Documents seen by Guardian Australia show that Kelvin Morton has also clashed with party HQ staff and Brisbane volunteers.
One Nation’s general manager, Kelvin Morton – brought in by the party to improve its vetting processes – referred to David Farley as an “asshole” just days before Farley’s Farrer byelection win for the party in May.
In a series of text messages seen by Guardian Australia, Morton responds to a news article published in the Sydney Morning Herald about infighting among senior party figures over Farley’s before undeclared support for the Labor party.
A One Nation party spokesperson said that Farley was “a dedicated One Nation MP”.
“The comments made do not reflect the view of the party.”
Tensions between Farley and other One Nation MPs and staff have reportedly been high since he was elected to parliament, with the party having to publicly criticise him after he claimed One Nation’s migration policy was not dissimilar to the Labor government’s.
Morton, who claims on his LinkedIn to be a “strategic business transformation leader” with large experience with some of the world’s biggest companies, was appointed as general manager in February.
Documents seen by the Guardian show he wrote to the Lilley branch in Brisbane advising it of federal intervention, which included removing the entire committee of volunteers.
The dispute arose after Morton and the Lilley branch coordinator, Mark McGuire, clashed over access to promotional materials for a different event, which prompted Morton to suspend him.
Other volunteer branch members and the president, Deb Dalton, complained about McGuire’s treatment, advising head office that the branch committee would cease volunteering in protest.