On my visit to Wollongong today, I am releasing One Nation’s policy for the Illawarra.
Too often the region has been ignored in NSW politics, resulting in over-development and congestion and a lack of jobs and infrastructure. Labor and Liberal have treated the Illawarra as a dormitory area for Sydney, when good public policy should be helping the region develop as a self-sufficient economy and community.
If elected to the NSW Parliament on 23 March, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation will fight to implement a 7-point Illawarra Plan:
- Slowing the region’s population growth, recognising that past infrastructure and job provision has been inadequate. The Illawarra cannot cope with its projected 85,000-population increase over the next 15 years. One Nation’s plan for huge cuts to immigration numbers will take much of the population pressure off the region. Growth should not recommence until the jobs and services deficit has been cleared, including the provision of extra train services and full construction of the F6 link into Sydney. New town planning controls are needed to avoid further over-development and congestion, especially along the valuable coastal strip north of Wollongong.
- Instead of spending $810 million on the Olympic Stadium at Homebush, One Nation will put the money into much-needed capital works and maintenance for regional hospitals. This includes a $200 million Illawarra Hospital Development Fund (additional to existing government commitments), with priority given to upgrading Wollongong Hospital.
- Constructing an extra 2000 commuter car parking spaces in the region over the next two years, funded from One Nation’s $200 million Commuter Car Parking Fund. Priority will be given to overcoming the parking deficit in North Wollongong, both for rail commuters and beach-goers.
- Improving Illawarra schools by getting the NSW education system back to basics. The State’s schools are going backwards, denying students in the region a fair chance and equal opportunities in life (One Nation’s detailed statements on schools reform can be found at onenation.org.au).
- Supporting the St George-Illawarra Dragons in their struggle to achieve fair treatment for Jack De Belin, who has been rubbed out of the game for 18 months, even though the NRL has cited no evidence of wrong doing. In fairness, we must uphold the Australian tradition of ‘innocent until proven guilty’. One Nation will move legislation in the NSW Parliament to prevent sporting codes and other employers from punishing people without evidence of wrong doing prior to criminal matters being determined by the NSW judicial system. The principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is integral to citizens receiving a fair trial. Banning sportspeople (as per the De Belin case) clearly taints the jury process.
- Expanding and promoting racing (gallops, harness and dogs) – a key Illawarra industry neglected by the NSW Government. In particular, One Nation will provide $18 million additional funding for the greyhound industry, so badly knocked around by the Baird Government ban in 2016. We need to ensure Bulli and Dapto Dogs are viable into the future. (The full details of our Racing Policy are at onenation.org.au).
- Improving law-and-order in the Illawarra by freeing up police resources from so-called ‘quota policing’ to concentrate on frontline responses to actual crime and the arrest of criminals. Quota policing is resented by officers as a waste of resources, forcing them to notch up ‘appearance’ numbers that have nothing to do with crime responsiveness or crime prevention. NSW One Nation will also toughen parole laws so that anyone breaching parole automatically goes back into custody (removing discretion from Parole Board softies).
