Former staffer for dumped One Nation MP Ben Dawkins wins a spot on party’s Upper House ticket

A former staffer for dumped One Nation MP Ben Dawkins has taken a spot on the party’s Upper House ticket over his boss. Emboldened by the State Government’s electoral changes, One Nation WA leader Rod Caddies on Monday will release the party’s full upper house ticket for the March State election. Sitting MP Ben Dawkins, who, after replacing former Minister Alannah MacTiernan was dumped by Labor after he pleaded guilty to 35 breaches related to a family violence restraining order, was not endorsed to contest the election. As revealed by The West last month, Mr Caddies, who also holds the party’s number one spot on the ticket, said Mr Dawkins had failed to meet the standard required for a One Nation candidate. Instead, the party has endorsed two former candidates for the winnable second and third positions on the ticket — Phil Scott, who ran in the south metropolitan region for One Nation at the last state election, and Parminder Singh, who ran as an Independent in 2021. In fourth position, the party has picked Constatin Ortheil, who was a staffer for Mr Dawkins until July while in the final spot, One Nation has endorsed Merredin business owner Kat White. The party will seek to take advantage of the new Statewide Upper House electorate, where it will need a little over 50,000 votes to get an MP elected. Mr Caddies said he expected the party to do better than the 2017 State election result, where it returned three Upper House MPs, with the aim of securing the balance of power next year. “One Nation WA is aiming to run a very serious campaign for the upcoming state and federal elections, we believe that the people of WA need a viable alternative to the major parties, one that will make sure decisions are made with the long-term interests of all Western Australians as the number one priority,” Mr Caddies said. “The team we have selected provides us a broad range of skills and life experiences, as well as common values that mirror those of everyday Western Australians.” Last month Mr Caddies said Mr Dawkins had been dumped from the ticket over concerns he had not proven himself since joining the party. “I’ll be the one responsible for who is on the ticket and who represents us in WA, I just don’t think he lived up to the professionalism of what I would expect,” Mr Caddies said. “I’m the leader of the party, and, you know, I’m a very harsh judge, and I expect people to judge me in the same way.” Speaking to the South Western Times, Mr Dawkins said he was still committed to One Nation, despite the snub. “I’m confident that One Nation’s the right party to get behind, I can be very content if I contribute to One Nation’s onslaught at the next election . . . if I can contribute to that in some way, then I will,” he said. Mr Dawkins also confirmed he was looking at a run at the Lower House seat of Collie-Preston, currently held by first-term Labor MP Jodie Hanns on a margin 23.4 per cent.