The irony of being elected to the NSW Upper House largely on the back of One Nation preferences is not lost on Peter Breen "

I wonder what they will think of electing a human rights lawyer who supports multiculturalism and is proactive in the area of Aboriginal rights," he said.

"It may be that they are not very happy."

The election of Mr Breen, from the Reform the Legal System party 1 highlights the labyrinthine nature of the preference system that operated in the Upper House ballot with its record 264 candidates and 80 parties.

The 51-year-old lawyer from Lismore got only 35,712 primary votes – 1 per cent of the total – but preference deals including 50,000 votes from One Nation, got him over the line.

Preferences were even more critical to the Outdoor Recreation Party’s leader, Malcolm Jones, who got elected with only 7,264 primary votes – 0.2 per cent of the vote.

Mr Breen admitted to surprise at the final result yesterday and the critical support of One Nation.

"I ran into their candidate Brian Burston at the electoral office one day and he asked whether I was putting them last," he said.

"Whether I was putting the major parties last would give me some support. I think I ended up 20th on their preference list and the other 19 fell over."

A lawyer since 1973, Mr Breen 10 years ago abandoned his city practice to concentrate on writing books on the legal system, pushing for an Australian Bill of Rights, and championing several causes in the court, including running a class action on behalf of home owners against Home Fund.

Mr Breen said he would be pushing for changes to the legal system to make it more accessible and cheaper to use. His party’s constitution meant he would vote for government legislation except where it contravened basis human rights obligations.

Mr Jones and his party were not contactable yesterday but his election came after he benefited from a meticulously planned preference deal involving more than 20 parties which was set up by former party member and unsuccessful Republic 2001/People First candidate Glenn Druery.

The successful candidate for the Greens, Lee Rhiannon, said Mr Jones lacked credibility, "having been elected on a deceptive flow of preferences from parties with names that suggest a commitment to the environment".

The fledging Unity party was another winner in the ballot with its leader Peter Wong being elected.

Dr Wong, a western Sydney GP and former Liberal Party member, said his election confirmed there was significant support for multiculturalism within the community. Unity was established before the last Federal election to counter the rise of One Nation.

Dr Wong said it had developed a detailed set of policies and would focus on social justice, education and welfare issues in the Parliament as well as any moves to support or strengthen multiculturalism.

The last place in the new-look Upper House went to the Rev Fred Nile from the Christian Democratic Party, who fell short of the quota of 160,000 primary votes necessary to win outright but picked up sufficient preferences to hold his position. Of Labor’s eight MPs elected only one, John Hatzistergos, was not in the last Parliament. The Coalition’s only new face will be Don Harwin, who picked up its sixth spot.