After a protracted legal battle that began almost as soon as he was elected, Rod Culleton's election has been ruled ineligible by the High Court.

The unanimous full bench decision of the High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, puts an end to the former One Nation senator's battle to stay in the upper house, regardless of the outcome of any of his other court battles, which include challenging a Federal Court bankruptcy ruling.

Mr Culleton was not in court when the judgment was handed down.

But the Parliament will not know who takes his place until after a recount, with the Electoral Commission now to consider the ballots as if Mr Culleton's name had not existed on the ticket.

His brother-in-law, Peter Georgiou, placed as the number two candidate for One Nation, is considered most likely to fill the vacancy, with Mr Culleton having previously vowed to serve as his chief-of-staff.

Mr Culleton quit One Nation in early December, amid reports of a growing rift between himself and party leader, Pauline Hanson. The rift emerged after Senator Hanson gave her party's support to a government motion referring Mr Culleton's election to the High Court under section 44 of the constitution.

Advertisement

The High Court judges found that Mr Culleton was not eligible to stand for the Senate at the time of his election, because he had been convicted and was subject to be sentenced for an offence that carried a year or more imprisonment.

That related to a larceny charge from New South Wales over a dispute with a tow truck driver in 2014, who arrived to repossess property from Mr Culleton's property, resulting in the loss of what Mr Culleton referred to as "a $7.50 key".

Mr Culleton was convicted in his absence by the Armidale Local Court in March 2016, but in August, following the election, won his bid to have the conviction annulled.

But the Senate referred his election to the High Court given that, at the time he was elected, he was potentially ineligible under the constitution.

Mr Culleton's legal team argued that, given the conviction was annulled, it had never existed and therefore did not affect his eligibility.

But the court found that, at the time of the July 2016 election, Mr Culleton had been convicted and was subject to a term of imprisonment of more than a year "both as a matter of fact, and as a matter of law" and the later annulment "had no effect on that state of affairs".

A Federal Court ruling into Mr Culleton's bankruptcy is due to be handed down late on Friday, but will have no impact on his place in the Senate, as the High Court ruling is final.

He accused the party of "un-Australian behaviour" and having betrayed their election promises.

Senator Hanson described her former senator as a "pain in my backside" and said she was happy to see him leave the party.

The court ordered the Commonwealth to pay Mr Culleton's legal costs.

Follow us on Facebook</s>THE High Court has handed down its judgment in Canberra unanimously declaring Rod Culleton was ineligible for election at last year’s federal poll as per constitutional rules.

The Court was adjudicating on a matter referred to it by the federal Senate late last year - sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns - concerning Mr Culleton’s eligibility for election due to being convicted at the time for larceny.

The High Court’s ruling also determined that Mr Culleton will be replaced following a recount of votes.

That is likely to see the person second on One Nation’s WA Senate ticket elected which is Mr Culleton's brother-in-law Peter Georgiou.

“Today the High Court unanimously held that Rodney Norman Culleton was a person who was convicted and subject to be sentenced for an offence punishable by imprisonment for one year or longer at the time of the 2016 federal election, and therefore was incapable of being chosen as a Senator under s 44(ii) of the Constitution,” the judgment said.

“The Court held that Mr Culleton was convicted and subject to be sentenced for an offence punishable by imprisonment for one year or longer at the date of the 2016 election, both as a matter of fact and as a matter of law.

“The subsequent annulment of the conviction had no effect on that state of affairs.

“The Court held that the resulting vacancy should be filled by a special count of the ballot papers.”

Mr Culleton - a former farmer from Williams in the WA Wheatbelt - was elected for One Nation on a promise to try and stand up for farmers impacted by bank-debt issues and to try and implement a Royal Commission into banking.

But he fell-out with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and quit the party to become independent shortly before he was declared bankrupt by the Federal Court, in a ruling on December 23 last year.

That ruling led to Senate president Stephen Parry notifying Mr Culleton he was disqualified from the Senate as per the constitution, due to be being a bankrupt.

