Minns dares One Nation to stand up policies in pre-election rule change

The NSW Labor government will pressure One Nation to have its policies formally costed for the upcoming state election as it introduces a change to the rules.

Under a proposed change to the law, the Mike Newman-led state branch will be able to submit its policies to the independent Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) for the first time.

Currently, the tool is only available to Labor, the Liberals and the Nationals.

The PBO will also create a budget impact statement for the parties before voters take to the ballots in March.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey dared One Nation to have its policies costed, saying the state could not afford to live in “budget fantasy lands”.

“One Nation has made no secret of how much they admire American and Argentinian-style wage policies, healthcare policies and cuts to the public service,” he said.

“No doubt they will want to import these ideas into NSW, but voters deserve to have independent advice about what they mean for them.

“Just like they do for both Labor’s and the Coalition’s plans.”

The PBO was an independent body introduced before the 2011 election to provide policy costings and create budget impact statements.

It is seen as a test for the major parties to see how their policies stack up.

The NSW government will increase the PBO’s resource levels to account for the change.

The bill will need support from the Liberals and Nationals to pass parliament when it is introduced this week.

While One Nation has no MPs in NSW, Labor’s move is an acknowledgement that the next state election will be a three-way race as opposed to the traditional two-party contest.

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One Nation leader Pauline Hanson announced Newman, an investment banker who has lived in Japan for 25 years, as her state branch pick and Cessnock candidate in August.

Newman has lived abroad longer than he has lived in Sydney but defended his awareness of local issues, telling reporters at the time that he is meeting residents to talk about their concerns.

Hanson said Newman had kept an eye on local politics while abroad and was “right across” the issues of NSW.

“Premier Minns, he’s really got a fight on his hands now,” she said.

Former Liberal senator turned One Nation candidate Hollie Hughes defended the party’s lack of policies, complaining it did not have access to costings.

“I bet Chris Minns will not be offering that support through,” she said.