A conga line of Liberal and National Party defectors is vying to run for One Nation at the NSW election next year, belying the populist party’s anti-establishment narrative and potentially undermining leader Mike Newman’s claim that candidates will come from outside the political class.
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candidates → vie → class
While One Nation is yet to confirm most of its candidates for the upcoming election, potential nominees include a growing list of former Liberal and Nationals MPs, as well as one-time political hopefuls.
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nominees → confirm → MPs
The long list of familiar faces who have nominated for One Nation’s increasingly crowded upper house ticket include Katherine Deves, the anti-trans campaigner picked by former prime minister Scott Morrison to run for the Liberals for a tilt at the seat of Warringah in 2022, former federal Liberal senator Hollie Hughes and former NSW upper house MP Lou Amato.
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who → nominate → 2022
One or all of them could also run for a spot in the lower house.
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One → run → house
They are among a slew of former major party MPs, candidates and officials to join One Nation’s ranks over recent months.
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They → join → months
The party’s new registered officer in NSW, Les Wells, is a former Nationals staffer who made an unsuccessful tilt to be the party’s candidate in the seat of Oxley at the 2023 state election.
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who → register → election
Sean Gleeson, who ran for the Nationals in the seat of Port Macquarie at a byelection last year, has also held discussions with One Nation about potentially running for the party in 2027.
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who → run → 2027
Gleeson remains a member of the Nationals but has stepped down as chair of its local state electoral conference and is weighing up a potential defection.
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Gleeson → remain → defection
He declined to comment.
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He → decline → ?
Other one-time NSW Coalition figures to jump ship include the ex-Wollondilly Liberal MP Nathaniel Smith and the former Upper Hunter Nationals MP Michael Johnsen.
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figures → jump → MP
The latter resigned from parliament in 2021 following allegations he raped a sex worker.
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he → resign → worker
He later said he had been “vindicated” after the NSW Department of Public Prosecutions recommended there was “insufficient admissible evidence to proceed with charges”.
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Department → say → charges
In a statement, One Nation said only three candidates had been preselected: Newman, and lead upper house candidates Stuart Bonds and Tamworth gun-maker Jeff Bacon.
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candidates → say → statement
“We have received more than 800 applications from community leaders, advocates and business people,” a party spokeswoman said.
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spokeswoman → receive → leaders
“Candidates for the 2027 election will be announced as we approach March 13th 2027.”
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we → announce → 13th
The influx of Coalition defectors into the party’s NSW division presents an emerging tension for the resurgent right-wing party as it tries to maintain its outsider status while seeking to mount a serious challenge against both major parties at the March election.
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it → present → election
As the Minns government increasingly sharpens its focus on One Nation, figures within the party are keenly aware of the risk of being tagged as Liberal-lite.
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figures → sharpen → lite
Newman, a former investment banker and NSW trade commissioner, has repeatedly said One Nation would field candidates from outside the political mainstream.
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Nation → say → mainstream
At a press conference on Tuesday, he said that would be the “palpable difference” between One Nation and the major parties at the election.
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that → say → election
“I’ve said before I am not a politician.
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I → say → ?
I don’t have any political background,” he said.
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he → have → background
“I don’t belong to parties that I’m beholden to internal structures.
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I → belong → structures
You are, we’re not, and that is going to be the palpable difference that will be at this election.”
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that → ’re → election
In defending the party’s policy to scrap independent assessment of mining projects and instead hand decision-making powers back to ministers, Newman argued a One Nation government would be less susceptible to corruption because they “are not former politicians”.
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they → defend → corruption
But many of those swelling the party’s ranks are.
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many → swell → ranks
She is currently “strategic counsel” for Coalition-aligned lobbying firm DPG Advisory, run by former Liberal adviser and Morrison ally David Gazard.
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She → align → Gazard
She was booted from a winnable spot before the last election.
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She → boot → election
Amato, similarly, was an upper house MP for the former NSW state government before he was bumped from the ticket before the 2023 election.
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he → bump → election
Deves, a prominent campaigner opposing the inclusion of trans women in women’s sport, was the Liberal Party’s pick to take on Warringah MP Zali Steggall at the 2022 election.
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Deves → oppose → election
Her candidacy prompted a firestorm of criticism, and she issued a series of apologies over social media posts including one in which she compared her anti-trans activism to resistance against the Nazis.
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she → prompt → Nazis
Hughes and Amato did not respond to a request for comment.
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Hughes → respond → comment
Deves referred the Herald to One Nation.
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Deves → refer → Nation
With the election less than six months away, Labor has honed in on One Nation as repeated polls show the party leading the Coalition.
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party → hone → Coalition
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey this week challenged the party to submit its promises to independent budget scrutiny, saying the state couldn’t live in “budget fairy land”.
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state → challenge → land
Labor announced on Tuesday it would introduce a new debt ceiling of 15 per cent of gross state product and cut debt by $10 billion in a further attempt to contrast the government’s fiscal restraint with the Coalition and One Nation.
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it → announce → Coalition
Get to the heart of what’s happening with climate change and the environment.
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what → get → change
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