A decision on an appeal made by Mr Culleton against his bankruptcy ruling to the Full Court of the Federal Court is due to be handed down at 4.30pm today.

Senator Hanson on Twitter today said after the High Court verdict, “I look forward to having Peter Georgiou represent Pauline Hanson's One Nation & Western Australia. Welcome to the team Peter”.

One Nation NSW Senator Brian Burston - who told Mr Culleton on an email “Please do not contact me again” after official notice was released of his formal Senate disqualification last month – said he was relieved the saga was now over.

“Good riddance; it’s that simple,” he said.

Mr Burston said Mr Culleton had not been a “team player” and was “nothing but trouble” for One Nation since being elected last year.

He said the former Senator also withheld critical details from the party about his conviction – during candidate scrutiny - and misled them about the incident over the $7.50 tow truck key, which was the subject of the High Court’s considerations.

Mr Burston said he was just about to call Peter Georgiou and would offer him support through staff and any other resources, to assist him with being in Canberra for the start of federal parliament on February 7 and to be officially sworn into the Senate.

“I will be welcoming Peter Georgiou into One Nation with open arms,” he said.

Mr Burston said the vote recount was expected to take about an hour and would be conducted later today and it was “certain” Mr Georgiou would be elected, after One Nation claimed the 11th Senate spot, at the double-dissolution election last July,

But he said it may not be guaranteed the Greens would retain their second WA Senator, Rachel Siewert, at the recount, after taking the final and twelfth position.

Mr Culleton has been contacted for comment – but has not returned calls.

Yesterday, a tongue in cheek Mr Culleton said after the court’s rulings, he would be headed to NZ to look at buying a farm and leaving Australia.

In a statement, Senator Hanson said she recently met with Mr Georgiou in person while visiting WA and after their conversations, was confident he would be an asset to the Senate and will serve the people of WA with “distinction and dedication”.

“After meeting Peter and getting to know him, it is clear he is a dedicated, hardworking man who believes strongly in the principles of One Nation,” she said.

“Peter is a sparky by trade and has run a successful business since 2001, employing a number of apprentices and qualified tradies.

“Because of this experience he knows the hurdles of red tape and bureaucracy that can stifle small business.”

Ms Hanson said Mr Georgiou wasn’t a career politician and had “real world experience and real world insight that will be invaluable to the party and to the people of Australia on the floor of the Senate”.

“One Nation is united in our excitement at the prospect of working with Peter Georgiou and, honestly, I couldn’t be happier,” she said.

“It looks like One Nation and Western Australia will be getting a significant Senator upgrade.”

University of NSW constitutional law expert Professor George Williams told Fairfax Media the Court’s ruling was an unsurprising, straight forward, unanimous judgement.

He said it would not be a full recount of the ballot but only a re-distribution of Mr Culleton’s votes and preferences, which was unlikely to impact Senator Siewert’s position.

On Monday, Mr Culleton sought to try and bring his personal bankruptcy matter from the Federal Court, to the High Court, to be determined alongside questions regarding his electoral eligibility but it was dismissed.

The bankruptcy ruling relates to a debt claim pursued by Mr Culleton’s former farm neighbour Dick Lester over a land sale and purchase deal, and sale of oats, dating back to late 2009 and early 2010 that went bad.</s>The High Court on Friday put a decisive end to the debate over the eligibility of Rod Culleton to serve as a senator for Western Australia. It held unanimously that he was incapable of being chosen as a senator under Section 44(ii) of the Constitution.

There have been questions surrounding Culleton’s eligibility since before he was even elected. This culminated last November, when the Senate referred the question of his eligibility to the High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns.

Throughout all of these legal controversies Culleton has continued to insist he remains a validly elected senator.

What was the court asked to decide?

The Court of Disputed Returns was asked to consider the constitutional impact of Culleton’s earlier conviction in New South Wales for larceny.

Culleton was convicted in March 2016. However, this conviction was subsequently appealed and annulled – after he had been elected to the Senate. While he later pleaded guilty to the same charge, no conviction was ultimately recorded.

