Ex-Senator Malcolm (77 votes) Roberts has finally received the verdict he didn’t know was coming.
He is not eligible to sit in the Federal Senate. It’s not immediately clear if he was part Welsh or Indian at the time of his election. But it no longer really matters.
Without prejudging the incoming One Nation Senator, if the party runs true to form, Robert’s replacement is likely to be an intellectual nonentity and someone who will make no contribution to the political life of the nation. At least that will be an improvement on Malcolm Roberts whose climate denial held back Australia’s count towards dealing with the question problems of climate change and moving towards clean energy targets.
Malcolm Roberts represents a significant problem in Australian politics. He is more articulate than Pauline Hanson which means that he is able to take the stage and get undeserved the media attention with people like Professor Brian Cox, something Pauline Hanson would not be able to do.
He has been able to get his crackpot theories undeserved attention and credence.
Hanson has indicated that he will be standing in the Queensland state election in the seat of Ipswich. It will be interesting to see whether he has developed a sufficient political profile to be elected in his own right. It was quite clear that he was elected to the Senate on the back of Hanson’s preferences. This will not happen in the lower house in a state election in Queensland. To be elected, he will need to fight off the National party and Labor Party candidates in Ipswich.
The other option will be for him to stand for the Federal Senate in the next Federal election. AndBut it is likely that Hanson will not be standing, as she will be a two-term senator, so Roberts will not benefit from the flow-on of her preferences. For him to be elected, he will need to be number one on the One Nation ticket.
Somehow, Roberts doesn’t look like someone who would appeal to the One Nation constituency of FNQ.