Rodney Norman Culleton (born 5 June 1964) is an Australian politician who was sworn in and sat as a Senator for Western Australia following the 2016 federal election. At that time he was a member of the Pauline Hanson's One Nation party, but on 18 December 2016 he resigned from the party to sit as an independent.
On 23 December 2016 the Federal Court of Australia held that Culleton was bankrupt. On 11 January 2017 the President of the Senate, Stephen Parry, wrote to the Governor of Western Australia, Kerry Sanderson, advising her that as a result of Culleton's bankruptcy his seat in the Senate was vacant. Culleton disputed the effect of the court's order and claimed still to be a Senator. His appeal against the bankruptcy order, to the Full Court of the Federal Court, was dismissed on 3 February 2017. On the same day, the High Court determined that Culleton had, in any case, been ineligible for election to the Senate due to a criminal matter in New South Wales. The Senate vacancy left by Culleton was later filled by his brother-in-law Peter Georgiou, One Nation's second Senate candidate for WA in the 2016 election, after an official recount.
Culleton established The Great Australian Party in April 2019.
Senate Culleton was declared as elected as a Senator for Western Australia on 2 July 2016 as the lead candidate on the Pauline Hanson's One Nation ticket during the 2016 election. At the time he had been convicted in absentia on a larceny charge over a vehicle key in New South Wales, but had not yet been sentenced.
On 18 December 2016 Culleton announced on Twitter that he had resigned from One Nation, citing a lack of party support and "un-Australian behaviour". Party leader Pauline Hanson responded that Culleton had been "a pain in my backside" and that she was "glad to see the back of him".
Debt and legal proceedings Culleton was involved in a long and complex history of legal proceedings in relation to claims he owed money to a number of different companies. Macquarie Leasing Pty Ltd obtained a judgment in the WA District Court against Culleton in March 2013 for $94,304. In 2014 Culleton was bankrupted over this debt,. however in 2015 the bankruptcy was set aside by consent.. In May 2013 Permanent Custodians, part of the ANZ Bank group, foreclosed on the Culletons' farm which was near Williams, Western Australia, obtaining judgment against the Culletons for $4,672,859 plus interest.. The Culletons unsuccessfully attempted to have this set aside, in 2014, and 2016.. Culleton referred to his dispute with the ANZ Bank in his submissions to a Parliamentary Joint Committee, and in his first speech to the Senate. Elite Grains, a company associated with Culleton had been placed in liquidation and the report to creditors said that Elite Grains had $5.4 million in secured debt, $656,000 in unsecured liabilities and that "There will not be a dividend to any class of creditor in this liquidation". Balwyn Nominees, a company associated with former Wesfarmers director Dick Lester, obtained judgement against the Culletons for $205,536 plus interest in 2013.Dakin Farms Pty Ltd v Elite Grains Pty Ltd (No 2) WADC 160. The Culletons have unsuccessfully attempted to overturn this judgment in WA Courts in 2015, 2016, and 2017.. In 2016 Culleton commenced proceedings in the Federal Court seeking to overturn the judgment but the application was dismissed as being erroneous and "entirely unarguable"..
Creditors petition and bankruptcy Balwyn Nominees sought an order in the Federal Court that Culleton be made bankrupt. On 23 December 2016, after a tumultuous hearing, the Federal Court rejected Culleton's application for trial by jury, found that the technical requirements of the Bankruptcy Act had been met and held Culleton's various other submissions were unarguable and totally without merit. The court ordered sequestration of Culleton's assets, with the effect of declaring him bankrupt.. The court granted a 21-day stay on proceedings under the sequestration order, with Culleton announcing that he would appeal the decision. Culleton's appeal was dismissed by a full court of the Federal Court on 3 February 2017 (see below).
Under Sections 44 and 45 of the Constitution of Australia, a Senator who faces an undischarged bankruptcy during his term automatically forfeits his seat.Constitution of Australia, sections 44(iii) and 45. After receiving an official copy of the trial judgment from the Federal Court as well as documentation from the Inspector-General in Bankruptcy, on 11 January the President of the Senate, Stephen Parry, wrote to the Governor of Western Australia, Kerry Sanderson, to notify her that Culleton's seat had become vacant due to his having become an undischarged bankrupt on 23 December 2016. Parry added that, since the matter of initial ineligibility was still before the High Court sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, he was currently unable to advise that the ordinary procedure for filling a casual vacancy (section 15 of the Constitution) Casual vacancies. applied and he would provide further advice following the Court's decision, expected "in the near future". Culleton immediately announced that he would lodge a High Court challenge to the President's ruling as "premature" since the 21-day stay was to run until 13 January.
