1. Craig Kelly was born on 29 September 1963 and is an Australian conservative politician who represented the division of Hughes as a Liberal Party MP from 2010 until his defeat at the 2022 federal election.
102 Facts About Craig Kelly
1. 2.
Craig Kelly resigned from the Liberal Party in February 2021 to sit on the crossbench as an independent politician, before announcing that he was joining the United Australia Party in August of that year, and was appointed as the party's leader.
3.
Craig Kelly has been widely criticised for spreading misinformation on social media.
4.
Craig Kelly has given a platform to numerous conspiracy theories, and has propagated climate change denial and falsehoods regarding COVID-19.
5.
On 27 February 2024, Craig Kelly left the UAP to join Pauline Hanson's One Nation as the party's federal campaign director.
6.
Craig Kelly is one of four children born to Lawrence and Raima Kelly.
7.
Craig Kelly stated that this was a "completely baseless allegation", and had previously stated in his maiden speech to parliament that he stopped working for the company in 2009 in order to run for parliament.
8.
However, Crikey subsequently reported that Craig Kelly had signed himself as a director of the company on a number of documents related to a court case in New Zealand.
9.
At age 46, Craig Kelly was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Member for Hughes in 2010, which was considered a marginal seat.
10.
Craig Kelly served on the Standing Appropriations and Administration Australian House of Representatives committee from 2010 to 2013.
11.
In 2012, Craig Kelly was referred to the parliamentary privileges committee over a range of allegations, including a failure to declare on his register of interests his directorship of several companies linked to his family's bankrupt company, which owed millions to creditors and staff.
12.
The then Leader of the House, Anthony Albanese, alleged Craig Kelly failed to disclose his directorship of three entities which he had not officially relinquished until March 2011, eight months after the 2010 election.
13.
Craig Kelly denied the allegations and the Parliamentary Privileges Committee did not pursue the matter further.
14.
In 2013, Craig Kelly was nominated by then Opposition leader Tony Abbott as the representative of the Coalition on the bipartisan committee overseeing the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
15.
Craig Kelly was the only sitting member of the House of Representatives with firsthand knowledge of raising a child with severe disabilities and said that he would use this experience in the position.
16.
Craig Kelly served on the Joint Standing Committee on Migration from 2013 to 2016.
17.
Craig Kelly subsequently described the speech he gave as condemning fascism and communism, and apologised for appearing to endorse the flag of the Independent State of Croatia.
18.
Craig Kelly served on the Joint Standing Committee on Law Enforcement from 2015, and he became the committee's chair in that same year.
19.
Craig Kelly opposed the Moorebank Intermodal Terminal in 2015 and 2016, citing concerns about diesel air pollution.
20.
The redistribution of Hughes was thought to strengthen Craig Kelly's hold on the seat, and Craig Kelly was returned with a margin greater than 9 points, despite a small swing against him.
21.
Craig Kelly travelled to Azerbaijan for a week to observe the 2016 referendum, listing the trip on his statement of members' interests.
22.
Craig Kelly returned to Azerbaijan to observe the presidential election in 2018, praising the use of photographic ID to obtain a ballot paper.
23.
Craig Kelly was the chair of a parliamentary inquiry into methamphetamine, and has urged his colleagues to look at the drug policy of Portugal.
24.
Craig Kelly was expected to be challenged for preselection for his seat for the 2019 Australian federal election, and former prime minister Tony Abbott endorsed Craig Kelly.
25.
Again being challenged by the moderate faction of the Liberal party, Craig Kelly reportedly threatened to join the crossbench as an independent if he did not win preselection, but stated that he has confidence in the preselection committee.
26.
On 18 July 2018, Craig Kelly commented on Sky News, in response to a Facebook post by the father of three children killed aboard MH17: 'if some of the things that Russia has gotten away with in the past has to be slightly looked over, well I'm sorry that's the price that we have to pay sometimes to have good relations going forward'.
27.
Craig Kelly was critical of AGL's 2018 announcement that the coal-fired Liddell Power Station would be closed in 2022, stating that it was anti-competitive of AGL not to consider selling Liddell before retiring it.
28.
Craig Kelly was approached to run for the electoral district of East Hills, a state seat, but declined.
29.
The pre-selection contest was reportedly being delayed by the party as long as possible, and Craig Kelly was advised by former Liberal Party presidential candidate John Ruddick to quit the party and run as an independent.
30.
Craig Kelly affirmed that he intends to remain in the Liberal Party, although he refused to rule out a move to the crossbench if he lost pre-selection.
31.
Turnbull dismissed comparisons to his own 2016 intervention to save Craig Kelly, and cited recent campaigns in NSW to allow grassroots members more say in pre-selection contests as the reason for his intervention.
32.
Craig Kelly stated that he was unaware of a job offer being made to his challenger, Kent Johns, on the condition that Johns drop out of the pre-selection race.
33.