The potential constitutional impact of this conviction stems from Section 44(ii). This states a person is incapable of being chosen as a senator if they have:

Although Culleton wasn’t actually sentenced to imprisonment, the charge itself attracts a maximum penalty greater than imprisonment for one year. This is enough to have potentially rendered him ineligible under Section 44(ii) at the time of the election in 2016.

The question before the Court of Disputed Returns was therefore a narrow one. Did Section 44(ii) disqualify somebody who is caught by the provision at the time of being elected, but whose conviction is subsequently annulled?

In essence, Culleton’s parliamentary career turned on the meaning of the word “annulment”.

What did the court decide?

The court held that Culleton was disqualified under Section 44(ii) at the date of the 2016 election, both as a matter of fact and as a matter of law. It unanimously held that the subsequent annulment of this conviction did not change that conclusion.

As a result, the court declared there is a vacancy in WA’s representation in the Senate for the place for which Culleton had been returned.

The court’s key finding was that the annulment on August 8, 2016, was only capable of operating prospectively – meaning the conviction was not avoided in its entirety by the annulment.

The court did note that in some contexts (for example, in family law) an annulment may have retrospective effect, but this depends ultimately on the statutory context in which the term is used.

In this case, the relevant legislation was the NSW Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act. The court held that a conviction annulled under this act is annulled only for the future, and that:

What happens next?

The most immediate effect of this ruling is that it is now beyond doubt that Culleton is no longer a senator – and, indeed, was never eligible to be elected as a senator in the first place.

This does not spell the end of the legal troubles Culleton faces. He is appealing a bankruptcy order issued by the Federal Court last December, and faces a stealing trial in Perth later this year.

However, following the Court of Disputed Returns’ ruling, none of these legal issues will have any further bearing on the question of whether he is able to continue as a senator. The decision on that point was decisive and final.

Senate President Stephen Parry has previously advised the WA government that while there was a vacancy in the state’s representation, it would be necessary to wait for the Court of Disputed Returns’ decision before it became apparent how the vacancy should actually be filled.

The court has now made that clear. It has held that the vacancy should be filled by a special count of the ballot papers. The court specifically noted that it is not necessary to order a new poll, either for the vacant position itself or for all 12 of WA’s Senate positions.

Essentially, this means a recount of the WA Senate ballot papers from the 2016 election will occur. This means the group ticket votes received by Pauline Hanson’s One Nation that were initially allocated to Culleton will be transferred instead to the party’s second candidate, Culleton’s brother-in-law Peter Georgiou.

The court expressly noted in its judgment that this recount process “would not distort the true legal intent of the voters”, given that 96.04% of the votes Culleton received were actually above-the-line votes for One Nation.

Therefore, the almost-certain outcome of the recount that has been ordered is that Georgiou will be declared elected as the new WA senator. Pauline Hanson has already suggested that Georgiou will take his seat as part of her One Nation team.

This means that, after all of the legal controversies of the past year, we have ended up in essentially the same position – the Senate will include a One Nation senator from WA. The only difference is that it won’t be Rod Culleton.</s>Engaged couples would be forced to sign prenuptial agreements and burqas would be banned under Pauline Hanson's plan for Australia.

If the One Nation leader were to become prime minister, couples by law would have to lodge with a court a confidential prenuptial agreement covering finances and parenting.

'Family law is high on my agenda. It needs a complete overhaul,' she told The Sunday Mail.

'We've got to free up our court system. It's overloaded. A lot of judgments aren't being handed down for years.'

Senator Hanson, who is twice divorced, said she would meet with judges in coming weeks to discuss her idea of reforming the Family Court system, which she said was prone to vexatious litigation that had caused 'too many suicides and murders'.

The Queensland senator would also ban burqas and start a royal commission into Islam, which she campaigned on ahead of last year's election.

Last month, she announced her party would ban the burqa in Queensland if it won the balance of power if that state.

'You know what I'm going to do, going to investigate?' she told Sky News.

'Ban the burqa in government buildings, banks and schools.'

She also tweeted: 'It seems people don't realise the burqa is not a religious right it's an evil tool of oppression and an extreme national security risk.'