On 12 January, the Federal Court extended the stay of proceedings under the sequestration orders by one week. Culleton maintained that it was also a stay of the declaration of bankruptcy, so that he continued to be a Senator. However, he was already listed on the Parliament website as a "former Senator". On 19 January it was reported that Culleton's lawyer had received a letter from Parry's office which warned that, in continuing to identify himself as a Senator, Culleton could be committing the serious offence of impersonating a public official, and that in response Culleton had amended his parliamentary Facebook page to read "Rod Culleton – 'Senator' for WA – Gone Fishin'", and changed the signature on his parliamentary emails to "Rod Culleton | Federal Senator for Western Australia (Gone Fishin')". On 31 January 2017, Justice Gageler in the High Court rejected challenges by Culleton to the Court's jurisdiction and to Parry's decision..
On 3 February 2017, the full court of the Federal Court unanimously dismissed Culleton's appeal against the sequestration order. It rejected Culleton's claim that the trial judge had treated him unfairly, finding that the judge had dealt properly with his "unfocused and erratic" submissions. It also rejected his argument that a sequestration order does not necessarily involve a finding of bankruptcy, confirming that "insolvency, not judgment execution or debt collection, is the essence of an application for a sequestration order". at and . Culleton unsuccessfully sought a stay of the sequestration order in the High Court..
Criminal charges In April 2014 Culleton was involved in a dispute with a tow truck driver in Guyra, NSW. The tow truck driver was attempting to repossess a truck and the key to the tow truck was lost. Culleton was charged with larceny in relation to the missing key. When the matter came before the local court in March 2016 Culleton was not present, saying he did not have time to travel to the Court as he was required to be in court in WA the day before on unrelated larceny charges (see below). Culleton was convicted in his absence. He successfully applied to set aside the conviction, with the conviction being annulled on 8 August 2016. Culleton then pleaded guilty to the offence, and was ordered to pay the truck driver's costs but a conviction was not recorded.
A second, unrelated, larceny charge, concerning a hire car in Western Australia in March 2015. The allegations are that receivers had attended the property of Mr Dixon near Cuballing, Western Australia, with the ANZ Bank alleging he had defaulted on a loan. While the receivers were inside the farm house talking to Mr Dixon, the hire car was blocked in by hay bales. The car was subsequently moved and it is alleged that Culleton tried to obtain a key. While the charge was expected to be heard in August 2016, it was listed to be heard in the Perth Magistrates Court over a four-day period, in September 2017. When the case was heard, Culleton represented himself, shouted at the magistrate and threw his eyeglasses in her direction (they hit a table); a police officer removed him from the court, but he apologised to the court and was allowed to return to cross-examine witnesses. However, since the case was set to run for only one more day and there were a large number of witnesses, the hearing was adjourned until 2018.
In March 2022, Culleton was charged with breaching quarantine directions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Western Australia. He appeared in the Kalgoorlie Magistrate's Court on 4 April 2022. He did not enter a plea and indicated that he intended to elevate the case to the High Court of Australia on constitutional grounds. He was granted four weeks adjournment.
Senate ineligibility Under section 44(ii) of the Constitution, any person who "has been convicted and is under sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for any offence punishable under the law of the Commonwealth or of a State by imprisonment for one year or longer" is "incapable of being chosen or of sitting" in either house of Parliament. Disqualification. Previous time in prison was not a disqualification and there have been numerous politicians who had spent time in prison before their election. The High Court had previously observed that the disqualification is not simply for the conviction for an offence, nor serving time in prison. The disqualification required both conviction and that the person was imprisoned at the time or awaiting sentence.. The WA larceny charge did not give rise to any question of disqualification as Culleton had only been charged and had not been convicted. At the time of Culleton's nomination and election, he had been convicted for the New South Wales offence but had not been sentenced. A former colleague lodged a petition with the High Court (sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns), claiming that Culleton was not able to nominate for the election as he was convicted and awaiting sentence in New South Wales at the time of the election. Subsequently, the Australian Government asked the Senate to also refer the matter to the High Court; the reference included a request to determine what should be done if Culleton's seat were found to be vacant. The primary issues before the High Court concerned the effect of the subsequent annulment of Culleton's conviction and whether Culleton was subject to be sentenced to a term of imprisonment for one year or longer.