Friday's X's on my mind - 12/7

I have said exactly that in Parliament:

"Why does that happen? Why are foreign companies getting let off the hook? I’ll tell you why. It’s because many of even our large Australian companies are part-owned and controlled by foreign corporations.

"The major predators are Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street and First State. They own 10 per cent of the four banks combined and they own the controlling interest.

"They tell the banks what to do—BlackRock, State Street, Vanguard, First State and others in that little cohort of multinational predatory organisations.

"We don’t have four main banks. We have one main bank that is hiding behind four logos. That’s what we have. They have the same policies, principles, strategies, products and services.

Coles and Woolies, again, are part-owned by BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard. If you go right through our corporations in this country, the corporations we thought were Australian owned, they’re foreign owned and controlled, and where does the money go?

"The profit goes overseas. What did the Morrison government do, along with the state premiers?

"They loaded it up so that foreign multinationals that own the large companies in this country made a killing out of COVID at the expense of small companies and small businesses."

Despite having the police called on me for doing my live cross in front of a famous Mary Poppins statue, I had a fantastic time in Maryborough.

It was a privilege to speak with so many supporters and I thank everyone who took the time to meet with me and discuss the issues affecting their community.

I'd also like to thank Deputy Mayor Paul Truscott for taking the time to apologise and reassure everyone that public spaces are open to all, regardless of political views and that no matter who you are, you are welcome to come and get your photo with Maryborough's Mary Poppins.

Sadly, I've learned that one of the venues that was hired to host a private event with One Nation supporters has been directly contacted by Labor to be told they would never get any help from Labor again.

It’s no wonder there’s a strong appetite for change in Maryborough if this is what the community has been dealing with: a local Labor member so frightened of his own shadow that his party will brazenly attempt to silence opposing views by intimidating small businesses and thinking they will get away with it. They did it to our previous candidate too.

They have no idea about One Nation if they’re trying to scare us off. Taryn Gillard is an excellent local candidate with strong connections in her community, an award-winning small business owner who has organised fundraisers and a food program to help people in her community doing it tough thanks to Labor’s cost-of-living crisis and Labor’s failures on youth crime. She knows her community and what they’ve endured under Labor.

We all know Labor is the master of dirty campaigning and false election scaremongering. We all know Labor is the puppet of union boss thugs holding Queensland’s economy hostage. I also know local supporters of One Nation and the wider community of Maryborough won’t be intimidated or bullied by these cowards.

The people of Maryborough and Queensland deserve better. One Nation aims to run a candidate in every seat at this state election, and we have a strong focus on regional areas irresponsibly neglected by Labor and the LNP

One Nation won’t be bullied by Labor cowards. We are proud to stand with regional communities like Maryborough.