One Nation reveals four upper house candidates, including controversial anti-trans campaigner

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Failed federal Liberal candidate and anti-transgender activist Katherine Deves, a forklift driver, and a surf lifesaver are among One Nation candidates contesting the poll.

A failed federal Liberal candidate and anti-trans campaigner from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, a forklift driver, and a South Coast surf lifesaver are among One Nation candidates contesting the NSW state election in March.

One Nation NSW leader Mike Newman on Sunday announced four new upper house candidates for the state poll as he emphasised their “real-world experience” and said the group was “not a team of career politicians”.

The candidates are Sydney lawyer Katherine Deves, who is the former Liberal Party candidate for the federal seat of Warringah; Arnon Wither from the Hunter region, who has worked in manufacturing, construction; educator and mother-of-eight Manti Steele from western NSW; and teacher and surf lifesaver Daniel Hill from the NSW South Coast.

The four will join controversial Singleton cattle farmer and coal miner Stuart Bonds, who is the top upper house candidate for the party in NSW, and Tamworth firearms manufacturer Jeff Bacon.

Deves, a prominent campaigner opposing the inclusion of trans women in women’s sport, was the Liberal Party’s pick to take on Warringah MP Zali Steggall at the 2022 election. Her candidacy prompted a firestorm of criticism, and she issued a series of apologies over social media posts including one in which she compared her anti-trans activism to resistance against the Nazis.

Bonds told protesters at a rally against “mass migration” this month that Australians were “being demographically replaced inside our own nation” – remarks Premier Chris Minns described as “horrific”.

The line-up announced on Sunday does not include one-time NSW Coalition figures defectors including former federal Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, former NSW upper house Liberal MP Lou Amato, or ex-Wollondilly Liberal MP Nathaniel Smith. They could also run for a spot in the lower house.

One Nation is a growing threat to NSW Labor in the March 2027 state election. Minns has previously expressed his view that Newman will “either be the premier or the opposition…

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