‘Could see myself sitting here’: One Nation MP Farley gatecrashes Liberal meeting

One Nation MP David Farley has fuelled speculation about his future in Pauline Hanson’s party after accidentally walking into a private meeting of more than 20 Liberal MPs – then telling them he could see himself sitting with them.

The extraordinary encounter happened in Parliament House last Wednesday when Farley wandered into a regular meeting of Liberal MPs from marginal seats. Several Liberals present said the Farrer MP took a while to realise he was in the wrong room before turning to leave.

“I could see myself sitting here,” Farley told the MPs, before walking out.

“We were all taken aback, to be honest,” one Liberal MP said. “It was a very loose thing to say.”

Farley confirmed the incident on Monday, but portrayed it as an off-the-cuff joke after accidentally entering the room.

He said the Liberal MPs had a “who-hit-John” look on their faces, silent with their mouths open, before he “filled the empty space with my quip” and left.

The remark comes at an awkward time for One Nation, with Farley again publicly at odds with Hanson over one of the party’s central political issues.

The Farrer MP told ABC’s Insiders that while One Nation wanted to reduce net overseas migration to 130,000, it would allow another 100,000 migrant workers through skilled visas, backpacker programs and the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme.

That would put the effective number at about 230,000 – broadly in line with Labor’s forecast of 225,000 by 2027-28.

Hanson moved quickly to reject Farley’s interpretation, insisting One Nation’s policy was to cut net overseas migration to 130,000, with some short-term agricultural workers excluded from the official measure.

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce was then sent out to clean up the mess, telling Sunrise that Farley had simply got it wrong.

“Show me a political career where people haven’t made a mistake, and I’ll show you a person who’s not told the truth.”

Joyce said One Nation had seemingly raised the matter with Farley but refused to elaborate.

“Oh, look, I’m not going to throw anybody under a bus,” he said. “When people are new in parliament, they can sometimes get things incorrect, and that’s what happens. God knows I’ve done it enough.”

Farley’s comments were also savaged by online news site One News Australia, which branded his appearance a “rookie blunder” and claimed his “clueless” performance had given Labor an “escape route” from its migration policy.

The criticism is notable given One News Australia’s origins as the One Nation Supporters Network before it was rebranded as a news organisation. The site and the party say they have no affiliation, although its coverage is strongly pro-One Nation and Hanson.

Farley was previously counselled by Hanson during the Farrer byelection campaign after he agreed a net migration figure of 306,000 last year was “probably not” too many.

The pair also exchanged harsh words after it was revealed that he’d previously tried to seek preselection with Labor for the seat and not informed anyone within One Nation before it was revealed by this masthead.

Farley has already shown he is prepared to depart from Hanson’s position in the parliament.

Last week he voted with the Coalition on an amendment to Labor’s wagering legislation, despite Hanson having previously committed to supporting the government’s ban on foreign matched lotteries.

His growing independence is being watched closely by Coalition MPs, particularly given his conservative and agricultural background.

Sources in the Coalition said Opposition Leader Angus Taylor knew Farley from his time as an agribusiness leader and could potentially use the relationship to court him in future, although there are no immediate plans to do so.

“He is a Nat or a country Liberal, not a populist,” one Liberal MP said.

Farley told Insiders he came from the conservative LNP tradition, joined the Nationals after returning to Farrer and later explored joining Labor and running as an independent.

He ultimately chose One Nation because he said it offered the “political courage” and “tenacity” he wanted.

“I have the full support of the party to pursue what I’m doing, especially for Farrer,” he said.

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