‘Cash grab’: One Nation demands up to $630,000 from Victorian election candidates

One Nation Victoria’s leader Warren Pickering with Pauline Hanson, who says 1,200 people have expressed interest in running for the party in November’s state election. Composite: AAP/Guardian Design

One Nation could collect as much as $633,000 from people who have put their hand up to run in the Victorian state election, with potential candidates questioning whether the party is staging a “cash grab”.

Guardian Australia has spoken to multiple former councillors, mayors and deputy mayors who expressed an interest in running for the party. They claim they went through what one called a “pay-to-play” application process, after which they were rejected.