Wagga financial advisor and former councillor Julian McLaren has put up his hand as a potential state election candidate for the National Party.
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“I think it’s important that we get an authentic voice in parliament, to be quite honest,” he said.
“I think people are a bit cynical about people who go into parliament and smile and nod and make all the right motions but don’t actually understand what people in the community are going though.
“I’d like to go down there and shake it up a bit.”
Mr McLaren said if he was selected to run for the Nationals, he would campaign on infrastructure and cost-of-living issues.
“One of the big issues is education; I really want teachers to teach more rather than filling in forms and doing all sorts of other things,” he said.
“I want sustainable low energy prices and reliable energy and baseload power. We have got to stop lying to the public that renewable energy will lead to lower prices.
“We need good infrastructure, we need roads and bridges and to fix the highways for a town that’s growing.”
The Liberal, Greens and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers political parties have all started preparing for the March general election.
There could also be a byelection if the current Wagga Wagga MP, Daryl Maguire, were to resign over revelations last week at an anti-corruption hearing.
Labor has also threatened to move a standing order to expel Mr Maguire from parliament if he does not resign by August 7.
The Liberal and National parties have a Coalition agreement not to run candidates against each outside of exceptional circumstances.
NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro on Wednesday appeared to confirm speculation that the Nationals would only run a candidate in Wagga if there was a byelection.
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Speaking to 2GB radio, Mr Barilaro also said he was confident that Mr Maguire would no longer be in parliament by August 7.
Mr McLaren said he did not know if the Nationals had made a decision on if and how it might run a candidate.
Mr McLaren, a former Liberal Party member, was once considered a potential preselection replacement for Mr Maguire.
However, Mr McLaren publicly broke ranks with the Liberals in 2016 and joined the Nationals last year.
“I resigned from the Liberal party after they got rid of a sitting prime minister, and also the factional warfare that goes on in the party.
“It was a bit of a swamp, really, and I thought the Nationals were more authentic."
If Mr McLaren runs, he will be up against Wagga councillor Dan Hayes for Labor.