{"id":660353,"date":"2026-05-09T18:59:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T18:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/660353\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T18:59:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T18:59:20","slug":"pauline-hanson-braces-for-historic-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/660353\/","title":{"rendered":"Pauline Hanson braces for historic win"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rob<\/p>\n

Updated May 9, 2026 \u2014 5:06pm,first published May 8, 2026 \u2014 9:01pm<\/p>\n

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One Nation candidate David Farley faces calls to apologise to a popular Albury doctor after he outraged byelection rivals in the seat of Farrer with comments at a candidates\u2019 forum on the eve of the vote.<\/p>\n

Farley, the frontrunner to make a historic breakthrough for Pauline Hanson\u2019s party in one of the Coalition\u2019s traditional rural strongholds, cast his vote in front of national media at Albury Public School early on Saturday. But there was no sign of Hanson or high-profile MP Barnaby Joyce as was expected.<\/p>\n

\"OneOne Nation candidate David Farley at Albury Public School on Saturday morning.Janie Barrett<\/p>\n

On Friday night, Farley said of Dr Lachlan McKeeman, an Albury GP and prominent campaigner for improved health services<\/a> in the region, that he could \u201csee why he lost his job, I think\u201d during an interaction with the audience for a live filming of The Karl Stefanovic Show.<\/p>\n

McKeeman has not worked at Albury Wodonga Health since late last year after receiving legal advice that his \u201cposition was untenable\u201d because of his public criticism of the organisation and the hospital redevelopment.<\/p>\n

He used Friday night\u2019s forum to challenge the One Nation candidate, who supports continuing the current hospital redevelopment<\/a> until a greenfield site can be identified.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe brownfield is in progress,\u201d Farley said before McKeeman interjected from the back of the outdoor area at Beer Deluxe.<\/p>\n

\"DavidDavid Farley (above) faced yet another controversy on the eve of the election over comments towards a local doctor.Janie Barrett<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not. They\u2019ve only started the north-east building. Don\u2019t lie,\u201d McKeeman said.<\/p>\n

Farley responded: \u201cYou can see why he lost his job, I think.\u201d The remark drew fierce boos from the audience.<\/p>\n

The remark is the latest in a string of gaffes from Farley during the campaign, which has exposed tensions within the One Nation party. It was revealed during the campaign that Farley had attempted to run for Labor in 2022<\/a>, endorsed his rival candidate 12 months ago and publicly disagreed with Hanson\u2019s immigration policy.<\/p>\n

The issue over the hospital on the border has been central to the campaign<\/a>, with both Coalition candidates and community independent Michelle Milthorpe calling for a newly constructed hospital at a new site instead of a planned upgrade to the existing Albury campus.<\/p>\n

\"IndependentIndependent candidate Michelle Milthorpe (centre) campaigning in Albury.Janie Barrett<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Farley told reporters on his way to vote that he was hopeful of winning the support of voters. When asked where Hanson was, he replied: \u201cI\u2019ll be seeing Pauline later on.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Nation later posted images of Farley with Hanson with members of his family and party senators in Narrandera, about two hours drive northwest of Albury.<\/p>\n

Nationals leader Matt Canavan told reporters outside Albury Public School that Farley and Hanson should apologise for the \u201cdisrespectful remarks\u201d made about the GP.<\/p>\n

\u201cDavid Farley should apologise to Lachie McKeeman. He\u2019s a great doctor,\u201d Canavan said. \u201cIf that\u2019s the approach One Nation takes for regional Australia, they\u2019re not going to be able to stand up for regional Australia because our doctors and nurses work so hard with so limited resources from their capital city masters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Milthorpe, who went close to unseating Sussan Ley at the last election and is widely expected to be Farley\u2019s main challenger, condemned the comment as \u201cignorant\u201d and \u201cinsensitive\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"OneOne Nation leader Pauline Hanson at a pub in Albury on Friday evening.Janie Barrett<\/p>\n

\u201cThis issue is not a joke for Dr McKeeman, and it is not a joke for the families whose lives have been deeply affected by the ongoing issues with Albury Wodonga Health,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Liberal candidate Raissa Butkowski said: \u201cI just know that that\u2019s not the way that I would respond\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hanson said on Friday night that she was \u201con eggshells\u201d ahead of the vote<\/a> and warned that she would have no tolerance for new MPs who failed to work hard.<\/p>\n

The Queensland senator insisted that she was not taking the contest for granted, with the Australian Electoral Commission confirming that nearly 50,000 voters, or 40 per cent of those enrolled in Farrer, had already cast their vote.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"One<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been through so many elections where I thought, \u2018Right, we\u2019re looking really good here\u2019,\u201d Hanson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil that last vote is cast tomorrow night and the counting starts, I\u2019m on eggshells … because it\u2019s up to the people out there, the voters, what they want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanson has been forced to smooth over differences with Farley after several missteps over the past fortnight. Asked about some comments, Hanson stressed the party\u2019s formal immigration target remained far lower.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not gonna shut him down. He had his say, but he clarified what he meant,\u201d she said in reference to immigration levels.<\/p>\n

She also defended her tight control over party discipline amid longstanding criticism about instability in the minor party\u2019s ranks, saying she had previously removed MPs who failed to perform.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a battle with these different ones, and I will admit there\u2019s been a couple in there I got rid of,\u201d Hanson said, referencing past acrimonious splits with former senators Brian Burston and Fraser Anning.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne was the senator from NSW. One was a member from Queensland. They did nothing. They sat there and did absolutely nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t work for the people that elect you, you\u2019re not in my party. I don\u2019t reward bad behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Independent<\/a><\/p>\n

Key issues that have shaped the campaign include cost-of-living pressures, water management, access to healthcare and regional services, infrastructure investment and support for agriculture and local industries.<\/p>\n

Milthorpe, who slashed Ley\u2019s margin in the federal election last year, has continually had to bat away claims that she is a teal independent, because of donations from Simon Holmes \u00e0 Court\u2019s Climate 200.<\/p>\n

Hanson framed Saturday\u2019s contest as part of a broader political fight against the major parties, declaring: \u201cCan I do it? Yes, I can. I want our country back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CORRECTION<\/p>\n

An earlier version of this story referred to Liberal MP Raissa Butkowski. She is the party\u2019s candidate.<\/p>\n

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\"RobRob Harris<\/a> is the national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Canberra. He is a former Europe correspondent.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated May 9, 2026 \u2014 5:06pm,first published May 8, 2026 \u2014 9:01pm Save You have reached your maximum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660354,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-660353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}