One Nation names investment banker Mike Newman as new NSW leader

Australia's One Nation party has named investment banker Mike Newman as its New South Wales leader and first lower house candidate ahead of the state election set for March 2027. Newman is the son of Maurice Newman, a former chair of the national broadcaster ABC. Party leader Pauline Hanson held a press conference alongside Newman on Friday to announce his candidacy for the Hunter region seat of Cessnock. One Nation had earlier named former federal candidate Stuart Bonds as its first upper house candidate in the state.

Newman, a former trade bureaucrat with experience in Asia, confirmed his candidacy in an interview with News24 and outlined the party's NSW policy platform. It includes cutting payroll tax in half, eliminating it entirely in regional areas, freezing public service staff numbers, and introducing private-sector style key performance indicators for public servants, particularly senior executives. As an example, he cited a pledge to build 20,000 homes, saying officials responsible would not get paid if the target were missed.

Newman spent 25 years working in Japan, including three years as Investment NSW's senior trade and investment commissioner in Tokyo. He dismissed concerns that the party might struggle to connect with migrant communities, noting that his wife is Japanese and that several of his business partners are Indian, whom he described as patriotic Australians. Asked about the party's approach to fostering social cohesion, Newman said the goal was to get rid of what he called 'wokery'.

The Cessnock seat has been held by Labor for 38 years, currently represented by Clayton Barr, who won the two-party preferred vote against One Nation by a 23.4% margin in 2023, after the Nationals disendorsed their own candidate. According to a Resolve poll for the Sydney Morning Herald published in July, One Nation is currently polling at 25% in New South Wales, ahead of the Coalition on 23%, while Labor leads with 29%.