One Nation is a party of action, led by no-nonsense straight-talkers in Pauline Hanson (Federally) and Mark Latham (NSW). We are determined to get on with the job for people neglected by the Sydney-centric major parties.

After huge swings in the Orange and Wagga Wagga by-elections, it is clear country people feel neglected by the Berejiklian Government.

In most policy areas affecting regional NSW, Labor, Liberals, Nationals and the Greens have the same approach – there is little difference between the major parties. In particular, they are spending large amounts of money on low-priority projects in older parts of Sydney (such as huge Labor/Liberal/National expenditure on arts facilities in Parramatta) instead of looking after people who live away from the city centre.

One Nation wants to overcome this neglect with positive solutions for country NSW, especially during this testing time of drought. Our policy platform is to:

1. Divert the Government’s $810 million expenditure on a new seating plan at Homebush’s ANZ Stadium (completely unnecessary) to capital works and the maintenance of country hospitals. This would not only improve health services, it would inject much-needed investment into regional economies, especially for the benefit of small businesses and tradies.
2. Lower electricity prices by abolishing NSW ‘green taxes’ and ending the State’s support for the Paris Climate Change Agreement and renewable energy targets and subsidies. One Nation will increase electricity supply through nuclear power generation – the best way of bringing down power prices in the medium to longer term.
3. Improve country schools by getting the NSW education system back to basics. The State’s schools are going backwards, denying students from the bush a fair chance and equal opportunities in life (One Nation’s detailed statements on schools reform can be found at onenation.org.au).
4. Restore essential property rights to farmers, so they have a reasonable chance of siting dams and clearing vegetation on their properties. This is needed to ensure farms can be economically viable, instead of hamstrung by bureaucrats and excessive green regulation. In particular, the best way of drought-proofing properties is to allow farmers to determine the location and size of the dams they need. One Nation will return the property rights taken away by Green Labor and the Coalition.
5. Ensure NSW keeps more of its own water from the Murray-Darling system for farmers and environmental flows (such as Menindee Lakes). Because of marginal seats in South Australia, the major parties are flushing huge amounts of water out the mouth of the Murray that should be kept in NSW, particularly during this time of drought.
6. End the ban on uranium mining in NSW to boost economic activity in regional and remote parts of the State. Across our western border South Australia is enjoying the benefits of this billion dollar national industry – why not NSW? It makes no sense to ban an entire mining industry, especially when so many places are struggling economically because of drought.
7. Take more decisive action to assist farmers and rural communities with the eradication of pests, feral species and the damage caused by native animal plagues. In south-west NSW, for instance, we will allow crack recreational shooters into native parks to help cull the kangaroo problem. Where similar problems exist in other parts of the State, we will do the same, harnessing the expertise of shooters who are highly-experienced, safe and efficient.
8. Improve law-and-order in country areas 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).
9. Transfer Sydney-based funding on arts and cultural events to support economic development in country and regional NSW. Left-wing groups have captured large slabs of the State’s arts budget, producing political propaganda, when this money would be better spent in assisting country communities with job creating projects in both the public and private sectors.
10. Overhaul the role of Destination NSW (the peak State tourism body), which has been too focused on Sydney. For instance, it doesn’t have a single grassroots country NSW representative on its board. They are mostly Sydney elites from the world of politics, media and the arts. The great bulk of the Destinations NSW $150 million annual budget is spent promoting Sydney-based events that financially should be able to promote themselves. In the organisation’s strategy and reporting documents, country NSW is an afterthought. This needs to change, with the redirection of tourism and promotional funding and board representation away from Sydney. In particular, country racing (gallops, harness and greyhounds) should receive greater support, given its potential to boost tourism and consumer spending in country towns.
11. A special support package for the greyhound industry, which the Liberal and National Parties tried to kill off in 2016. One Nation will commit an extra $18 million per annum to prizemoney, track and facility upgrades (funded by the abolition of the Greater Sydney Commission). We also want a change in administration, ensuring those in charge of Greyhound Racing NSW actually support the industry’s growth, unlike the current situation where board members and administrators act as a policing body, trying to hold back the success of greyhound racing. One Nation will also appoint a Racing Ombudsman (for gallops, harness and dogs) to investigate complaints about racing administration and make recommendations for remedial action to the NSW Racing Minister.
12. Respect the important role of local government in country NSW. One Nation will not support forced amalgamations or funding cuts that reduce Council services and employment levels.
13. One Nation will protect farmers from vigilante activity by Green-Left fanatical groups such as the ‘Aussie Farms’ website. Farmers have got a right to privacy and a right to go about their commercial activities without harassment and trespassing from Green nutters. These fanatics think animals are more important than humans. They are trying to reverse the basis of our civilisation, whereby humankind has conquered nature and animals are there to best serve our interests. NSW One Nation will sponsor news laws making the activities of outfits like ‘Aussie Farms’ illegal.