As prime minister, Senator Hanson would reduce the number of politicians, cut migration levels and build more dams.

She would also bring in an Australian identity card to crack down on welfare fraud - an idea which Bob Hawke's Labor government abandoned in 1987.

The former small business owner is also pushing a two per cent flat tax, which her party took to the 1998 federal election.

At the time, One Nation's 'Easy Tax' was ridiculed by the major parties and Senator Hanson went on to lose her Ipswich-based seat of Oxley on preferences.

Her One Nation party would also introduce American-style 'citizen-initiated referendums' where voters can introduce and repeal laws.

In California, this saw opponents of gay marriage in 2008 successfully push for Proposition 8, a constitutional ban on same-sex unions.

The Queensland senator would also force foreign companies to sell Australian infrastructure assets back to the federal government, which could include airports, ports and energy assets.

Senator Hanson, who was disendorsed as a federal Liberal candidate in 1996 over her comments on indigenous welfare, has also flagged making One Nation politicians pay $250,000 to her party if they are elected only to quit her team.

The policy is unprecedented and follows last year's resignation of West Australian senator Rod Culleton from One Nation.

The High Court on Friday ruled him ineligible to have run for parliament because he was a bankrupt at the July election.</s>Rod Culleton: Former One Nation senator loses appeal against court bankruptcy verdict

Former One Nation senator Rod Culleton has lost an appeal against a Federal Court ruling declaring him bankrupt, in his second legal loss today.

Mr Culleton had fought the finding on several grounds, including that he was solvent when the ruling was made and that the matter should have gone before a jury.

A spokeswoman for Mr Culleton said he had accepted the ruling.

"The decision of the court was what he has said all along was what he was waiting for," said Margaret Menzel.

"Unfortunately due process is what was needed and he put his spotlight on the courts for good reason."

In December, the Federal Court ruled the former senator was an "undischarged bankrupt" in a case brought by former business partners — grounds for disqualification from the Senate.

He was also battling to hold on to his Senate seat amid a challenge to the validity of his election after the Senate voted to refer the matter to the High Court.

The Senate referred the validity in November, claiming he had a conviction against his name at the time of the poll for stealing the keys to a tow truck.

Under the Constitution, that would disqualify him from sitting in Federal Parliament.

Senator Culleton argued the conviction was annulled or quashed after the election, and therefore should have no impact on his tenure.

But this morning the High Court ruled his election was invalid because he was convicted of an offence at the time of the poll.

The ruling, handed down in Canberra, ordered a special recount of the WA Senate vote to determine who should fill the vacant position.

Culleton's brother-in-law to take over

ABC election analyst Antony Green said the recount of votes had technically already been carried out.

Green said the recount would likely be rubber-stamped and One Nation's second candidate, Rod Culleton's brother-in-law Peter Georgiou, would be declared elected.

"There is no path back for Rod Culleton because, say if Mr Georgiou resigned his seat to try to let Mr Culleton back in, One Nation would determine who fills it," he said.

"So that's the end of Rod Culleton's Senate career."

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has praised Mr Georgiou as a "dedicated, hardworking man".

In a statement, Senator Hanson said he would be an asset to the team.

Mr Georgiou said he would be "very proud" and humbled to represent One Nation in West Australia.

"I feel lucky an honoured to be an Australian and have the opportunity, as an everyday citizen, to serve the constituents of WA and am looking forward to working with my One Nation colleagues," he said in a statement.

"As a small business owner I recognise that hard work is critical in achieving our goals."</s>CONVERGING legal actions in different parts of Australia will further determine the political fate of disqualified WA Senator and anti-rural banking crusader Rod Culleton today.

Mr Culleton was elected for One Nation at last year’s poll but quit the party to become independent shortly before he was made ineligible for the federal Senate due to a bankruptcy decision handed down in the Federal Court, on December 23 last year.

He gained a 21-day stay order on the sequestration of his estate at the pre-Christmas hearing and subsequent extensions have allowed an appeal process to proceed with a hearing heard last week, by the Full Court of the Federal Court.

