Sean Bell's ascension to represent NSW in the Senate progressed on Thursday afternoon after a joint sitting of the state's parliament.
But it was far from easy with his party - One Nation - needing to rely on another party to get its pick put forward, and questions raised over his ties to NSW.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson announced on Tuesday Mr Bell would fill the vacancy due to the departure of Warwick Stacey, who was elected in May but resigned in August due to health issues.
But Mr Bell lives in Queensland.
One Nation is no longer represented in the NSW parliament after its three sitting members all quit the party.
One of them, Mark Latham, spoke against the nomination in the state's upper house on Thursday, calling Mr Bell "as Queenslander as Wally Lewis and Alfie Langer ... as Joh Bjelke-Petersen ... as Pauline Hanson's fish and chip shop".
He also highlighted the extra votes required to be elected to the Senate in NSW, compared to Queensland, as he criticised "the proposal ... to reduce NSW to 11 senators".
"Why would we be party to adding to the gerrymander in this fashion?" he said.
Mr Latham said NSW had not previously considered replacing a senator with someone on another state's electoral roll.
But government leader in the upper house Penny Sharpe urged members to take the "prudent and careful path".
While noting the issues Mr Latham raised, she did not support his attempt to block Mr Bell's nomination.
Joint sittings to confirm senate nominations are usually little more than a formality, but Mr Latham's objection triggered a rare division, knocked down three votes to 100.
Two other independents, including ex-One Nation MP Rod Roberts, supported the objection.
Upper house president Ben Franklin told the house he had received legal advice Mr Bell was able to fill the vacancy.
Mr Bell was formally nominated by Libertarian upper house MP John Ruddick, who told AAP he had no reservations nominating another party's pick or someone out of state.
"The Libertarians and One Nation have about a 90 per cent policy overlap, we have good relations ... I didn't think twice about it," he said.
"(Senator Hanson's chief of staff) James Ashby rang me up two days ago and asked. I said yes."
Mr Ashby has been approached for comment.
Senator Hanson said Mr Bell, her adviser of nine years, played a key role in One Nation's rise.
"I have every confidence he will represent the people of NSW with conviction, skill, dedication and the conservative values which made this nation great," she said in a statement announcing his nomination on Tuesday.
It listed Mr Bell's experience in retail, hospitality and as a manual labourer alongside his work advising Senator Hanson.
"I'm looking forward to bringing this experience to the senate in the interests of the people of NSW," Mr Bell said.
Mr Bell is expected to be sworn into the Senate in coming months.
He will represent the far-right party during an uptick in popularity, with a Resolve poll out this week suggesting one-in-six NSW voters would back One Nation in a federal election.
13°C