Sarah Game MLC quits Pauline Hanson's One Nation to run as independent
South Australian One Nation MP Sarah Game has quit the party and will sit as an independent. (Supplied)
In short:
SA One Nation MP Sarah Game has announced she has quit the party and will serve out the remainder of her term as an independent.
She said there were problems with the way the party's brand was perceived and her attempts to evolve the brand had not been successful.
In a social media post, One Nation attributed the defection to "internal tensions" and a fight over the potential preselection of Ms Game's mother, Jennifer.
South Australian One Nation MP Sarah Game has announced she is quitting the party and will serve out the remainder of her term as an independent.
Ms Game became the first One Nation candidate elected to the South Australian parliament when she won her upper house seat in 2022.
She said there were problems with the way the party's brand was perceived and her attempts to evolve the brand had not been successful.
"I've been hindered, or there's been missed opportunities as a result of the brand, and I'm not necessarily saying I agree with that but it's just life," she told the ABC.
"I am being practical and I want to make the absolute best of the remaining almost five years that I have."
Ms Game said despite her decision to quit the party, she would remain committed to her voters as an independent.
"I'm completely committed to all the voters that voted in the 2022 election and gave me the great privilege of representing South Australian people … and that won't change," she said.
"In terms of the decision that I've made, it's really about I ended up losing confidence that I could rebrand the party in the way that I wanted to."
'Acts of treachery': One Nation hits back
In a post to social media, Pauline Hanson's One Nation party said it was "blindsided" by Ms Game defecting to become an independent.
The party cited internal tensions after it chose not to place Ms Game's mother, Jennifer Game, in the top pre-selection position ahead of South Australia's 2026 election.
"One Nation expressed to Sarah Game that we would not be held to ransom by her mother and informed them both of this decision," the post said.
"Sarah Game's excuse for leaving One Nation is false and lacks the accountability and transparency she promotes on her website."
Pauline Hanson's One Nation party says it was "blindsided" by Sarah Game's resignation. (Supplied)
One Nation also called for legislative change to stop elected members from leaving a party during their term.
"Yesterday's announcement by Sarah again shines a light on a very serious and growing problem in Australian politics, whereby a person can walk away from a political party that has invested time, money and resources into having them elected," the post said.
"Every political party within Australia has been impacted by similar acts of treachery."
Ms Game's decision means she has become the second South Australian upper house member in a week to quit her party.
Tammy Franks MLC resigned from the Greens on Tuesday to sit as a "progressive independent" in the upper house, leaving the party with just one MP in parliament.
Tammy Franks resigned from the Greens earlier this week, halving the party's representation in state parliament. (ABC News: Marco Catalano)
Ms Franks told ABC Radio Adelaide at the time that her decision was based on internal tensions within the party.
"I have not done this very lightly, it's been a long time coming and it's a really difficult decision that's seen me grieve over many, many months," she said.
A day after her resignation, the Greens said there were "complaints raised in relation to the behaviour of Ms Tammy Franks MLC".
The minor party said its investigation into complaints against her found she had "engaged in misconduct".
Ms Franks denies any wrongdoing, describing allegations against her as "unsubstantiated and false".
'Busy time in the upper house'
In response to a second MP making the decision to sit as an independent within a week, Labor MP Emily Bourke said it has "been a busy time in the upper house lately."
"It really is up to the individual members as to why they're making these decisions to become independents,"Ms Bourke said.
Sarah Game says she will remain committed to her voters as an independent. (ABC News)
"The upper house is always a place where there's negotiation and it really does bring a good quality to the parliament … to be able to have ongoing discussions with each and every one of our independents."
Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia said he didn't know the reasons behind the decision but he had reached out to Ms Game when he heard the news last night.
"Like any member of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly, I've got a good working relationship, I would say, with all members of parliament," Mr Tarzia said.
"No-one wants to see these rifts in any party but that's a matter for Sarah.
"From my point of view it was more a bit of pastoral care just to check in on her because at the end of the day we are all colleagues and we all work in the same building."