'Serious candidate': One Nation defends 'ghost' New England candidate Barnaby Joyce recommends preferencing

Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce recommends his voters put Mr Thomas second on their ballot, before locals Cindy Duncan for the United Australia Party, Independent Matt Sharpham and Pavlo Samios from the Liberal Democrats and Labor candidate Laura Hughes.

He told a candidate's forum on Monday that the party had "changed".

"The party of 10, 15 years ago is not the party of today," he said.

"Things change. Mollify."

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The One Nation candidate works in commercial fleet sales for Toyota, and lives in South Brisbane, according to a spokesperson for the party.

He also didn't turn up for the Tamworth Business Chamber candidate forum on Monday.

A spokesperson for One Nation insisted their candidate might well have made the seven hour drive for the debate - but he was too sick at the time.

"He is a serious candidate," the spokesperson said.

"It would be fair to say that most people in New England are not focused on where one particular candidate lives.

"They're focused on the issues that are affecting them, the rising cost of living, the national housing crisis.

"Those are the issues which people in the New England are focused on.

"Richard, as a One Nation candidate for the area, is dedicated to addressing those issues, if he's elected."

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Mr Joyce was asked if he'd ever met the "invisible" One Nation candidate at the candidates' debate on Monday, and why he chose to preference him.

The incumbent MP for New England said of candidates he thought would make the country "weaker" that he would put them "down the bottom of the list".

"I'm making sure I look at what the policy platforms of the parties are and how that matches up to where the economy needs to be," he said.

In an earlier interview, Mr Joyce said he had tried to "sit down and work out where is the person who has the closest philosophy to where" he is.

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Mr Thomas also doesn't appear in the party's list of candidates on their website.

The party has reportedly run scores of "ghost" candidates, who stand in name only, in order to cover all 151 electorates this year.

It is also accused of running a candidate in one electorate who is also running for a different party in another.

The One Nation spokesperson couldn't provide the Leader a photo of their candidate.

Parties do not directly affect the flow of preferences in lower house seats, but typically hand out how-to-vote-cards which make a recommendation as to how their supporters should number their ballot. Voters are free to choose whether to follow the card or not.

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