In October 2018, Craig Kelly suggested that the fuel excise should be reduced by 10 cents per litre, and that divestiture powers should apply to the petrol industry.
34.
Craig Kelly is said to cherry-pick "rich meme content that is stimulating, share-able and attractive to his base voters" on social media.
35.
Craig Kelly achieves higher levels of engagement than either the Prime Minister or the Opposition Leader by selectively reinforcing the conservative opinions of his followers.
36.
Craig Kelly appeared on a podcast with former celebrity chef and conspiracy theorist, Pete Evans.
37.
In February 2020 Craig Kelly stated that government taxes on tobacco are driving the creation of a black market.
38.
Craig Kelly was criticised for appearing with Pete Evans by RACGP President Dr Karen Price.
39.
Craig Kelly has suggested that the Luxury Car Tax, which applies to imported vehicles worth more than $67,500, be abolished.
40.
Craig Kelly was set to face a preselection contest in Hughes, but in February 2021 he resigned from the Liberal Party and sat on the crossbench as an independent.
41.
Craig Kelly has said he supports the call for a royal commission into suicides by veterans.
42.
Craig Kelly amended the Your Future Your Super bill before it passed the lower house to delay the bill's start to July 2022 and to exempt high-risk occupations from 'stapling' people to their first superannuation fund.
43.
On 23 August 2021, Craig Kelly joined and was appointed the leader of Clive Palmer's United Australia Party.
44.
Craig Kelly was previously approached to join after becoming an Independent.
45.
Craig Kelly will continue to support the government on issues of confidence and supply.
46.
Craig Kelly has drafted a bill calling for politicians and senior bureaucrats to be paid $750 per week while a lockdown is in place in their area.
47.
Craig Kelly has been criticised for using random-number dialling technology to send unsolicited text messages.
48.
In November 2021, Craig Kelly was 'awarded' in absentia the 'Bent Spoon' award by organisation the Australian Skeptics 'for spreading misinformation about Covid and vaccinations.
49.
Craig Kelly charged taxpayers for flights and the use of Comcar to attend anti-vaccine mandate and anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne in November and December 2021, and was investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority as to whether it was an appropriate use of taxpayer funds.
50.
Craig Kelly argued that it was related to parliamentary business due to his private members' bill on vaccine passports.
51.
Craig Kelly was told to repay $2000 from these trips by the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority, a decision he is appealing.
52.
In December 2021 Craig Kelly, who has been permanently banned from Facebook, was nominated by the crossbench and appointed to a parliamentary committee looking into social media and online safety, along with two Opposition MPs.
53.
Craig Kelly was sued by the AEC for displaying non-compliant signage during the election campaign, who argued that the 8 point font used for who authorised the advertisement on an early print run of Craig Kelly's signs was not noticeable enough and although a later print run with larger font was made, the original signs remained in use until the election.
54.
The AEC's case against Craig Kelly was dismissed by the federal court in July 2023.
55.
Craig Kelly called for Scott Morrison to resign after it was revealed that Morrison had secretly been appointed to several ministerial positions.
56.
Craig Kelly maintained in March 2021 that no-one had any complaints about Zumbo, despite former staffers saying they had raised specific complaints about Zumbo with Craig Kelly in 2013.
57.
Craig Kelly registered as an independent candidate for the 2023 New South Wales state election in the New South Wales Legislative Council.
58.
Craig Kelly was not elected, gaining 3498 first preference votes.
59.
On 27 February 2024, Craig Kelly left the UAP to join Pauline Hanson's One Nation as the party's federal campaign director.
60.
On 2 December 2024, Craig Kelly announced via 2GB he had joined the Libertarian Party and will contest a Senate seat at the next election.
61.
Craig Kelly was formerly part of the conservative right-wing faction inside the Liberal Party.
62.
Craig Kelly put his support behind a plebiscite into same-sex marriage, and he inaccurately predicted that the majority would vote against it.
63.
Craig Kelly stated on his Facebook page that he would vote with what his electorate wanted in the marriage survey.
64.
Craig Kelly supports Australia's constitutional monarchy, and is a frequent guest on conservative network Sky News Australia often speaking on subjects related to the parliamentary environmental and energy committee.
65.
Craig Kelly replaced Ross Cameron on Sky program Outsiders after Cameron was fired, becoming a regular co-host.
66.
Craig Kelly criticised Facebook for flagging a Donald Trump video in which Trump made false claims about fraud in the 2020 United States presidential election and praised the mob, arguing that fraud was a greater threat to democracy than the storming of the Capitol.
67.
Craig Kelly was one of only three members of the House of Representatives to speak against the proposal to change the Australian Constitution to enable the Federal Government to place any terms and conditions on financial assistance given to local government councils.
68.
Craig Kelly cited the built in checks and balances of the constitution and its longevity as a reason for opposing the change.
69.
