Pauline Hanson says she has been given tickets to the US for Donald Trump’s swearing-in as the US president on Friday.
But it will fall instead to Brian Burston, the One Nation senator in New South Wales, to fly to Washington for the inauguration.
Burston told Guardian Australia on Monday he was in the process of buying tickets for his trip, which he would pay for himself and not seek to claim under his parliamentary entitlements.
He said he would represent One Nation in Washington after Queensland senator Malcolm Roberts, who received an invitation to the inauguration through his advisor and former Trump campaign worker Darren Nelson, withdrew because of a medical condition.
Hanson, who was next in line for the tickets, said she had decided not to go, citing “work commitments”.
She earlier expressed her surprise and delight on Twitter at receiving tickets to the inauguration.
Would you believe it? I have been gifted tickets to the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony of @realDonaldTrump - What an honour! #auspol
— Pauline Hanson (@PaulineHansonOz) January 15, 2017
But Hanson almost immediately followed up by saying that because of other demands on her time she was yet to commit to the event, which is being boycotted by some Democratic Congress representatives and reportedly could be the catalyst for the largest protest in US history.
Because of my duties to the people of Queensland & Australia I'm still deciding if I can attend the inauguration of @realDonaldTrump #auspol
— Pauline Hanson (@PaulineHansonOz) January 15, 2017
She then revealed she had decided not to go.
Burston said the inauguration would be a “very historical” occasion and “a very rare opportunity, no doubt”.
“The president’s only elected every four years and this is almost unprecedented, this non-political president, so to speak – somebody with such a high profile and a lot of controversy surrounding him,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him physically, we probably won’t get to meet him obviously, but certainly I’ll be in his presence and I’ll soak up the occasion.
“Malcolm Roberts recently visited over there with Darren and met some of his people, so I’m sure we are on his radar, or we’re known by him, and he is certainly aware of our presence and our similar views.
Burston said the trip would be “privately funded, guaranteed”.
“I’m a fierce critic of the parliamentary entitlements and I don’t believe we’re entitled to any more than what the ordinary citizen is. I don’t seek to take advantage of my position in any shape or form, particularly financially.
“It’s a privilege to serve the public and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing but I won’t be ripping the taxpayer off in any sense.”
Roberts released a statement saying he had originally planned to go to the inauguration but had to withdraw because he needed “urgent medical treatment for a incarcerated hernia”.
“Senator Brian Burston will now proudly represent Pauline Hanson’s One Nation at the historic event,” it said.
“It was originally planned at the end of his trip [through western Queensland] Senator Roberts would attend the United States to witness the inauguration of President Trump as a guest of the US government.”
Hanson earlier told News Corp: “I thought about it for a minute, it would be a fantastic opportunity, but I’ve got too much happening in Australia.”
“I think everyone knows my support for Donald Trump, I was so pleased to see him win, but I think my responsibility is here first and foremost, I’ve always said that.
“In light of what’s happening in WA, and Queensland elections at any time, I’ve got candidates relying on me. The cane growers in Queensland, they’re getting no satisfaction from Barnaby Joyce ... ”
A spokesman for Hanson said he understood the invitation may have been received several days ago. He said he could not disclose the source of the invitation but Hanson might later choose to do so. “I don’t believe they’re telling anyone at this point in time.”
Hanson and Roberts made headlines last November by toasting Trump’s election win with champagne outside Parliament House in Canberra.
Roberts is among those who have said Trump’s victory signalled a political swing to the right across the western world that showed parties such as One Nation were on the rise. Last month he met the leader of Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency transition team, Myron Ebell, in Washington DC.
Cory Bernardi, the Liberal senator who backed Trump during the US election campaign and has just returned from a three-month secondment to the UN in New York, declined to say if he would be attending.
