One Nation Volunteer faces questions over volunteer that tribunal once linked to neo-Nazi group

A man who volunteered for One Nation during its West Australian by-election was previously named by a federal tribunal for promoting neo-Nazi ideologies.

David Donis handed out how-to-vote cards for One Nation in the state seat of Secret Harbour last month, sparking fresh questions about vetting months after Pauline Hanson revealed the party had shut branches she said were “infiltrated by extremists”. Donis was a founding member and president of the Society of Western Australian Nationalists (SWAN), a now-deregistered organisation the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) found was a racist extremist group.

The tribunal’s comments about Donis were made in a 2023 case concerning an army reservist’s security clearance. A One Nation spokesperson said Donis was “not a member of One Nation”. A Liberal source told the ABC that Mr Donis had previously been a member of the party as a teen but ultimately left when it became known his views were “not welcome”.

One senior West Australian Liberal told the ABC that One Nation has had “years of warnings” about problems with candidates and people associated with the party, and that background checks should always be second nature.