In May 2018, it was reported that Senator Brian Burston of One Nation had attempted to defect to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party; he would have been the party's first federal representative. Robert Borsak, the party's leader in New South Wales, said that "I don't think he'd be a good representative for us [...] we're not that desperate for a Canberra representative at the moment and when we do, we'll use our own people." However, Burston subsequently stated: "The claim that I have approached the Shooters Party is totally and absolutely false".
