Announcement re Cost of Living Crisis

PRESS RELEASE RE NORMAN MILLER STANDING FOR LEICHHARDT AS INDEPENDENT 27.2.25

Aboriginal pastor and businessman, Munganbana Norman Miller announced today that he is standing in the federal elections as an independent for the north Queensland seat of Leichhardt. Over 16% of its population is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

Miller said, “I am standing because I believe the Labor government has lost its way. In sporting terms, Albo has lost his dressing room. He has lost the confidence of all Australians eg. the dreams and visions of young people to own a home.

Norman Miller in Cairns

“Australia is a nation that fights above its weight, and we need to find that common ground that brings all Australians together e.g. the values our servicemen fought for, Including Indigenous servicemen. We need to restore pride in our nation, with its Judeo-Christian values the west is based on and our democratic values.

“My campaign theme is ‘Govern for all Aussies’ and I will work for all of you. I have a 10-pont plan but the two main things I’m campaigning on are cost of living and antisemitism/social cohesion/safety which is a national crisis.

“Today we find that private health insurance is up 3.73% swallowing up the Reserve Bank’s cash rate cut for 15 million members of health funds.

“The Albanese government campaigned last election on bringing down the cost of living, including a $275 decrease in electricity bills. All we have seen is increased costs -electricity (up 32%), gas (up 36%), food (up 12%), rents (up 17%). Petrol and house prices have also skyrocketed.

Inflation has been so high that we have just had the first interest rate cut in nearly 5 years. In Aboriginal and Torres Islander and country areas, prices are even worse than in the cities.

“This is hitting farmers and businesses really hard as well as Mum and Dad Australians. We are in a per-capita recession and inflation has been fuelled by a high-spending government. Interest rates have gone up 12 times since Labor was elected and mortgage repayments have become unbearable, forcing some families out of their homes. The accompanying stress has affected marriages, families and mental health.

“We have people in our nation who hate our values, who hate our nation, who hate our way of life, so we are in trouble. Rising and rampart antisemitism is one outcome of this, whether it comes from the left or the right. Because our values are based on Judeo-Christian ethics and democracy, our tolerance has emboldened the intolerant and our parliamentarians’ and law enforcement’s lack of will have let us down.

“This antisemitism is threatening our social cohesion and is tearing the fabric of our society apart. We don’t want our children to grow up hating one another or hating one section of our society or even hating our nation. This is unAustralian.

“Youth crime is an increasing problem causing great concern and we have recently had a home invasion in Manunda, Cairns where a woman was allegedly hauled out of bed and raped while she and her partner were held at knifepoint. This has made residents of Manunda and Cairns generally worried about their security.

“Labor’s approach to national security has weakened our nation with cuts to defence spending (now under 2 per cent of GDP).

“Community safety is a concern with over 280 serious criminals being released from immigration detention under this government, with many reoffending. Chinese warships firing in international waters just off our coastline have posed a threat to the safety of passengers in at least 49 domestic flights which have had to change flight patterns.

“Albo and his government have lied to the public saying that there was not enough warning by the Chinese of the live fire when the notification was 90 mins afterwards and a Virgin pilot was the first one to notify the government. Albo would rather risk the life of Australians than upset China.

“Albo and the Labor government would rather get votes from Muslims in western Sydney than deal with the antisemitism crisis in our nation with ASIO boss Mike Burgess saying this week that the biggest national security threat re loss of life in Australia is from antisemitism. When asked by Senator Paterson if the risk was ever this high before re a form of racism, he said no.”