Former senator Fraser Anning faces bankruptcy
Fraser Anning at a campaign event during his federal election campaign. Photo: AAP
Former Queensland senator Fraser Anning is facing bankruptcy over unpaid debts to Bendigo Bank.
The bank’s subsidiary, ABL Nominees, has filed an application with the Federal Court in Adelaide seeking an order to have Mr Anning put into bankruptcy.
The ABC understands the debt of $185,000 is related to Mr Anning’s investment in a failed agribusiness scheme.
But it is unclear whether the far-right politician, who failed to hold on to his seat in May’s federal election, will be in the country for a court hearing set down for September 17.
Anning thought to be in US
Sources close to Mr Anning say he is visiting family in the US and has not said when he will return to Australia.
His two daughters live in the US. One operated a restaurant called the Sno-Flake Drive-In in Lake Tahoe, California, until November last year.
Mr Anning has not responded to requests for comment.
It is the second time Bendigo Bank has sought a bankruptcy order against the former politician.
Mr Anning reportedly settled the first case in October 2017, a month before he entered parliament to replaced disqualified One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts.
Section 44 of the constitution prohibits undischarged bankrupts from sitting in parliament.
Mr Anning’s time as a senator was the source of frequent and intentional controversy.
He was formally censured by the Senate in April for comments he made linking the Christchurch massacre to Muslim immigration.
He has been regularly accused of courting the support of far-right groups and neo-Nazis and came under fire in January for billing taxpayers thousands of dollars to attend a far-right rally in Melbourne.
His inflammatory remarks helped him enjoy an outsized presence social media in the lead-up to the election.