A decision on that matter is due to be handed down at 4.30pm today which is expected to conclude the subsequent appeal processes allowed for the former Williams farmer.

Chief Justice James Allsop will deliver the judgment in Melbourne on behalf of the Full Court, along with a video link to Perth where Mr Culleton is based.

The bankruptcy decision is due to a legal claim against Mr Culleton that’s been pushed by determined former Wesfarmers director Dick Lester which started in mid-2010.

Mr Lester has sought to reclaim a debt of more than $200,000 linked to the sale of oats and the lease and potential $13.2 million sale of his farm property “Rathgar”, to his one-time friend and farm neighbour and his company Elite Grains.

Yesterday, the Western Australian Court of Appeal dismissed Mr Culleton’s application to re-open the Court of Appeal’s decision from 2015 in relation to the case against Mr Lester and his company Balwyn Nominees.

In 2015, the appeal against the original 2013 trial decision was also wholly dismissed and Balwyn Nominees was awarded its costs, said Mr Lester’s lawyer Michael Lundberg of King & Wood Mallesons.

Outside the court yesterday, Mr Lester told media, “It means that the original case that was won by Dakin Farms, my company, and Balwyn Nominees, my company, against Rodney and Ioanna Culleton has been confirmed, and all courses of appeal have been exhausted and that the matter of Rodney Culleton's bankruptcy is a very alive issue”.

The High Court is also due to hand down its judgment at 10am today in Canberra on a matter referred by the federal Senate late last year - sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns - concerning Mr Culleton’s eligibility for election.

Despite being formally notified of his formal disqualification by Senate President Stephen Parry earlier this month and having his payment and entitlements terminated and those of his staff, Mr Culleton has repeatedly insisted he’s still a Senator.

Mr Culleton has described the extended legal battle against Mr Lester as being “personal” compared to his many other legal fights.

He has also continually claimed he’s solvent and can repay his debts but has also expressed concerns about ongoing, escalating legal costs while vowing he would accept the court’s ultimate decision, once all legal avenues were exhausted.

Senator Parry is due to make an announcement next Tuesday to the Senate when it returns for the first time in 2017 on matters concerning Mr Culleton and his various legal matters.

Senator Parry has written to the Governor of Western Australia saying a vacancy exists in the state’s representation as per the constitution, due to Mr Culleton being declared an undischarged bankrupt.

But the matter remains unresolved as the High Court’s decision today is also expected to determine the way forward on how Mr Culleton will be replaced.

The position can be filled through a casual vacancy appointment by One Nation or a recount of votes which could see the person second on One Nation’s WA Senate ticket which is Mr Culleton's brother-in-law Peter Georgiou, subsequently elected.

On Monday, Mr Culleton sought to try and bring his personal bankruptcy matter from the Federal Court, to the High Court, to be determined alongside questions regarding his electoral eligibility.

But Justice Gageler dismissed the summons relating to Mr Culleton’s claim that reportedly also sought to try and retain his parliamentary entitlements which have been terminated, following the bankruptcy ruling.

Mr Culleton attended the court proceedings with his legal team of Peter King, Peter Lithgow and lawyer John Maitland to address the matter.

Ahead of the hearing, he said part of his overall legal and political strategy was to test the federal constitution and he was “still in the game”.

He said he’d put an application into the High Court to “keep the ball in the air” and remained adamant that Senator Parry had “definitely jumped the gun” in declaring him ineligible for the Senate, due to the Federal Court’s bankruptcy decision.

“I’m still in the game and plenty of big games have been won by the last power-ball to come out,” he said.

“However, I am a law abiding citizen and when all of my legal avenues have been exhausted I’ll do what the court orders me to do.

“But it’s never over until the rooster crows.”

On December 7 last year, the High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, heard the case referred to it by the Upper House in November to determine whether - as per Section 44 of the constitution - Mr Culleton was eligible to be a candidate at last year’s federal election.

Facts of the case agreed between the parties say that on March 2 last year Mr Culleton was convicted in his absence by the Local Court of NSW at Armidale, for an offence of larceny, property value less than $2000.

