George Christensen is playing down speculation he plans to leave the National Party ranks after resigning as whip, but a possible defection by the outspoken MP could be the least of the Turnbull government’s worries.

Mr Christensen announced his resignation as the National Party chief whip on Tuesday, reasoning he could not be both a rebel and an enforcer of party discipline.

And while the Member for Dawson says he has no plans to leave the Coalition, he has plenty of other plans that will cause his parliamentary colleagues to squirm.

Speaking on Sky News on Tuesday night, Mr Christensen the fact that he’s no longer the man enforcing party discipline will leave him “freer to be able to say stuff – and that scares some people”.

As well as having more time to do more in his electorate, he said he will also be able to speak out other issues, “even if the issue arises to cross the floor”.

Mr Christensen said his electorate expected him to speak out on certain issues, regardless of the Coalition’s position or party unity.

“I think that people … are sick of robot politicians,” he said.

“They send their representatives to Canberra to be exactly that, representatives. To represent them.

“How can we represent them when the mantra is ‘party first, unity, discipline, don’t do anything to upset the apple cart’?

“Sometimes our electors want us to upset the apple cart. They want us to be taking stances that are different to executive government.”

Mr Christensen has repeatedly threatened to quit the Coalition if it did not bend to the demands of its conservative base.

Most recently, he penned – but did not send – a “letter of demand” to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, in which he threatened to resign.

Mr Christensen said the letter, and the publicity it garnered, made his position as whip “untenable”.

.@GChristensenMP says the mantra of 'unity' in parliament is creating 'robot politicians'. #pmlive MORE https://t.co/wOR2c1JvNx pic.twitter.com/jbBtscpM85

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 28, 2017

But despite discord within his party over his stance, Mr Christensen said his decision to step down was his own and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce did not want him to resign.

“He actually said he’d back me in if I wanted to stay, but it became clear over the past three weeks that it was time to go.”

As for his future in the Coalition, Mr Christensen played down any move to the crossbench, while leaving the door to his departure ajar.

“It’s not my intention to leave the National Party. Not my intention to leave the government,” he said.

“I want to be a member of the government and a member of the party to change things from the inside.

“I suppose at the point you realise that might be a forlorn hope, if it is, and I’m not saying it is, then you decide to do something different,” Mr Christensen said, before adding: “I can’t say anything clearer than I’m a member of the National Party and I hope here is where I’m going to stay.”

What is a whip?

All major Australian political parties have whips, whose role is to ensure party discipline and carry out various functions on behalf of the party leadership.

George Christensen as he appeared on the cover of Good Weekend magazine. Photo: Twitter/Fairfax Media.

The primary function of the whip is to ensure that all MPs and senators are present on the floor of Parliament to take part in votes.

Appointed by the leader of the party, the whip also polices parliamentary attendance and adherence to party policy.

Mr Christensen’s resignation as chief whip will take his salary from $225,000 a year, to $199,000.

Earlier on Tuesday he said his decision to step down eased his conscience about speaking out on issues including the banking sector and the sugar industry.

Mr Christensen’s announcement comes one day after polling showed support for One Nation had drawn level with the LNP in his seat of Dawson.

The poll, commissioned by the left-leaning Australia Institute and conducted by ReachTEL, put One Nation and the LNP on even footing at 30 per cent and 30.4 per cent of first preference votes.

– with ABC