Hatton calls for an independent team take on ‘NSW stink’

Hatton calls for an independent team take on ‘NSW stink’

Independent candidate John Hatton has called for people of principle to join his independent team to fight against what he has labelled the corruption of NSW parliament.

“I’m coming back because of the stench,” Mr Hatton said.

“The whole system is corrupted and it stinks to high heaven.

“I cannot sit back whilst I see everything I and the other NSW Independents fought for is whittled away.”

Mr Hatton said his independent team intends to stand a full ticket of 21 candidates in the upcoming election.

There are currently 93 seats in the NSW Upper House of which 6 are held by independents. Mr Hatton said he would like to stand a candidate in each of the other 87 seats.

“We need principled people to take on this task, we need them to shake it all up,” he said.

“And if I manage to get a seat you better believe I’ll do exactly that.”

Mr Hatton said recent events like the sell-off of state-held electricity assets were a demonstration of the lack of accountability and abuse of power by the government.

“Parliamentary democracy has been hijacked,” he said.

“Losses and liabilities are massive. The ongoing costs to taxpayers and projected rises in electricity costs are crushing.”

But Mr Hatton said he hadn’t seen anything from the other parties to convince him they would be any better.

“The Opposition won’t reveal its hand,” Mr Hatton said.

“The Leader of the Opposition simply points to an expensive judicial inquiry after the election and after the sale.”

At the moment Mr Hatton and campaign organiser Ian Scandrett are the only candidate announcements. The remaining 19 candidates will be announced shortly.

Mr Hatton was a Member for the South Coast for 22 years.

His work fighting corruption resulted in the Wood Royal Commission into Police Corruption, in 1994, and other major inquiries which exposed corruption in the judiciary and several government departments.

He has made an open call for other principled independents to become members of his team.

“We want people who stand for something and won’t back down from a fight,” he said.

“I don’t care if they disagree with me.

“All I care about is that they are passionate and principled.”

Many are predicting a bloodbath in next month’s election for NSW state Labor after numerous scandals and policy debacles.