One Nation’s rapid national expansion in disarray as ‘significant risks’ force dissolution of new branches

Key points

• One Nation’s rapid expansion of local branches across the country is in disarray, with the party being forced to dissolve and re-establish its new network less than eight months after the ambitious roll out began.
• Documents seen by Guardian Australia show the party’s new general manager, Kelvin Morton, issued a directive to the party’s branches in April ordering committee members to properly reconstitute their branches after an internal review uncovered “significant risks”.
• The correspondence also shows that the party’s new branches and members will be subject to strict gag orders: all committee members and nominees must sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), while branches must agree to a “media silence” policy and a social media ban.
• The requirement is understood to have upset some party members, given One Nation has frequently billed itself as the party of free speech.
• Its policy platform states that the right to free speech should be enshrined...