However the Magistrate in convicting him as an absent offender was precluded from making an order for a sentence of imprisonment.

On August 8 last year the Local Court granted an annulment of that conviction and at no time was Mr Culleton sentenced in respect of the conviction.

“As a result of the annulment granted on August 8, 2016, the Local Court proceeded to deal with the matter afresh,” the court document said.

“On October 25, 2016, Senator Culleton pleaded guilty in the Local Court to the offence of larceny - without proceeding to conviction, the Court dismissed the matter.”

The theft charge related to a $7.50 key taken during an altercation with a tow truck driver who was trying to repossess a vehicle linked to a division of Mr Culleton’s horse feed business at Guyra.

Mr Culleton also appeared in court in Perth earlier this week on matters relating to trespass charges against Frank Bertola and Bruce Bell who were arrested after being thrown out of the Federal Court hearing in Perth on December 23, where the judge declared the proceedings a “circus”, due to the breach of a Violence Restraining Order (VRO) taken out by Mr Culleton’s wife

Mr Bertola and Mr Bell were once involved with Mr Culleton through the Rural Action Movement Group where they pursued common concerns about issues with unfair lending practices and down-graded asset valuations, following the sale of the Landmark loans book to the ANZ Bank.

However, they have since fallen out bitterly resulting in a series incidents including Mr Bertola seeking to add a creditors’ petition, with claims of about $4 million in alleged debts including to individual farmers and grain suppliers, to Mr Culleton’s bankruptcy ruling.

It was thrown out in a technicality earlier this month but Mr Bertola - a former farmer from Bremer Bay - has promised to continue pursuing the alleged debts, including a personal amount of $65,000 which Mr Culleton has denied he owes.

Mr Bell has sought to push a claim to have Mr Culleton expelled from federal parliament by also testing his legal eligibility, in the High Court.

That claim also seeks to try and make the court enforce a constitutional rule that fines anyone - in proportion to their annual parliamentary salary - who is found to have been ineligible for election, by the Court of Disputed Returns.

Senator Parry’s written notice and action on Mr Culleton was triggered by section 44 of the constitution which says a member of the Senate is disqualified, if declared bankrupt or insolvent.</s>The high court has unanimously ruled that Rodney Culleton was not eligible to run for the Senate at the time of his election because of his larceny conviction, which was later annulled.

The decision means that regardless of Culleton’s full federal court appeal against his bankruptcy, the former One Nation senator will not be able to win back his seat.

The high court ordered that the vacancy created by Culleton’s ineligibility be filled by a special recount of ballots, meaning preferences will flow to voters’ next selection after Culleton.



That process is highly likely to return the second One Nation candidate, his brother-in-law Peter Georgiou, but there is an outside possibility that votes that gave other candidates second preference could swing the sweat to another party.

Ironically, the result may benefit Culleton if his brother-in-law takes the seat, because the recount will deprive One Nation of its own pick to fill the vacancy.

In December One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, said Culleton was impossible to work with and that if Georgiou was selected and Culleton went to work for him the party would be “on the same merry-go-round”.

At the time Hanson also questioned Georgiou’s eligibility in comments to the Australian Financial Review about whether he was a guarantor for Culleton’s loan, which a spokeswoman for Culleton denied.

Hanson insisted that the seat should “come back to the party” if Culleton were ruled ineligible, and said in January on Twitter that she had even picked someone to fill the vacancy:

But reacting to the court result on Friday Hanson said she was looking forward to Georgiou representing “Pauline Hanson’s One Nation” and welcomed him to the team:

In a statement quoting only Hanson, the party leader said she had met Georgiou recently and was confident he will be an asset to the Senate despite the fact it is not yet known whether, if elected, he would remain with One Nation or follow Culleton’s lead and split from the party.

In November Culleton was referred to the high court by the Senate with Hanson’s support to determine his eligibility.

Under section 44(2) of the constitution, a person is ineligible for election if they have been convicted and are subject to be sentenced for an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment of one year or more.

