WA Upper House MP Ben Dawkins abandons failed Right party, mulls One Nation bid instead

WA Upper House MP Ben Dawkins — who was kicked out of the Labor Party as he faced a string of domestic violence charges — has abandoned plans to run for the failed Right Party and has reportedly expressed interest in joining One Nation. Mr Dawkins, 52, held an unwinnable fifth place on Labor’s ticket for the South West region in the Upper House, but entered parliament after Alannah MacTiernan quit and the fourth-placed candidate declined to take her place. The accidental MLC was expelled from Labor, as he faced 35 charges for breaching a restraining order against his estranged wife. He was eventually given a 10-month community based order and fined $2000 in the Fremantle Magistrates Court for the charges, which related to belittling emails that breached the order. Since then Mr Dawkins has been shopping around for a political party, admitting winning re-election as an independent was virtually impossible. The West understands the MP has told people he plans to join One Nation. Mr Dawkins said he was “not confirming anything” and “if I was doing that, (providing comment) is something the party would do, not something a candidate would do”. “But I am exploring options and speaking to people,” he said. He had planned to run under a new conservative Right Party, which had an “anti-woke” agenda, but the group failed to sign up 500 unique members and submit them to the WA Electoral Commission by February 5. Mr Dawkins said he had spoken with the Australian Democrats but that they were not sufficiently organised and had gone “lefty, woke”. One Nation campaign director Rod Caddies said he had spoken to Mr Dawkins, who was one of four potential Legislative Council candidates with “some profile”, but no decision had been made on him joining the party. Mr Caddies said if Mr Dawkins was to resume talks, they would need to assess if he “fits with the party”. The McGowan Government radically reshaped the Legislative Council, abolishing the six regions that each elected six candidates and replacing them with a single state-wide electorate and increasing the number of MLCs from 36 to 37. The changes mean at the 2025 State election, political parties will win a seat for every 2.7 per cent of the vote, with One Nation very likely to win at least one seat under that model.