BY MAXWELL HARVEY
Former NSW Trade Commissioner Mike Newman is set to lead One Nation at the upcoming NSW state election.
His candidacy was confirmed by Pauline Hanson at a Singleton press conference on Friday, which also saw Stuart Bonds announced as the leader for the upper house ticket.
He will be contesting Clayton Barr's seat of Cessnock, which has traditionally been a safe seat for Labor.
Mr Newman said he is living in the region, but refused to comment whether he is located in Cessnock or the Lower Hunter specifically.
He's running on a pro-business and free trade platform, citing his credentials as a trade bureaucrat and investment banker.
"When I was the NSW Senior Trade Commissioner, the one message that I gave to all of our ministers and bureaucrats was NSW is the least friendly place to do business," he said.
"I had one Korean customer say to me 'NSW lacks the hunger spirit'".
His proposed policies to make NSW more competitive include cutting payroll tax, ending net-zero initiatives, and reducing the number of bureaucrats in the state.
Pauline Hanson said she has full faith in Mr Newman to to lead her party to success
"Mike is passionate about this next election, he's got a lot to offer and a lot to say," she said.
"His policies will actually put both the Labor Party and the Coalition on notice that the people of NSW have had enough of the direction they've been taken in".
Maitland Labor MP Jenny Aitchison has already come out swinging against One Nation's new prospects, criticising Stuart Bond's statements regarding train manufacturing in the Hunter.
"One Nation talks a big game about Australian jobs, but when we bring those jobs home their answer is to suggest we send that work back overseas," she said
Mr Bonds slammed the state government's train manufacturing plan in a social media post, suggesting that trains could be procured at a lower price from Korean manufacturers.
The New South Wales state election is scheduled for March 13, 2027.
Barnaby Joyce, Pauline Hanson, Mike Newman, and Stuart Bonds. Picture: Ian Crouch
