Pauline Hanson has reportedly written to the President of the Senate in a bid to launch a High Court challenge to the Constitutional eligibility of her former One Nation senator Fraser Anning.
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Senator confirms split with One Nation
Senator Anning sits as an independent in the Senate.
He was elected last year in a recount to replace One Nation's Malcolm Roberts, but quit Pauline Hanson's party on his very first day in the parliament.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson claims Senator Anning should be disqualified because he may violate the law against candidates being "bankrupt or insolvent", writing in a letter to the President of the Senate, Scott Ryan, that was also sent to The Australian newspaper.
SBS News asked One Nation for a copy of the letter, but the request was denied.
If Senator Anning were kicked out of the Senate, the seat would likely return to One Nation control, increasing the party's voting power in the Upper House.
Senator Anning was pursued for more than $200,000 in loan money by a company called ABL Nominees, a subsidiary of the Adelaide Bank, but the bankruptcy case in the Federal Court was dropped in October last year after the two parties reached an out-of-court settlement.
Responding to the accusations on Monday, Senator Anning told the ABC he would never disclose details of the private settlement.
He said the claims against him were "frivilous" and claimed he had "never been bankrupt or insolvent".
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