Craig Kelly opposes the proposed voice to parliament described in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which intends to recognise Indigenous Australians in Australia's Constitution.
70.
Craig Kelly described it as "divisive", and as a reverse form of apartheid.
71.
Craig Kelly has suggested that he would actively campaign for the "No" side in the referendum for constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians.
72.
Craig Kelly has said that forcing children to wear masks is child abuse, though this post was later removed by Facebook.
73.
Craig Kelly advocated for hydroxychloroquine to be used in Australia to prevent COVID-19.
74.
Craig Kelly has posted conspiracy theories about Bill Gates requiring that the world population be vaccinated.
75.
Craig Kelly has given a speech in parliament supporting his views on hydroxychloroquine, and posted on his Facebook page a call for the deputy chief medical officer, Nick Coatsworth, to resign, which he later removed.
76.
Craig Kelly then switched to promoting Ivermectin, which is a head lice, rosacea, intestinal strongyloidiasis, and onchocerciasis medication, as a COVID-19 treatment, despite there being insufficient data for its use in treatment of COVID-19.
77.
The Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly, has stated that Craig Kelly's posts are "not scientifically based".
78.
Craig Kelly reassured Evans that the government would not mandate vaccines for COVID-19.
79.
Craig Kelly later released a statement to the press after his meeting with Morrison; however, his Facebook page was still replete with posts on ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
80.
Two days after being reprimanded, Craig Kelly again posted about COVID-19 treatments on his Facebook page.
81.
Craig Kelly had been lobbying Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt and the head of the TGA to try to influence their recommendations to the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce, ceasing only when his correspondence was subject to freedom of information applications.
82.
Craig Kelly was banned by Facebook for a week over his COVID-19 posting.
83.
Craig Kelly has called for the halt of the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout in Australia.
84.
On 26 April 2021, Facebook permanently removed Craig Kelly's account, saying that he had continued to breach their misinformation policies, and on 28 April his backup and Instagram accounts were removed.
85.
Craig Kelly has shared a draft of a "bill that would outlaw restrictions on anyone who doesn't get a COVID-19 vaccine".
86.
In late July 2021, Craig Kelly addressed a Brisbane anti-lockdown protest via telephone, and was banned from Twitter for a week.
87.
Craig Kelly has previously written that convict arrivals to Australia in the 18th century found the weather warmer than in recent years, and has invited climate deniers from the Institute of Public Affairs to present to the government prior to the Paris Agreement.
88.
Craig Kelly has criticised renewable energy, saying that it causes higher electricity bills, which would kill people, according to Craig Kelly.
89.
Craig Kelly has written to NSW education minister Rob Stokes, complaining that a high school textbook published by Pearson Education had described Tony Abbott as a climate change denier.
90.
Craig Kelly opposed carbon pricing in Australia and in 2012 addressed a rally of about 2,000 people on the issue in Hyde Park, describing the carbon pricing as a "poisonous, toxic tax" and claiming the Federal Labor government was destroying Australia's prosperity by undermining the country's competitive advantage.
91.
Craig Kelly has been a critic of federal subsidies for industrial wind farms.
92.
Craig Kelly attended a "wind power fraud rally" of 150 people in front of Parliament House, Canberra, which called for the abolition of the renewable energy target and a ban on new wind farms.
93.
Craig Kelly was one of the members of the Monash Forum ginger group which aimed to influence the design of the National Energy Guarantee.
94.
Craig Kelly has stated that Labor's proposed increases in the emissions reduction target undermines policy certainty, and has stated that the emissions reduction target for the agriculture industry in Australia could result in farmers having to cull their livestock.
95.
Craig Kelly began the Parliamentary Friends of Coal Exports, which was joined by Joel Fitzgibbon, Mike Freelander, Meryl Swanson, Milton Dick, George Christensen, Kevin Andrews and Phillip Thompson.
96.
Craig Kelly was preparing charts to display during the program supporting his views on climate change.
97.
In September 2018, speaking at a Liberal Party function, Craig Kelly stated that the Pacific island of Tuvalu was growing, not sinking, as evidence in favour of his climate scepticism.
98.
Craig Kelly was further criticised for racism and misogyny after referring to meteorologist Laura Tobin as an "ignorant pommy weather girl" who had "no idea what she's talking about", despite her university degree in physics and meteorology.
99.
Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Prime Minister Scott Morrison distanced themselves from Kelly's comments, and NSW Energy and Environment Minister Matt Kean said that "Craig Kelly is as qualified to talk about atmospheric physics as he is to perform brain surgery".
100.
Craig Kelly has falsely claimed that 2020 was the coolest year ever, and has accused the Bureau of Meteorology of altering weather records.
101.
Craig Kelly's son has Down syndrome and has been diagnosed with autism.
102.
Craig Kelly's maternal grandfather was born in South Africa, which Craig Kelly believes was because of his great-grandparents' pursuit of migrating to Australia from the United Kingdom via South Africa.