SYDNEY, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The nationalist movement in Australia has been boosted, as a member of the Queensland state parliament defected to the populist One Nation party on Friday, during a live press conference.
Queensland state opposition MP Steve Dickson defected to the right-wing One Nation after federal Liberal party leader and current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull refused to act on his long running push to see wholesale cannabis oil used as a treatment for children suffering with terminal illness.
"I want to draw a line in the sand. I believe we have to put people before politics, I also believe that the two major parties have lost their way," Dickson told reporters on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson by his side.
Hanson said Dickson's defection is a definite boost for One Nation's chances in the upcoming state election in 2018, and plans to field a candidate in every seat in the state in her continuing battle against the political establishment.
Dickson's announcement follows rumours that federal far-right Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi and Nationals MP George Christensen would defect to form their own right-wing organisation.
In July last year, Bernardi created the "Australian Conservatives" website with the aim to "make the Liberals stronger," but colleagues at the time expressed concerns the maverick senator would use it as a platform to launch his own party.
Both Bernardi and Christensen cited similar reasons to Dickson for their discontent, with the Queensland MP Christensen posting to social media last month: "With satisfaction with democracy at an all-time low in this country, I really do hope that 2017 heralds a new way of doing things for the Turnbull government."
