\u201cThat worry now looks well founded,\u201d Mr Christensen, who advised Mr Farley for a few weeks during the Farrer by-election, writes on Substack. <\/p>\n
\u201cDuring that campaign, I had to give him a single piece of advice more than once: David, shut up about immigration. David Farley repeatedly contradicts One Nation on immigration and leaves Pauline Hanson cleaning up the mess.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis comments on Indigenous flags, media access and mardi gras show a growing lack of political discipline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Farley on Sunday told the ABC\u2019s Insiders that One Nation\u2019s migration target wouldn\u2019t be \u201ctoo different\u201d from the government\u2019s, insisting the party would aim for net overseas migration of 130,000 plus a \u201cminimum\u201d of 100,000 Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme workers and skilled workers.<\/p>\n
One Nation\u2019s policy is to achieve a NOM of 130,0000, though its website states it would cap visas at 130,000 each year. The website policy would see negative net overseas migration if more than 130,000 people left Australia. <\/p>\n
Mr Christensen \u2013 who contested an unwinnable Senate seat for One Nation after defecting from the Liberal National Party in 2022 \u2013 acknowledged the minor party needed to \u201cclear up\u201d the wording of its immigration policy but said Mr Farley had only made the confusion worse.<\/p>\n
![\"\u2018Two](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/52e6086b8814a933bf5e4d3cf77e608f.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cFarley didn\u2019t clear anything up. He came up with his own category of \u2018true NOM\u2019, added another 100,000 people and left his leader to explain what he meant. This keeps happening,\u201d Mr Christensen writes. <\/p>\n
One Nation\u2019s high-profile recruit Barnaby Joyce on Monday dismissed Mr Farley\u2019s comments as a rookie mistake but Mr Christensen rejected that notion, pointing out he\u2019d already misspoken about immigration during the by-election campaign. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis was the same mistake, only bigger, made on national television after he\u2019d been elected. Immigration is the issue most responsible for One Nation\u2019s rise,\u201d Mr Christensen says. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe voters of Farrer didn\u2019t choose David Farley because they wanted Labor\u2019s immigration numbers administered by a former agribusiness executive. They backed him as Pauline Hanson\u2019s candidate. They wanted the alternative One Nation had promised them.<\/p>\n
\u201cFarley owes his seat to those voters, to Pauline and to the party workers who helped get him there. He needs to remember that before the next television producer clips a microphone to his jacket. For now, the most useful thing he could learn is when to shut up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Responding to Mr Christensen, Mr Farley said \u201cGeorge will be George\u201d and he needed to represent the interests of Farrer.<\/p>\n
\u201cImmigration is a big issue in Farrer, critical for agriculture, agribusiness, health and aged care. Farrer needs to ensure it gets its proper slice of the 130,000 capped pie,\u201d Mr Farley said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf not, crops stay unharvested, food supply dwindles and food price inflation explodes. I know what Farrer requires from immigration, I trust the rest of Australia are measuring their migrant and labour demand numbers, as the labour market is about to tighten.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Farley\u2019s confusing remarks on immigration has fuelled speculation he could defect from One Nation.<\/p>\n
Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie, the party\u2019s most outspoken MP against One Nation, on Monday labelled Mr Farley a \u201cregional leader\u201d and \u201cdecent fellow\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think he would have been offended by James Ashby going on News24 last night with a mop and essentially mocking his \u2013 what I thought \u2013 thoughtful contribution on Insiders yesterday,\u201d Mr Hastie said on the ABC\u2019s 7.30 program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was grateful that David Farley was more honest about the numbers, and it shows that he\u2019s got a good brain. I don\u2019t know what his intentions are, he\u2019s a member of One Nation, but certainly let\u2019s see what the future holds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read related topics:One Nation<\/a>Pauline Hanson<\/a> Rosie Lewis is The Australian\u2019s National Affairs Correspondent based in Parliament House, Canberra. She made her mark in the press gallery after breaking story after story about the political rollercoaster unleashed by an expanding Senate crossbench. Her national reporting includes exclusives on the dual citizenship fiasco, women in parliament, the COVID-19 pandemic, voice referendum and climate wars. Lewis has covered policy in-depth across most portfolios and has a particular focus on climate and energy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Facing accusations he\u2019s undermining Senator Hanson by proposing different immigration figures to One Nation\u2019s official plan, Mr 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<\/a>Rosie Lewis<\/a>National Affairs Correspondent<\/p>\n