NSW One Nation launch thier Hunter Campaign

Today NSW One Nation Leader Mark Latham launched his campaign team of Hunter Valley candidates and their policies for the region.

The candidates for the March 25 State election are: Mark Watson (Port Stephens), Quintin King (Cessnock), Neil Turner (Maitland) and Pietro Di Girolamo (Wallsend).

“These are the candidates who will fight for jobs and a viable economic future. They won’t roll over with the Liberals, Nationals, Labor and the Greens under the delusional belief that destroying coal and other resource industries in the Hunter will somehow save the planet”, Mr Latham said.

“This region is fighting for its survival. We don’t want it to become like the rust-bucket regions in the United States: hollowed out by deindustrialisation, with the parents unemployed and their children needing to move elsewhere for opportunities in life.”

“One Nation will fight for each and every job in the Hunter, plus help to foster new industries, better schools and other essential community services.”

“When people back us they know they are supporting a party of fighters and straight-talkers which never compromises on its beliefs.”

“The Hunter has been poorly served by a predominance of Labor MPs in the past, who have too readily sold-out jobs and prosperity in favour of their anti-carbon masters in Sydney. They are weak and ineffective in the NSW Parliament.”

Our Hunter team is strongly supported by the One Nation Federal Leader, Senator Pauline Hanson.

One Nation Policy

No part of NSW faces a more uncertain future than the Hunter, with sustained attacks on its employment, industrial and resource base from the Matt Kean/Labor/Greens alliance.

Coal alone sustains 75,000 jobs in the region. In the Singleton and Muswellbrook LGAs, three in every five households depend on coal-reliant employment.

It is not possible to lose the coal industry without gutting the Hunter. There are no viable replacement industries for this number of jobs. The best the greenies have proposed is floating windmills and turning disused mining pits into water-theme parks – an insult to the workers of this region.

The One Nation policy is based on job security and better services for the region. We will use any balance of power we hold in the next NSW Parliament to fight for:

Employment

Coal is not a dirty word. New and extended coal mines must be approved on merit, without the Leftist climate agenda of bodies like the Independent Planning Commission (which has made a series of incompetent and damaging anti-coal decisions in the Hunter, the latest in refusing to extend the Glencore mine at Ravensworth). One Nation will abolish the IPC and set a 12-month limit on the development assessment process, to fast-track new resource and other commercial projects.

We also support a freight container terminal at the Port of Newcastle, having been vocal in parliament opposing the existing government ports deal.

One Nation wants more tourism and hospitality jobs in the region. Mark Latham has chaired the committee for deregulating Newcastle’s restrictive night economy rules. Destination NSW also needs to devote more of its promotions budget to special advertising campaigns for Hunter tourism, especially for the City of Newcastle. This should be a major employment generator in NSW.

Energy Security

The conversion to a new electricity grid costs tens of billions of dollars, now being paid for by taxpayers, households and businesses (in skyrocketing power bills). Under the established system in the Hunter Valley, NSW used to have the cheapest and most reliable electricity in the world. One Nation has never seen any need to change.

Our policy is to stop this pointless transition (given that our emissions are not large enough to impact on global surface temperatures) and preserve existing resource and manufacturing jobs. NSW should be a global energy super-power with flourishing coal, gas and nuclear power, plus the renewables already built.

AEMO and NSW Government documents have forecast blackouts in our State after the closure of Eraring in 2025, a looming disaster for the NSW economy but particularly damaging to the Hunter’s industrial base. The Perrottet Government and Labor Opposition are hopelessly and recklessly under-prepared for this problem.

One Nation would like to build the Bayswater2 coal-fired power station but given the pressing time constraint for new electricity generation by 2025, NSW needs an extra gas-peaking plant (like the one planned for Kurri).

Police and Emergency Services

There are crime problems in parts of the Hunter which need to be addressed. One Nation wants more police on the beat, which would be achieved by adopting our policy of ending the vaccine mandates and getting these police officers (and emergency service staff) back to work.

We also oppose the Coalition/Labor/Green policy of lifting the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14. Young adolescents will commit more crime and be recruited into crime gangs, safe in the knowledge they are immune from consequences. This would be disastrous for the Hunter, where street crime is already a problem.

One Nation supports tougher, more realistic sentencing in our courts. We will end the current practice by which sentences are reduced through early pleas and mental health and drug-use excuses. Victims deserve justice, not softness in sentencing.

Through our lobbying and advocacy work we have already achieved two important commitments from the Government in Singleton: a new police station and an upgrade to the fire station for a purpose-built changeroom and toilet facilities for female firefighters.

The Environment

The renewable energy agenda is a major threat to the Hunter environment. Windfarms off the coast of Port Stephens, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie will ruin the look of the beautiful beaches and rundown property values. One Nation opposes this Chris Bowen/Matt Kean proposal.

Further inland, up the Valley, the construction of new transmission corridors and windfarms is ruining the country landscape and taking prime agricultural land out of production. One Nation opposes the so-called ‘transition to a clean energy economy’ and will fight its damaging environmental consequences in the Hunter.

Education

This century NSW has had the fastest falling school academic results in the work. Hunter schools have suffered from this problem. Mark Latham has been working overtime to turn this problem around, with an evidence-based approach to classroom improvement.

One Nation will reinstate the system of school inspectors, who will provide parents and students with a guarantee that each classroom has:

• The correct pedagogy (teaching method): direct instruction by teachers, rather than so-called ‘student-led learning’ where the teachers act as facilitators.

• Teaching according to the curriculum, without the political content of gender fluidity, BLM, police-bashing, unconscious bias, Bruce Pascoe, Australia-hating and other damaging political agendas.

• Phonics in literacy rather than failed whole-word reading.

• Strong standards of discipline and student behaviour (supported by a ban on mobile phones in schools).

• Regular testing of students to monitor their progress, plus compliance with NAPLAN and the Year 1 Phonics Check (extended further into a Year 2 Check for students who failed in Year 1).

Through his work on the upper house Education Committee, Mark Latham has assisted in the forthcoming redevelopment of old schools in new housing areas, most notably Gillieston Public School. One Nation believes that new schools are urgently needed in the growth areas of Huntlee and Cameron Park, and this should be a priority for School Infrastructure NSW.

We are also committed to a new Polytechnic advanced skills centre in the Upper Hunter, with close links to industry needs. While TAFE does a decent job with limited resources, the young people of this region need a special training investment to remain competitive in the global resource and manufacturing sectors.

One Nation opposes the Kate Washington pet-project of a new high school at Medowie, as the population and enrolment numbers don’t stack up. The money would be better spent on upgrading existing schools and doubling the number of dedicated bus services for students to move around the Port Stephens district more efficiently.

Health

Away from John Hunter Hospital, the region has pressing health needs. Elderly citizens and families shouldn’t be expected to travel solely to New Lambton Heights for specialised care. This is why One Nation supports major upgrades to Tomaree, Cessnock and Kurri Kurri Hospitals, matched by action to end their staff shortages.

Transport

The Hunter is attracting new housing development but essential transport infrastructure is not keeping pace with the population growth. More regular bus services and road upgrades are needed in Fletcher, Maryland and the Blue Gum Hills corridor. In particular, Minmi Road needs to be four-lanes for its full length.

One Nation is also committed to solving the traffic congestion in and around Maitland, in consultation with the local community. The NSW Government needs to prioritise clearing the many bottlenecks that are hurting businesses and commuters.