Voters on the Gold Coast head to the polls tomorrow (14/7/2023) for the Fadden by-election. This contest in what has historically been a safe Liberal seat will serve as a litmus test on some pressing issues facing Australians today.

Sandy Roach has been an excellent candidate and representative for One Nation during this campaign. I want to thank her and the many volunteers who have put in so much time and effort on behalf of the Gold Coast community. I’m looking forward to joining them today at Runaway Bay.

Increasing costs of living. Rising mortgage payments. The housing and rental crisis. Public health. Escalating crime. These are mostly nationwide or state-wide issues, but based on Sandy's copious feedback from Fadden voters, the impacts are being felt acutely on the Gold Coast.

And these issues should be – but are most definitely not – the priorities for the Albanese and Palasczcuk Labor governments. In fact their policies are only making it worse for people in Queensland: going soft on repeat offenders, record immigration creating higher demand for housing, poor monetary policy, and Labor’s appalling climate change ideology are all contributing to these problems.

The Coalition will anticipate the win in Fadden, but this is an opportunity for voters to send a message to them as well: stop taking the Gold Coast for granted and start being an effective conservative opposition rather than Labor-lite weaklings.

As always, it falls to One Nation to propose common-sense and practical solutions: lower immigration, banning foreign ownership of residential property, stricter penalties for repeat offenders, independent energy policy which prioritises affordability rather than climate change nonsense and which leverages Australia’s abundant natural energy reserves, and monetary policy which reduces the exposure of Australian households to mortgage rate rises.

I can quickly think of a thousand things on which I’d rather spend $430 million of taxpayers’ money than a divisive referendum on inserting racial inequality into our Constitution. I look forward to seeing what Fadden voters think after Saturday’s by-election.