, potentially prompted by crossbench pressure.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe headline says Hanson characterized Albanese’s offer as an attempt at undue influence.WA Today - Latest News: “Albanese offered One Nation MP an extra staffer. Hanson says it’s an attempt at undue influence.”
- SupportedThe summary says Hanson accused the PM of trying to use taxpayer funds to sway Farley.WA Today - Latest News: “Hanson saying she was concerned the prime minister was “seeking to use taxpayer funds to exert undue political influence over politicians””
- SupportedFarley rejected the allocation pending broader talks between One Nation and the Prime Minister’s office.WA Today - Latest News: “In a separate letter sent to the prime minister and seen by this masthead, Farley rejected the allocation pending broader negotiations between One Nation and the prime minister’s office.”
- SupportedAlbanese offered Farley an additional staff member on a $200,000 salary package in an unsolicited proposal One Nation rejected as an attempt to win favour.WA Today - Latest News: “Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has offered One Nation MP David Farley an extra staffer on a $200,000 salary package, in an unsolicited proposal the party has rejected as an attempt to use taxpayer money to win favour with the new MP.”
- SupportedA letter authorising Farley to hire an additional staff member was hand-delivered to his Parliament House office on Monday and swiftly discarded.WA Today - Latest News: “A letter authorising Farley to hire an additional staff member was hand-delivered to the MP’s Parliament House office on Monday by a member of Albanese’s team. It was swiftly discarded”
- SupportedHanson said she was concerned the Prime Minister was “seeking to use taxpayer funds to exert undue political influence over politicians”.WA Today - Latest News: “with Pauline Hanson saying she was concerned the prime minister was “seeking to use taxpayer funds to exert undue political influence over politicians”.”
- SupportedHanson said the staffing power had been “weaponised to an unprecedented extent” under the Labor government and Prime Minister.WA Today - Latest News: ““While this power has always been open to abuse, it has, in our view, been weaponised to an unprecedented extent under this Labor government and this prime minister,” Hanson told this masthead in a statement.”
- SupportedHanson said Australians were sick of this politics and One Nation would have no part of it.WA Today - Latest News: ““This is the type of politics that Australians are sick of. The prime minister is trying to drag One Nation down to his level of grubby politics. One Nation will have no part of it.””
- SupportedHanson twice requested staffing equity with the Greens, which would increase One Nation’s allocation from four to nine.WA Today - Latest News: “Hanson has twice written to Albanese to request staffing equity with the Greens, which would increase One Nation’s allocation from four to nine and raise salaries so the party could attract more experienced staff.”
- SupportedFarley’s offered adviser position had a base salary of up to $160,043, plus a personal staff allowance of up to $35,387.WA Today - Latest News: “Albanese offered Farley an “adviser 3 (non-ministerial)” staffer, a position with a base salary of up to $160,043, plus an additional “personal staff allowance” of up to $35,387.”
- SupportedWilliams said the government should explain the basis for staffing allocations and called the system deeply problematic and in need of overhaul.WA Today - Latest News: “Dr Catherine Williams, executive director of the Centre for Public Integrity, said the government “urgently” need to “explain the rational that has been used to determine current staffing allocations”. “The system which sees the prime minister able to determine staffing allocations is deeply and inherently problematic, untenable, and must be overhauled,” Williams said.”
- SupportedAlbanese said Payman had the same number of staff as when elected as a Labor senator, “indeed one more” because an additional staffer was granted to all senators and House members.WA Today - Latest News: ““Fatima Payman has the same numbers of staff now as she had when she was elected as a Labor senator, indeed one more, because we granted an additional staffer to all senators and all members of the House of Representatives.””