Former LNP maverick Gerard Rennick takes aim at major parties with bold Senate bid

Dumped LNP Senator Gerard Rennick returns with his People First Party vowing bold tax reform and housing solutions, after his former party preferenced him under One Nation on How to Vote Cards.

Former LNP senator Gerard Rennick says he is not concerned that his former party has preferenced him under One Nation on some How To Vote cards. Picture: Contributed

Former Liberal National Party senator Gerard Rennick has launched a fresh tilt for the Senate under his newly formed People First Party, claiming to offer bold solutions to Australia’s cost-of-living and housing crises.

Dumped by the LNP despite backing from federal colleagues, Senator Rennick is positioning himself as a grassroots alternative, promising tax reform and financial freedom for younger Australians.

Despite being preferenced below parties including One Nation on some LNP how-to-vote cards, the former LNP Senator said he was not focused on political rivalries.

“I don’t care where I’m preferenced. I care about real solutions that help Australians and that’s what People First is all about.”

The Queensland-based senator rose to prominence for his outspoken views on vaccine mandates and government spending during the COVID pandemic.

But after being dropped to make way for a lesser-known state candidate on the LNP ticket, he has since distanced himself from the major party machine.

“It’s a slap in the face to the grassroots members who supported me,” he told Brisbane radio.

“I had the backing of Peter Dutton and most of the federal parliamentary team.”

Senator Rennick’s new party, People First, is running Senate candidates in every mainland state and 20 House of Representatives candidates — 15 in Queensland and five interstate — despite only being registered late last year.

“We’ve done this on minimal time and resources. Imagine what we could do with full support,” he said.

A key plank of Rennick’s campaign is sweeping tax reform, including making superannuation voluntary and raising the tax-free threshold to $40,000.

He argues that mandatory super is locking young Australians out of the housing market by diverting their savings.

“If you’re earning $80,000, your last $10,000, which could go to a house deposit, is being swallowed up by super. That’s 96 per cent gone,” he said.

He also wants to curb foreign corporate tax avoidance, claiming Australia’s tax treaties allow multinationals to shift profits offshore, eroding the domestic revenue base.

He slammed both Labor and the Coalition for failing to act on tax loopholes and foreign ownership concerns.

“Pfizer made $1.4 billion in sales here in 2021 but legally moved $1 billion offshore to Ireland, costing us $200 million,” he said.

“They don’t understand how the tax system works. I’ve raised these issues directly with Josh Frydenberg, Jim Chalmers, Treasury, and the ATO but no one’s serious about reform.”

In addition to tax, he is calling for the government to issue infrastructure bonds to fund nation-building projects such as dams, power stations, and tunnels, rather than relying on foreign debt.