Surprising home of One Nation

Whether trying to get away from it or not pushing it while pushing the boundaries of the endless vineyards, they are more likely to enjoy the most beautiful products.

We are, of course, talking about the wine, which pulls millions of visitors to the world of illustrious awards around the world.

But since May 18, the Hunter has earned himself an arguably more questionable plea, depending on which side of the political fence you're perched on.

It has become the hotbed for Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

Despite a scandalous campaign, Stuart Bonds, 33, took almost 22 per cent of the primary vote in the seat of Hunter.

The most popular one nation candidate in the country.

It was not enough to topple Labor stalwart and train defense minister Joel Fitzgibbon, who clung to the seat after a nailbiting and drawn-out count.

But, the popularity of Mr Bonds, who told news.com.au he's just a "regular bloke", in a seat that has been safely held by Labor for more than 109 years, should send a clear warning to the major parties.

And, if you look beyond the vineyards and the glossy tourism brochures, this result does not begin to look surprising, especially when you arrive in Cessnock.

You can almost feel a sense of abandonment and rage in the air, as you roll into the city of almost 60,000 people just two hours north of Sydney.

Sometimes, you have to postpone, it takes real effort to get people you never want to put their political opinions. But, in Cessnock, that's certainly not the case.

Sipping a cold one at the Hotel Cessnock, a no-nonsense Aussie watering hole at an intersection with the city's main street, I approached locals with a simple question.

I wanted to know what was driving away from Labor in its blue-collar heartland.

The blunt response was: "Well, how long is ya got?"

It was like floodgates had been opened for the sake of anger, sadness and nostalgia. I was surrounded by people who spoke of two different worlds – the one the tourists, and the one they live in every day.

"We are a suffering," one told me, with a faraway look in his eyes. "All the tourists are going up the road, and that's all well and good. we're the ones keeping the community going 24/7 and we've got nothing to show for it. "

The general consensus was that Cessnock – once a prosperous coalmining town – had been abandoned, forgotten and taken over by many years of labor, as the mines were shut down and workers were laid off.

Born and bred Cessnock resident Mitch Ingham said the mine was a mine, where they would carry out unskilled or semi-mature gold. skilled work, often for decent pay.

With this money, they would invest in an affordable, spacious home for their families.

However, they have been trapped by the economy of the economy, the workers who were left behind in the past, and they were trapped by a mortgage in the city.

"I knew a bloke who had a job for 40 years and one day they just let him go," Mr Ingham said. "He had nothing else. Mining was the only thing he ever knew. "

Adam Brodica, who works at Old Mate 's Bakery on the city' s main strip, told me nothing about mining, and Cessnock was now in steep decline.

He counted 30 businesses that had closed down around him in the past two years, leaving the city's CBD with boarded-up shopfronts.

"You can not even buy your kid, because there's no shoe shop," he said. "It's got that bad."

He said this economic lifelessness, lack of investment in public services and expansion of the Cessnock has resulted in major social problems, including an "epidemic" on the streets.

Others I spoke to the problem of having an endless list of problems in which they were born.

These issues are of importance to the problem of parking and traffic, and to worry about anecdotes about how ill-equipped and understaffed emergency services are.

And, in their eyes, the blame lay squarely with Labor at a local, state and federal level.

One resident Cessnock, Miranda Goodwin, told me she had a good job.

"The last time they actually built up here was the TAFE college back in 1959 and since then it's just been let-down after let-down," she said.

Maitland – 30 minutes' drive north – was booming because it was in a swinging seat.

Hunter, on the other hand, has been safe for the past few days in the past.

When asked why one nation did so on May 18, locals said it was simple.

They felt left behind, taken for granted that the Labor politicians they saw on the TV were not living in the real world.

It was this feeling that Mr. Bonds, who had been told news.com.au the people of the Hunter Valley had been "taken advantage of by the two-party system for far too long".

Gathering his views on the face of the coal face, Mr Bonds said there were two key issues that mattered in the Hunter: the protection of mining and farming jobs and increasing pensions to support our older Australians.

He claimed to be one of the only people he has ever been to.

"People of the Hunter are tired of being left behind while they are still in the skylines of Sydney and Melbourne," he said.

However, re-elected MP Labor Joel Fitzgibbon told news.com.au Mr Bond's surge in popularity was based on a single-minded "scare campaign" that would have to be considered.

He was there during this election campaign, because Mr Bonds was "hidden" after his derogatory comments about women and gay people in online videos.

He said, "I'm Stuart Bonds and that's what I stand for," Mr Fitzgibbon said.

"And, that's what he ran on. He ran on a fear among coal miners that their jobs were at risk and he was successful. "

He said Labor backed the mining and exporting of coal, but that the party made a "terrible mistake" in the campaign.

"Labor supports coal mining, but it was not prepared to say so," he said.

Mr Fitzgibbon said the acrimonious battle for the hearts and minds of the Hunter had played one another and one nation leader Pauline Hanson for more than 20 years.

Mr Fitzgibbon Realized he had a fight on his hands on June 13, 1998, when One Nation won 11 seats in the Queensland election – with 23 per cent of state voting for the party.

The federal election was held in October and Ms Hanson showed up in Cessnock on more than one occasion, including a tense rally at the Australia Hotel.

Mr Fitzgibbon said that he took "some big blokes who knew how to handle themselves" and that he claims "blue collar miners who love their guns".

He confronted Ms Hanson – questioning her voting records on industrial relations and aged care – and there he said one nation had never given up trying to unseat him.

Each and every election, he says, One Nation has tried the same tact – by playing on the fears of coal miners, who he says have a very different outlook on life than your average city-dwelling latte sipper.

"Coal miners have always been very, very proud. They are like soldiers, "he said. "They courageously go down in all those adverse conditions and win coal, which powers your home.

"They are very patriotic because they really believe that what they are doing is important to the community and to the country."

One of those miners is, of course, Mr Bonds, who said his election result One Nation's message had struck a chord with Hunter voters.

"As the weeks of the campaign went on, I knew that the major parties were in for an election night surprise," he said.

Now, he says it's clear One Nation has "filled a void" in the Hunter, and his heart swept with pride that he and his team had made the seat "marginal for the first time in history".

And, after a gruelling campaign, Mr Bonds said it was time for him to jump back into everyday life before planning his next move.

"Right now, I'm back at work in the mine, and spending time with my daughter Penny and my wife Sini, whose love I could not have done without," he said. "I've got cattle calving and a farm to manage, and lots of mates to catch up for a beer with.

"As for the next federal election, you'll have to wait and see."