Qld Senator Gerard Rennick quits LNP, launches ‘People First’ party
Aug 25, 2024
Peter Dutton and Gerard Rennick.
By Geoff Chambers The Australian 25 August 2024
Maverick Queensland senator Gerard Rennick has quit the LNP to establish a new ‘People First’ party ahead of the federal election, marking the fourth Coalition crossbench defection since 2022.
Senator Rennick – who narrowly lost preselection by three votes to party treasurer Stuart Fraser for third spot on the LNP ticket – will apply for party status with the Australian Electoral Commission on Monday to establish his Gerard Rennick People First party. The 53-year-old will run at the next election on a platform underpinned by five key economic, energy and social policies.
People First policies include increasing the tax free threshold from $18,200 to $40,000, paying childcare support directly to families, ending renewables subsidies and abolishing renewables on agriculture land and waterways, making superannuation voluntary and re-establishing a public bank and government insurance office.
Senator Rennick, who maintains a close relationship with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton despite his recent preselection fight with the LNP, said “I have decided to fight for the Australian people as an independent senator at the next federal election”.
In addition to Senator Rennick, Andrew Gee, Russell Broadbent and David Van have exited the Coalition since the 2022 election. The rogue senator has linked his preselection loss to withholding his vote from the Morrison government during the pandemic in protest against mandatory vaccinations.
“While I would have preferred to lobby for issues that are important to the Australian people inside the tent of the LNP that option is no longer available to me,” Senator Rennick told The Australian.
“I believe that government overreach is killing individual responsibility, aspiration and entrepreneurship in Australia.
“Governments need to get back to service delivery of essential services and standing up for Australians who try to stand up for themselves. As such I want to draw on my experience to promote a range of policies that will empower Australians and their families to live a prosperous life and provide abundant opportunities for their children.”
The new Gerard Rennick People First party logo.
Senator Rennick, who has almost 320,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter, was expected to alert Mr Dutton and LNP president Lawrence Springborg of his decision to resign from the party on Sunday. The Queenslander, who decided against joining other conservative minor parties, is considering running other candidates on his Senate ticket.
Minor parties including Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, the Jacqui Lambie Network, Katter’s Australian Party and Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party are all hopeful of picking-up a Senate spot amid Labor concerns of replicating its disastrous 2019 election results that saw only one ALP senator elected in Queensland. Senator Rennick was elected to the Senate in 2019 on the back of Labor’s capitulation.
Senator Rennick told The Australia there “needs to much greater accountability and transparency within our bureaucracy, judiciary and corporations … too many leaders today do not put the interests of the people they are meant to serve, first”.
“There is also a lack of vision from the same leaders who in the main seem to promote ideologies that seek to divide and shame us, rather than inspire us. As such the Australian people have become cynical and divided rather than optimistic and united,” he said.
“This needs to change. Australia is a great country with tremendous opportunity that has a proud history of tolerance, resilience and egalitarianism. We owe it to our forefathers whose legacy gave us so many opportunities, to do the same for our children.”
In a speech delivered in the Senate last week, Senator Rennick said “I did lose my Senate preselection because I withheld my vote from a party because Greg Hunt didn’t take my concerns about those vaccine injuries seriously”.
“I’m happy to lose my position in this party over that because that’s what representing the Australian people is all about: putting the people first. Listen out for that phrase in the future: putting the people first. I make no apologies for doing that. I come in here as a genuine, impartial person who cares deeply about the Australian people.”
Original article here
Readers Comments:
Charles – Excellent, Senator Rennick is a valuable Conservative voice that should be kept in parliament. I wish him every success. Likethumb_up 60
Chris – That is a great loss as he is someone with real integrity and intellect, sadly missing from most of todays politicians. There needs to be more of him and less Lambies, Thorpes and Bandts to help turn this country around. Likethumb_up 58
William – Senator Rennick ideas are very close to basic Liberal ideals, boils down to people know what they want, and it’s less government interference, we don’t need socialism. Likethumb_up 52
Andrew – Rennick is a quality politician. Hardworking. Intelligent. Articulate. The liberals were crazy to let him go. I wish him all the best. Likethumb_up 43
Banjo – A top man and top performer – he has my vote for sure. Likethumb_up 42
Gordon – Senator Rennick is one of the hardest working politicians in the country. Those who think he is in it for himself don’t know of him very well. What affected his selection was standing up against his own party in order to ensure the vaccination compensation scheme was implemented. He was maligned for things he said during Covid but the fact is he was very knowledgeable about the issues as he did considerable research and spoke to many experts. We need more politicians like him not less and LNP made a mistake in replacing him with somebody with no support from the conservative side of politics. I hope you gets reelected. Likethumb_up 39
ABC 24 NEWS ELECTION COVERAGE DARWIN: Eleni Roussos, ABC Journalist & Election Panel member commented on her ongoing pericarditis vaccine injury, and hammered Labor MP Natasha Fyles about why individuals continue to be denied employment by Labor’s unfair vaccine mandate exclusions that still exist in the Northern Territory. News Link here
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Louis.