One Nation candidate Kuljeet Kuar Robinson By Catherine Watson
THE first time I call Kuljeet Kuar Robinson, it's not a good time for an interview. The One Nation candidate for Monash is in the middle of moving from Cranbourne to Warragul.
Later she explains that she’s moved to be closer to her extended family: her brother, her sister and their kids. A psychiatric nurse, she’s still working in Frankston where she has a contract till June or July and then she’ll look for a job in the Warragul area.
She is no stranger to the Monash electorate. Apart from regular visits to Warragul to see family, she and her husband and children often came for drives to Phillip Island and along the coast. Robinson says Kilcunda is her favourite beach in the world.
THE first time I call Kuljeet Kuar Robinson, it's not a good time for an interview. The One Nation candidate for Monash is in the middle of moving from Cranbourne to Warragul.
Later she explains that she’s moved to be closer to her extended family: her brother, her sister and their kids. A psychiatric nurse, she’s still working in Frankston where she has a contract till June or July and then she’ll look for a job in the Warragul area.
She is no stranger to the Monash electorate. Apart from regular visits to Warragul to see family, she and her husband and children often came for drives to Phillip Island and along the coast. Robinson says Kilcunda is her favourite beach in the world.
She migrated from India to Australia 18 years ago. She says she left India because of the corruption and inequality and now she fears the same pattern is repeating in Australia. The poor get poorer. The rich get richer. And big corporations are moving in to gobble up farms and small businesses.
“In a country like India, the middle class is finished. People are very poor or very rich. Here I belong to the middle class here and many other Australians are middle class too. And what happened in India I see now happening in Australia. I feel the middle class is getting destroyed. We'll be left with rich and poor again like India.”
She’s been a fan of Pauline Hanson for many years and joined One Nation last year. “My husband and I talked about their policies, about Australia, about the current situation. I thought their policies align with my own beliefs.
Originally they intended for her husband to stand for One Nation but as a dual citizen of New Zealand and Australia he was ineligible. So Robinson took up the challenge. With a full-time job and three young children, plus the move, she hasn’t had as much time as she would have liked for campaigning but she’s confident One Nation’s policies will win support in Monash. In the 2022 election the party got 11 per cent of primary votes.
This is not Robinson’s first experience of campaigning. She stood for election to the Casey Council last year. She came third in her ward but she says it was a good experience.
“It's not always about winning or losing. For me it was about meeting people to listen to them. I learned a lot.” One thing that sticks with her is the number of elderly people she met who were living alone and intensely lonely. “That broke my heart.”
She actually met Pauline Hanson a couple of weeks ago in Melbourne at a candidates meeting. “She is lovely. She thanked me for standing. She inspires me a lot because I come from a man-dominant country. I really like how she talks, how she's very honest to her people. I love that she's so strong, she's still here after 30 years.”
Robinson's top three issues are all based on her own experience.
Readers’ questions
Do you believe nuclear should be part of Australia's energy mix?
I don't know about that. I haven't done enough research about it.
Do you support the government's emissions reduction target of 43% by 2030?
I actually don't believe in zero emissions. I think we need coal and natural resources for people. Renewables are going to cost a lot.
What would you do to address the housing crisis?
That’s a very big issue for Australia. Our younger generation can't even think about buying a house. It’s shocking. One Nation wants to pause immigration at the moment and I’m with that. We need to give it a pause for some time to sort out our own issues. We need to get Australia back on track.
Should Australia pull out of the AUKUS Alliance?
I’m not aware of that, but I think it should be Australia's own choices about the world. For example, I am a nurse and I had to have four Covid jabs to keep my job. Australians should have a choice if they want vaccinations or not.
Should Australia continue to provide military and other support to Ukraine?
Again, I'm not sure about it, but I want peace for humanity. I can't even watch the news where I see kids or women killed.
Candidate responses have been edited for clarity and length.
One Nation policies: https://www.onenation.org.au/issues
“In a country like India, the middle class is finished. People are very poor or very rich. Here I belong to the middle class here and many other Australians are middle class too. And what happened in India I see now happening in Australia. I feel the middle class is getting destroyed. We'll be left with rich and poor again like India.”
She’s been a fan of Pauline Hanson for many years and joined One Nation last year. “My husband and I talked about their policies, about Australia, about the current situation. I thought their policies align with my own beliefs.
Originally they intended for her husband to stand for One Nation but as a dual citizen of New Zealand and Australia he was ineligible. So Robinson took up the challenge. With a full-time job and three young children, plus the move, she hasn’t had as much time as she would have liked for campaigning but she’s confident One Nation’s policies will win support in Monash. In the 2022 election the party got 11 per cent of primary votes.
This is not Robinson’s first experience of campaigning. She stood for election to the Casey Council last year. She came third in her ward but she says it was a good experience.
“It's not always about winning or losing. For me it was about meeting people to listen to them. I learned a lot.” One thing that sticks with her is the number of elderly people she met who were living alone and intensely lonely. “That broke my heart.”
She actually met Pauline Hanson a couple of weeks ago in Melbourne at a candidates meeting. “She is lovely. She thanked me for standing. She inspires me a lot because I come from a man-dominant country. I really like how she talks, how she's very honest to her people. I love that she's so strong, she's still here after 30 years.”
Robinson's top three issues are all based on her own experience.
- The rising cost of living. That’s everywhere. My family is definitely affected.
- Supporting small businesses. “My husband was making sheds and pergolas. He was a sole trader. And the business was shut down because he couldn't pay his insurance and taxes. He lost everything now. There are many, many other people who have lost small businesses.”
- The lack of mental health facilities in the area. She works in an acute mental health ward In Frankston and was shocked to find the Warragul hospital doesn’t have a mental health ward despite a rapidly growing population. A new hospital in West Gippsland – with an acute mental health ward - is one of her top priorities.
Readers’ questions
Do you believe nuclear should be part of Australia's energy mix?
I don't know about that. I haven't done enough research about it.
Do you support the government's emissions reduction target of 43% by 2030?
I actually don't believe in zero emissions. I think we need coal and natural resources for people. Renewables are going to cost a lot.
What would you do to address the housing crisis?
That’s a very big issue for Australia. Our younger generation can't even think about buying a house. It’s shocking. One Nation wants to pause immigration at the moment and I’m with that. We need to give it a pause for some time to sort out our own issues. We need to get Australia back on track.
Should Australia pull out of the AUKUS Alliance?
I’m not aware of that, but I think it should be Australia's own choices about the world. For example, I am a nurse and I had to have four Covid jabs to keep my job. Australians should have a choice if they want vaccinations or not.
Should Australia continue to provide military and other support to Ukraine?
Again, I'm not sure about it, but I want peace for humanity. I can't even watch the news where I see kids or women killed.
Candidate responses have been edited for clarity and length.
One Nation policies: https://www.onenation.org.au/issues