George Robert Christensen (born 30 June 1978) is an Australian former politician and former journalist who was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2010 to 2022, as the member of parliament (MP) for the division of Dawson. He was a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland and sat with the National Party in federal parliament, prior to leaving the party in April 2022 to join One Nation, just days before the end of his parliamentary term.
Christensen is known for his socially conservative political views. He is also known for his anti-Islamic views and links to far-right organisations and media figures.
Early years and background
Christensen was born in Mackay to third-generation cane farmers; his ancestors emigrated from Denmark in 1901. He is the eldest son to two disability pensioners. He joined the Young Nationals at the age of 15 and was state president of the Queensland Young Nationals from 2003 to 2004. Christensen was schooled in Andergrove, Walkerston and at Mackay State High before completing an undergraduate communications degree in journalism at Central Queensland University in Rockhampton in 2000. As a university student, Christensen was editor of The Student Advocate, a conservative university newsletter, and spent six months work experience at a community newspaper, The Pioneer News.
When he was 21 years old, Christensen briefly attended a seminary in Melbourne with the intention to become a Catholic priest. However, when his father "pointedly objected," Christensen chose not to pursue it. Later, in 2014, he converted to worship in the Antiochian Orthodox Church.
From 2001–2004, Christensen worked as an electorate officer and press secretary for federal Nationals MP De-Anne Kelly.
In 2005, Christensen founded a publishing business with Nicole Ratliff, his girlfriend of the time, to produce two community newspapers Walkerston & Valley Advertiser and Northern Beaches Advertiser. The business folded in 2013.
Political career
Local council
In 2004, Christensen was elected to Mackay City Council as a councillor, and in 2008 gained a seat on the amalgamated Mackay Regional Council. He was a director of the Mackay Regional Housing Company and Vice-President of Mackay Regional Council for Social Development. He was the foundation chair of Walkerston Community Kindergarten Association and former chair of HACC Transport Mackay Inc.
Parliament
Christensen ran as the LNP candidate for the seat of Dawson at the 2010 federal election. On 5 February 2010 the sitting member for Dawson, James Bidgood, announced that he would retire for health reasons after only one term. Christensen won the seat with a 5.02-point swing on a two-party-preferred vote with a margin of 2.43 points.
Christensen gained national media attention during the election campaign for articles published by Christensen in the 1990s in The Student Advocate, a conservative university newsletter. The newsletter articles contained slurs against Jews, gays and women. Although Christensen claimed that the articles had been taken out of context, he said he was sorry for publishing the comments.
Member for Dawson
After the election, it was revealed that Christensen failed to resign from his position on the Mackay Regional Council before the election, putting himself at risk of High Court action which would not allow him to take office as the member for Dawson. Previously, independent Phil Cleary and Liberal Jackie Kelly had been faced with a by-election after failing to resign from public service positions before winning their respective seats. Despite this, several constitutional law experts said it was unlikely any legal challenge against Christensen would be successful because the constitution ban on "officers of profit under the crown" being elected to federal parliament would most likely not apply to local government councillors.
In July 2011, Christensen joined other Liberal National Party MPs in driving the entire Bruce Highway as part of a campaign to highlight problem areas on the road and to secure more funding for the Bruce Highway from the Commonwealth. During the road trip, one of the vehicles in the convoy of MPs hit what Christensen described as a "crater of a pothole" resulting in a tyre blowout.
In June 2011 Christensen drew criticism from fellow MPs for his manner of attack on Labor's shutdown of the live cattle trade to Indonesia. Christensen implied that Indonesia's religion (the dominant Islamic culture) is to blame for the torture of common cattle and that Australian farmers should not receive criticism for Indonesian mistreatment of live cattle exported to the nation.