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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Damon Cronshaw

One Nation targets 'renewable energy agenda' at Hunter launch

One Nation state leader Mark Latham with Hunter candidates for the March election at Tomago on Saturday. Picture by Jonathan Carroll

One Nation state leader Mark Latham has announced the party's Hunter team for the March election, with a key policy to support new and extended coal mines on merit.

The NSW party's policy document, released at Saturday's campaign launch at Tomago, stated that it aimed to "stop this pointless transition" to renewable energy.

Instead, it supports "flourishing coal, gas and nuclear power, plus the renewables already built" in NSW.

"The renewable energy agenda is a major threat to the Hunter environment. Wind farms off the coast of Port Stephens, Newcastle and Lake Macquarie will ruin the look of the beautiful beaches and run down property values," the document said.

"Further inland, up the valley, the construction of new transmission corridors and wind farms 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."

The party's candidates were announced as Mark Watson (Port Stephens), Quintin King (Cessnock), Neil Turner (Maitland) and Pietro Di Girolamo (Wallsend).

Mr Latham said the candidates 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.

Mr Latham said the Hunter 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," he said.

"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."

One Nation's Port Stephens candidate Mark Watson said Labor's plan to build a new public school in Medowie "doesn't have the numbers to support it".

"Money needs to be responsibly spent," Mr Watson said.

"We will upgrade our existing schools and double the amount of transport services to get our children to Port Stephens' already established network of schools.

"This is a realistic approach that can be delivered quickly to provide impact and relief in a short period of time."

Mr Watson also focused on crime in Port Stephens.

"We will address law and order, employ more magistrates and reform the sentencing system in line with community expectations," he said.

"Tomaree Hospital is in urgent need of resourcing, focusing on staffing and equipment. To think our residents have to travel an hour for specialist needs, only to wait a few more hours is beyond disbelief. The stories of what our residents have had to face is alarming."

One Nation's policy document for its Hunter campaign stated that "new and extended coal mines must be approved on merit", while it criticised the "leftist climate agenda".

"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."

The document added that the conversion to a new electricity grid will cost "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 superpower with flourishing coal, gas and nuclear power, plus the renewables already built."

The policy document stated that the party "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."

On education, One Nation supports "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".

It believed in "strong standards of discipline and student behaviour, supported by a ban on mobile phones in schools".

The party also said new schools are "urgently needed in the growth areas of Huntlee and Cameron Park".

They should be "a priority for School Infrastructure NSW".

To see more stories and read today's paper download the Newcastle Herald news app here.

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