How is it going in the election at the moment? Where are you in the polls, and how's the election campaign running? I want to ask you about the potential of a leaders debate as well in a tick, but tell us how it's going.

Going really well here for us in Victoria.

Now, issues like the ones we just spoke about are, are only playing into One N- One Nation's hands, if I'm honest, because we seem to be the only party of conviction left in this state.

I mean, we saw, you know, the Liberal leader come out yesterday and, and match Labor's, uh, uh, commitment, which further solidus fo- solidifies Victorian's belief that the major parties have become the uni party.

They are in lockstep on all of these divisive issues.

Now, if the, the polls are correct, and I'm not suggesting they are entirely correct, uh, you know, Victoria largely is leaning towards One Nation to, to the numbers of about 20 to 25% of Victorians would like to be represented by One Nation and its value set.

So for One Nation not to be, uh, invited to, to speak at these debates is a detriment to our democratic system.

And what are your thoughts, Warren?

Like, you, you know people now, you know, [laughs] you know the best and the worst of society and you know how, just how important this is to get things right and-

When you have lived and operated in high threat environments, it does instill something inside you to, to lean back into your, your instinctual, uh, behaviors, to identify certain characteristics and certain traits, not only within your environment but within people around you as well.

So that's, that's very prevalent, yeah, absolutely.

But my service itself, I think when you talk about how it changed me, uh, and I did discuss this at the launch a, a, a couple of weeks ago.

There was a pivotal point that, uh, during on that, that operation, um, to, to Iraq.

Mm

... it's, it's redundant.

The point is you establish a certain amount of growth as a person and, and your leadership style, it's cemented through time on the tools doing the job.

We've got a train line at the moment that will be to Keilor East in, in 2031." How do you get the funding to ensure stage three can happen when the state is almost bankrupt?

So we intend to blow the books wide open.

We see this estimated $200 billion debt by '29, 2030 as probably not an accurate figure.

Not one estimate on any project in this state has been accurate in the last decade.

So we surmise that it's probably sufficiently more than that.

If we blow the books wide open, conduct a full audit of Treasury, see where we actually stand, resource allocate according to need.

But those types of infrastructure projects are absolutely necessary.

W- w- where are you robbing Peter to pay Paul?

How do you get the funding to install stage three can happen when the state is almost bankrupt?

So we intend to blow the books wide open.

We see this estimated $200 billion debt by 29, 2030 as probably not an accurate figure.

Not one estimate on any project in this state has been accurate in the last decade.

So we've realised that it's probably sufficiently more than that.

If we blow the books wide open, conduct a full audit of Treasury, see where we actually stand, resell, allocate according to need.

But those types of infrastructure projects are absolutely necessary.

Where are you robbing Peter to pay Paul?

How important is it, do you think, for migrants to assimilate?

It's paramount for a cohesive nation.

Now, we've seen this again in the past where this has worked.

This worked.

A lot of people refer back to, you know, my own ancestry and everybody else, many other people's ancestry from Italians and Greeks and people from various other places around the world in the 60s, even the 20, 10 pound bombs, 20 pound bombs back in the day, contributing to this society.

Because they embraced what we were building here, modern Australian culture.

If you're not prepared to get on board and not only follow the laws, but to actually respect the tenets of democracy and the culture surrounding the background of modern Australia, then you don't belong here.

What measures can a modern government take or a Victorian state government take to actually get assimilation happening on the ground?

How did you feel having your daughter there and your stepson and them to have the courage to stand in front of a media pack? Because that's something normal people would be absolutely bowled over by, let alone people who are talking about the most private parts of their mum and dad.

It absolutely blew me over, to be honest, Paul.

It's very difficult to do these things, as you know, as I know.

I didn't ask them to support me in that respect.

They chose, they asked to come along and be a part of that process.

So, look, I'm incredibly proud of how brave they've been.

I think it gave them an opportunity to get some things off their chest as well that they maybe wouldn't have any other way.

What can you say to them about how mistakes in the past are in the past? And in an extreme question, would you be willing to do a random drug test at any point between now and the election?

But what about the budget? What about the budget fundamentals in Victoria? If you were Premier of Victoria, how would you reduce government spending, which is off the charts?

Look, we're not going to make any irresponsible promises but what we are saying is that we believe, looking at all the cost projections and blowouts of every single project that's been engaged in in Victoria over the last decade, that the books are sufficiently cooked to warrant a full investigation.

Now, you wouldn't buy a business without first allowing your accountant to have a look at the books.

And as I said, mate, we surmise that the books are sufficiently cooked in this state to warrant a full investigation.

Now, we know where some immediate cuts can be made.

First of those being net zero subsidies to the various projects in this state that are sending us broke.

there's an estimated $200 million a year saving right there.

Don't you need to get those names out there?

What can you do to help Victorians, uh, in a, in a s- state where Labor has sent us broke, uh, much of it with money on corrupt big build projects, Warren?

Don't think Victorians are asking for too much.

Labor, successive Labor governments have broken the social contract and they're failing in, in, in all measurable metrics across the state.

Now, I think we need to lean back into the free market economics that made us the most prosperous state in the nation in the first place.

You know, w- we need to abolish this net zero garbage.

That'll save us $200 billion a year in taxpayer subsidies.

Uh, we need to look at farms and small to medium businesses, help them to increa- increase cash flow, and make Victoria an attractive place to invest once again.

I mean, at least Pauline's using One Nation money and not taxpayers' money to fly around the world.

What made you want to go into politics?

Look, my daughter got a little bit older and I was a sole parent by the time she was sort of a teenager.

And I just didn't see that there was the same opportunities that I had at the same age.

She still is with me now at 22 years old.

She has nowhere near the same opportunity in Victoria that I had at 22.

What sort of opportunities? Look, economic opportunity, the freedom to squander that opportunity if you want, all of these things that we took for granted 20-odd years ago.

I think it was a matter of complacency.

So do you think if the popularity of One Nation continues and you win quite a few seats in the parliament, do you think you can turn that around?

What made you want to go into politics?

Look, my daughter got a little bit older and I was a sole parent by the time she was sort of a teenager.

And I just didn't see that there was the same opportunities that I had at the same age.

She still is with me now at 22 years old.

She has nowhere near the same opportunity in Victoria that I had at 22.

What sort of opportunities? Look, economic opportunity, the freedom to squander that opportunity if you want, all of these things that we took for granted 20-odd years ago.

um you know i think it was a matter of complacency we just thought they'd always be there you could start an apprenticeship you could go to uni all these things didn't cost much you know you could move out you could rent a house with your mates at 18 years old if you're both first year apprentices you can't do any of these things anymore if you're a young person

so do you think if the popularity of one nation continues and you win quite a few seats in the parliament do you think you can turn that around

Tell me about what it is about your life that you want to, that puts you in a place where you're not the average poly.

Yeah, look, mate, at the end of the day, I was raised on a potato farm out in Gippsland, became a bricklayer as a young fella, as an apprentice, worked all aspects of that industry in domestic housing, commercial high-rise.

So CFMU back in the day, mate, in the late 90s, early 2000s, it's been a long road since then.

But I didn't join the Army.

I had my daughter when I was quite young, at 21.

I didn't join the Army until I was 29, but I joined as a combat engineer... posted to North Queensland, had multiple operational deployments in combat zones and humanitarian aid disaster relief operations and foreign engagement exercises.

She's spent a long day, mate.

What's it like being a single dad of a little lady who you love very much?