The Australian government has given One Nation senator Pauline Hanson a seat on the joint committee on the national broadband network, even though a majority of senators voted against her appointment.
The government removed one of its own senators from the committee to make way for Hanson, according to a published report.
On Tuesday, the Senate chose Stirling Griff, a senator from the Nick Xenophon Team, to join the panel instead of Hanson, with Labor and the Greens voting for Griff.
But then Matthias Cormann, the finance minister and the government's deputy Senate leader, moved for Nationals senator John Williams to be discharged from the committee and replaced by Hanson.
{loadposition sam08}There is one Nationals member on the panel: Andrew Broad, a member of the lower house.
The government needs 39 votes in the Senate to pass any of its bills. Hanson's One Nation is the fourth biggest bloc, after the Coalition, Labor and the Greens.
The make-up of the Senate after the 2 July election is: Coalition – 30, Labor – 26, Greens – 9, One Nation – 4, Nick Xenophon Team – 3, Liberal Democrats, Family First, Jacqui Lambie Network and Derryn Hinch's Justice Party – 1 each.