In a joint judgment by justices Susan Kiefel, Virginia Bell, Stephen Gageler and Patrick Keane, with a separate judgment by Geoffrey Nettle, the court found at the time of the election Culleton had been convicted and was subject to be sentenced both as a matter of fact and law.

The judges said the relevant time for determining eligibility was from the time of nomination until writs were issued and returned.

Although annulment means people are to be treated “as if” they had not been convicted, that did not operate retrospectively to deny the conviction’s earlier legal effect.

They said a fresh election was not necessary, ordering that votes cast in favour of One Nation and Culleton flow to the voters’ next preference in a special recount.

Justice Nettle agreed and added that allowing people with a current conviction to stand at the election on the basis of appeals or possible future annulment would introduce uncertainty into the electoral process.

Culleton was declared bankrupt by the federal court on 23 December, leading to Senate president Stephen Parry declaring his seat is vacant on 11 January.

Culleton appealed the bankruptcy to the full federal court, and a result is also expected on Friday. Regardless of the result, he will not return as a senator when the Senate resumes on Tuesday.

A high court hearing into Bob Day’s eligibility in a separate dispute will also be held on Tuesday.

Guardian Australia has contacted the Australian Electoral Commission to determine how soon the recount will be conducted.</s>The High Court has ordered a special recount of the WA senate vote after it declared the election of former One Nation senator Rod Culleton invalid.

The court has ordered the vacancy be filled by the recount, with details to be determined by a single justice.

The court was asked to rule on whether a conviction at the time of the poll was grounds for disqualifications even though it was later annulled.

Mr Culleton was not in Canberra for the ruling.

The Senate referred the validity of Mr Culleton's election in November, claiming he had a conviction against his name at the time of the poll for stealing the keys to a tow truck.

Under the Constitution, that would disqualify him from sitting in Federal Parliament.

Mr Culleton had argued he was in the clear, because the conviction was annulled after the election on July 2 and after he was declared the 12th senator for WA.

However, the Commonwealth maintained that at all times during the election process he was disqualified from running for office.

In December, the Federal Court ruled he was an "undischarged bankrupt" in a case brought by former business partners — another ground for disqualification from the Senate.

Earlier this year, Senate president Stephen Parry followed that disqualification and declared Mr Culleton's seat was vacant.

Mr Culleton quit Pauline Hanson's One Nation party during the proceedings, after deep divisions emerged between the West Australian and his party leader.

He voted against the party on a number of policies, including the backpacker tax.

Heated arguments between Senator Hanson and Mr Culleton's offices also came to light, with accusations of bullying and a breakdown in communication.</s>One Nation scraps demand for WA candidates to pay $250k allegiance surety

One Nation has scrapped plans to fine any of its candidates who are elected at next month's WA election and then quit the party, following an outcry from members.

The party had asked candidates to sign a document committing them to pay $250,000 if they decided to leave the party while in Parliament.

The party's WA leader Colin Tincknell said the $250,000 was an "administration fee" that had been proposed by the party's national office, but was now a "non-issue".

"We thought it was a good idea - 99.9 per cent of the candidates signed that form, but one or two of them brought up some really good discussions," he said.

"We debated it and we decided to not go ahead and the national body agreed with us.

"We won't be going ahead with that part of the letter."

All of the One Nation MPs elected in Western Australia have eventually gone independent.

Rod Culleton, who was elected as a One Nation senator at last year's federal election, left the party within months.

The three One Nation candidates elected to the WA parliament in 2001, Frank Hough, John Fischer and Paddy Embry, also quit the party during their terms.

Mr Tincknell said it was not right to be elected under a party banner and then leave.

"We're just trying to look at ways of tightening up the way our political party runs, so people that stand for One Nation stay with One Nation once the public have elected them to represent them for One Nation in Parliament.

"That's a fair and equal way of operation, so that's what that was all about."
The High Court of Australia rules that Rod Culleton was ineligible for election as a candidate for Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party in Western Australia in the Federal election and is ineligible to serve in the Senate of Australia.