Rod Culleton heir has split views on One Nation policies
The Perth electrician who could be catapulted into federal parliament to replace controversial One Nation senator Rod Culleton says he is opposed to foreigners taking Australian jobs but does not share party leader Pauline Hanson’s hardline views on immigration.
Peter Georgiou, 42, is Senator Culleton’s brother-in-law and was No 2 behind him on One Nation’s senate ticket in Western Australia at the July election.
He told The Australian he was motivated to seek a career in politics because of his disillusionment with both major parties and he believed the election of Donald Trump as US president showed “anything is possible”. He also said he shared Senator Culleton’s strident anti-bank views.
But Mr Georgiou, whose Greek parents came to Australia in the 1970s, said he was not opposed to immigration or any particular ethnic group or religion, apparently putting him at odds with Senator Hanson.
“I don’t really have a problem with who comes to this country (if) they come through the proper channels,” he said.
Mr Georgiou, who has run his own electrical contracting business for 16 years, said he was concerned skilled migrants were continuing to enter Western Australia even as the state’s economy slowed and employment dried up.
“Because I am in the construction industry, there’s been a lot of talk about visa (holders) taking local jobs,” he said.
“It wasn’t too bad when things were very busy and there was a shortage of workers, but now that it’s quietened down a bit people are losing their jobs.”
Senator Culleton is being challenged in the High Court under section 44 of the Constitution, over an allegation he was ineligible to be elected because at the time of nominating for the election he had been convicted of larceny in NSW.
Section 44 states that anyone convicted or awaiting a sentence for an offence punishable by jail for one year or longer is ineligible to be chosen or to sit in parliament.
He is also facing bankruptcy action in the Federal Court later this month, launched by former Wesfarmers director Dick Lester over a debt of more than $200,000.
If Senator Culleton is deemed ineligible either in the High Court or through the bankruptcy case, Mr Georgiou is considered his most likely replacement.
Mr Georgiou said One Nation would decide on any senate replacement, but he believed Senator Culleton would survive his legal challenges.
He said he was unsure if his sister Ioanna Culleton — the senator’s wife who was No 3 on the ticket — would be keen to enter parliament.
“I’m not sure to be honest — we haven’t really discussed it,” he said.
Mrs Culleton, who was born in Greece and moved to Australia at age five, is qualified as a psychologist and has worked in mental health in regional WA.
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