Mr Bonds running in the Upper Hunter clears the way for former NSW Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, who defected to One Nation earlier this year, to potentially lead the party\u2019s NSW upper house ticket. <\/p>\n
Senator Hanson will unveil the party\u2019s leadership for the NSW election campaign in Singleton on Friday, where sources say Mr Newman is likely to be unveiled as leader. <\/p>\n
The recruitment of Mr Newman is a boon for the party as it looks to crash Labor\u2019s re-election campaign, with his long professional history set to add a sophisticated edge to One Nation as it looks to wrangle seats from the Coalition and Labor. <\/p>\n
An online profile for Mr Newman states he is \u201ca financial industry executive and consultant who worked in Japan for 25 years with large corporate firms, and, for the past three years has worked as the senior trade and investment commissioner, North Asia, at Investment NSW based in Tokyo\u201d. <\/p>\n
Although One Nation\u2019s groundswell is largely due to its growing working-class supporter base, Mr Newman\u2019s addition adds serious business acumen to the minor party\u2019s ranks. <\/p>\n
Mr Newman also worked as the head of sales for HSBC Securities in Japan, while from 2007 to 2015 he worked as the division director and country head of Macquarie Capital Securities Japan.<\/p>\n
Mr Newman was appointed as NSW\u2019s senior trade and investment commissioner to Japan and Korea by former deputy premier and trade minister John Barilaro in the previous Coalition government in 2021. He left the role shortly before it ceased to exist after the Minns government axed the positions in 2024. <\/p>\n
Mr Newman\u2019s targeted seat of Cessnock has been held by Labor since 1927 except for one term, with Clayton Barr representing the area since 2011. <\/p>\n
At the last state election, Mr Barr secured 48.7 per cent of the primary vote, with One Nation candidate Quintin King coming second with 15.3 per cent. <\/p>\n
Despite the area being a historic Labor stronghold with deep union-backed mining roots, the rise of One Nation, as well as unpopular Labor reforms on issues such as gun laws, have led to the belief the seat could be one of the first to fall to the minor party. <\/p>\n
Cessnock borders with the Upper Hunter, held by Nationals MP Dave Layzell on a margin of 3.8 per cent, which is also one of One Nation\u2019s priority targets. <\/p>\n
The Australian last month revealed a renewed focus from NSW Premier Chris Minns on the Hunter region, with electorates historically viewed as rusted-on Labor now considered susceptible to One Nation. <\/p>\n
Mr Minns has been forthright in criticising One \u00adNation as the minor party surged into becoming an election threat. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have seen it with my own eyes, my own community. They\u2019ve got a big pool of support,\u201d the Premier told a Business Sydney dinner last month. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve deliberately not come here and said, \u2018One Nation\u2019s a flash in the pan, we don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be a big deal\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Multiple Labor figures previously told The Australian the minor party\u2019s surge meant serious resources would now have to be committed to the region.<\/a> \u201cIf an election is held today, the Labor Party is throwing the kitchen sink at these places,\u201d one source said.<\/p>\n Another said within the party there was \u201cdefinitely a view there needs to be a focus on the Hunter\u201d ahead of the March 2027 election, warning that \u201cif there was an election tomorrow, we lose Cessnock\u201d.<\/p>\n Read related topics:One Nation<\/a>Pauline Hanson<\/a> Lachlan Leeming is The Australian’s NSW political reporter. He has previously been a federal political reporter for The Daily Telegraph, working out of the Canberra press gallery. Over his career he has covered politics, local government, natural disasters, crime and court, both in the UK and throughout regional Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former NSW trade and investment commissioner Mike Newman is set to be unveiled as One Nation\u2019s state 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<\/a>Lachlan Leeming<\/a>NSW Political Correspondent <\/p>\n