About 125 One Nation supporters gathered at Ringwood Bowls Club on Monday night for the launch of the campaigns for Croydon candidate Glenn Brindley and Ringwood candidate John O’Connor ahead of the November 28 state election.
Local topics: Brindley and O’Connor said if elected they would cancel the Suburban Rail Loop and prioritise upgrades to Maroondah Hospital.
More than $14 billion in contracts are signed and tunnelling began in September; the Liberals say they would pause and review the project rather than cancel it.
A $20 million joint commitment has been made by the state and federal government for a dedicated children’s emergency department at Maroondah Hospital. Construction is expected to begin in 2027.
The Liberal pledge to spend $6.5 million on upgrades at Mooroolbark Heights Reserve was deemed by Brindley an empty promise.
Labor baggage: Much of the evening saw the candidates criticising the state Labor government for what they said was wasteful spending and corruption.
Brindley said One Nation would “abolish Net Zero policies”.
Australian flags and orange party merchandise were on display around the room. One man wore a custom-made cape bearing the Australian flag and coat of arms.
An AI-produced ad for One Nation, featuring a machete-wielding African teen saying “I shouldn’t be on bail” and an Indian man yelling “no more mass migration” was screened.
The crowd stood for Advance Australia Fair before hearing watching an excerpt from a Hanson speech. Hanson was described by the MC Daniel Adams — the husband of One Nation’s North-Eastern Metropolitan Upper House candidate Natalie Adams – as “our fearless leader”.
Ringwood and Croydon sit in the North-Eastern Metropolitan Upper House region, where One Nation is polling about 21 percent, enough for Adams to likely win a seat.
Teaching tips: Natalie Adams told supporters the state education system was indoctrinating children, arguing One Nation could return Victoria to the “way it was when we were growing up”.
“(Children) are being taught what to think, not how to think,” she said.
Brindley said schools should focus on fundamentals such as Australian history: “Children should be taught the facts, not ideology. Men are men, women are women.”
He described Welcome to Country ceremonies as “a disgrace”.
O’Connor’s speech touched on crime, gang violence, small business taxes and the education of students with disabilities.
However, there was little detail on how the candidates would advocate for local solutions to issues like housing affordability, public transport, data centres and roads.
Open debate: During the Q&A session the focus from the floor was on broad issues like crime and immigration.
One attendee asked how the party would prevent children becoming criminals, suggesting compulsory school attendance and military school as potential solutions.
Another asked whether burning the Australian flag should be a criminal offence.
The event concluded at about 9:15pm.