‘Trinkets Won’t Win Votes’: Coal Miner Candidate Says Liberals Need to Stop Chasing Spending Game

Hunter coal miner says Sussan Ley’s Liberal party needs to better articulate why the nation needs to pursue tough, long-term growth.

People queue outside the Clovelly Surf Life Saving Club election polling booth next to campaign signage featuring former Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson in Sydney, Australia on May 3, 2025. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

The Liberal Party should not try to outspend Labor to win the hearts and minds of voters, warns Stuart Bonds, a coal miner who recently ran for One Nation in the Hunter electorate.

Bonds said the traditional centre-right Liberals should not shy away from embracing long term economic reform as a policy, even if it is unpopular in the short-term.