Hanson’s party in nod to the North
BURDEKIN One Nation candidate Sam Cox has been named the party’s deputy leader in Queensland in a move to give the North “fairer representation”.
Buderim MP and Queensland One Nation Leader Steve Dickson made the announcement yesterday, saying the decision was made as he believed the major parties had “neglected rural and regional Queensland for too long”.
“One Nation are genuine in our approach to fairer representation across the state,” he said.
“Senator Hanson and I have been impressed with the experience and work ethic of Sam since his endorsement.”
Mr Cox told the Bulletin he was honoured to take on the role and he believed his experience living and working in North Queensland made him the right person for the job.
“I live in the northern part of the state and this announcement is not really about Sam Cox, it’s about One Nation understanding that we need to represent all of Queensland, and I will give us a strong voice up here,” he said.
“My drive is the same and what I want to achieve is the same strong voice for regional and rural Queensland.”
Mr Cox said despite an election date not being decided yet, he and his party were already in campaign mode.
“The pressure is on the Premier now,” he said. “She will have to make the call herself when she thinks she can win and then she’ll call it.
“I think it’s time to consider it seriously at the moment because with Government not getting bills through Parliament, it’s just not productive.”
Mr Cox said the party was in no hurry to announce a candidate for Thuringowa as they pushed to have a representative in every Queensland seat.
“We are vetting candidates and we have turned some away,” he said.
“We believe we’ve got good candidates to represent Queensland.”