One Nation has secured a surprising victory in gaining a Senate seat in New South Wales, increasing its presence in the upper house to four members, which is the party’s best-ever result in a federal election.
Warwick Stacey, a former member of the British Army, has claimed the sixth Senate seat in NSW and will join recently elected senator Tyron Whitten, who won a seat in Western Australia.
Labor and Liberal each claimed two seats in NSW, with Mehreen Faruqi from the Greens also elected. Labor’s Tony Sheldon was elected first alongside Tim Ayres, while Andrew Bragg was elected second ahead of fellow Liberal Jess Collins. Faruqi claimed the fifth position, with Stacey securing the sixth and final spot.
Stacey will join Pauline Hanson, Whitten, and re-elected senator Malcolm Roberts in the Senate, matching One Nation’s best result in the 2016 double dissolution election. The party’s previous senators, Brian Burston, and Rod Culleton, had left One Nation over disputes with Hanson.
According to Stacey’s bio on One Nation’s website, he has a wealth of experience outside politics, with policy interests including limited migration, support for coal and nuclear energy, and opposition to net zero emissions targets.
A social media post by Australians for Constitutional Monarchy, a monarchist group that endorsed him for the Senate, revealed details about his military career, including his service in the British Army’s parachute regiment and with the Special Air Service Regiment. He also had a 10-year stint in the Australian Army Reserve and served as a military consultant in the Middle East and India, with expertise in ransom, kidnappings, and crisis management.
In an alumni bio on the Sydney Grammar School website, there is mention of his fluency in French, Arabic, Farsi, German, and Spanish, as well as his involvement in managing kidnappings in Latin America.
Despite the absence of this military record in his One Nation biography, Stacey confirmed these details on a podcast, stating he was born in Sydney, educated in Victoria, and traveled to Europe to study languages before enrolling in the British Army.
Stacey stated he served eight years as a professional soldier in the British Army, initially in the parachute regiment and later with 22 SAS, before working in the Middle East as a military contractor and starting his own crisis management business.
He described his work in crisis management as involving advising on over 40 kidnappings, extortions, piracy, and life-threatening incidents, as well as managing numerous other cases. Guardian Australia attempted to contact Stacey for an additional comment but was informed that he was overseas for personal reasons.
Stacey spoke to Guardian Australia during the NSW Senate ballot draw, expressing his view that Australia is ready for change and that he is confident in One Nation’s chances despite being the sixth candidate on the ballot.
