Oxley MP Michael Kemp has acknowledged One Nation as a “credible threat” to Mid North Coast seats in the March 2027 state election.
“They are absolutely, as an example, a threat to my seat and to many seats that are held by either Nationals or other regional-based representatives,” Kemp told the Mid North Coaster.
“Make no bones about it.”
Election looms: The state’s election will be held on Saturday, March 13 next year.
Kemp, a representative of the National Party, is set to recontest the seat of Oxley after winning 47.5 percent of first preference votes in 2023.
He expects a tougher contest this time around.
“If anyone takes One Nation at low value, then they are biting their nose off to spite their face, because I think One Nation is a genuine threat,” Kemp said.
It remains unclear who - if anyone - One Nation will put forward to run for state seats on the Mid North Coast in 2027. The party did not contest the seats of Myall Lakes, Port Macquarie, Oxley or Coffs Harbour in 2023.
Policy questions: Kemp said he agrees with some of the sentiments expressed by One Nation, claiming politics has “swung way too far to the left”.
However, he said the party was lacking a “clear suite of policies”.
The Oxley MP also raised questions about stability within One Nation, citing the defections of senators such as Rod Roberts, Mark Latham and Tania Mihailuk to serve as independents.
Business as usual: Nationals leader Gurmesh Singh, who serves as the Member for Coffs Harbour, said his party’s regional seats “being under threat” is nothing new.
“The Nationals at every election face threats from different groups, whether it's the Shooters [Fishers and Famers] or the Teals or One Nation, and often a combination of all of those parties combined with Labor in our seats,” Singh said.
“It's something we're quite accustomed to fighting, and One Nation is nothing different from that.”
Singh said it was “hard to quantify” how much of One Nation’s perceived growth was genuine, as opposed to being perpetuated by “bots and online chatter”.
“I guess we'll find out closer to the election,” he said.