One Nation senator says he will represent himself ‘in spirit’ at a 21 November hearing about the validity of his election in July

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Rod Culleton has refused to attend a high court hearing in the case about his eligibility to sit in the Senate. Since the One Nation senator is representing himself, his refusal raises the prospect the case will proceed without any representation on his behalf.

Culleton has claimed the high court didn’t give him notice about the case, which the court denies.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Culleton said he had “no idea what is going on” in the case, which will begin with a directions hearing on Monday to set the next steps including dates for submissions and a full hearing.

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He gave three reasons for not attending on 21 November. He said it was a parliamentary sitting day, that he had not received “any official documentation or referral” from the court, and that the high court had not addressed “errors in their rules”.

In November the government referred Culleton to the high court over a conviction for larceny at the time of the election, since annulled, which may make him ineligible to be a senator.

The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, agreed with the referral, a decision Culleton criticised as being made without the full facts.

On Wednesday Culleton told Guardian Australia he did not intend to appear, nor to send a legal representative, but he would represent himself “in spirit” at the directions hearing.

Culleton said he only found out about the hearing in the Senate and through media reports. The president of the Senate, Stephen Parry, told the Senate about the hearing on 10 November.

Culleton said he hadn’t received any notice from the court although he had since spoken with the registry, which he claimed appeared to be confused about the case.

“I’ve filed a conditional appearance because of the confusion … We’re prepared to participate but we need more information, I’m not going to go fight in the dark.”

He said he wanted to know “the nature and spirit” of the action against him.

One Nation senator Rodney Culleton’s Facebook post on Tuesday about his decision not to attend the high court for a directions hearing on 21 November in the case about his eligibility to sit in the Senate.

“I’m not required to attend because it’s a sitting day,” Culleton claimed.

Asked why he didn’t send a legal representative or be absent from the Senate chamber, he replied: “It’s not up to them to decide.

“The Coalition want to send someone by parachute and want a safe landing. Is that why they’ve thrown me in court – is it to get me out of my seat? I don’t need a seat warmer.”

Among the objections to appearing before the high court listed in his Facebook post, Culleton says the court has “not yet addressed their errors in their rules which was admitted by Brandis in the Senate. They must first fix this so that it abides by the High Court of Australia Act 1979.”

In comments to Guardian Australia, Culleton claimed the error – which deals with a section of the law dealing with issue of writs, which must be in the name of the Queen – needed a massive “constitutional correction”.

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On Thursday the attorney general, George Brandis, told the Senate the matter was a technical discrepancy between the rules and high court forms, which did not amount to a breach of the constitution. Brandis counselled Culleton not to accuse judges of misbehaviour.

A spokesman for the high court told Guardian Australia that Culleton had received notice from the court about the directions hearing.

“It is a matter for him if he wishes to attend the directions hearing. His absence would not prevent directions being made.”