Hanson claimed she was unable to attend committee hearings and site visits in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania on April 19-21 due to "another parliamentary engagement".



"In view of this I seek the Committee's approval for my Chief of Staff, James Ashby, to attend the site visits associated with the Public Hearings, so that he is able to fully brief me on the NBN-related facilities in those states," she writes.

Hanson wrote that "if the Committee agree" to her request, she would seek to extend it to include "other meetings of the NBN Committee which I am unable to attend".

Her request was rejected by the committee, but has raised concerns among the majority parties about the way One Nation is operating, and the power that Ashby may yield.

"I am not aware of any other situations where staff attend committee hearings in place of their members and senators," a current member of the NBN Committee told BuzzFeed News, on the condition of anonymity.



"In my view it would not be possible for a staff member to participate ‘in the shoes’ of the member or senator at a hearing."