Union official Jeff Drayton to contest Upper Hunter by-election

Labor’s pick to contest the ultra-competitive Upper Hunter by-election has vowed to “fight bloody hard” to protect the coal industry from being vilified.

Labor’s pick to contest the ultra-competitive Upper Hunter by-election has vowed to “fight bloody hard” to protect the coal industry from being vilified, as the party pinned their hopes on legacy energy to wrest control of a seat they’ve never held.

Labor officially unveiled throwback option, former miner and CFMEU official Jeff Drayton, on Tuesday, with the 20-year-union representative declaring: “I’m a coal miner, and a proud coal miner”.

“Every time I open the newspaper or turn the TV on I see someone having a go at coal miners, and that has to stop, and I’m going to fight bloody hard to make sure it does,” the Muswellbrook local added, saying he would look to shore-up mining jobs long-time in the region.

Former miner and CFMEU official Jeff Drayton has been revealed as Labor’s Upper Hunter candidate.

“Surely it’s the case a coalminer can have some security and confidence that their job will still be there in a few years’ time,” he said.

NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay repeatedly said their election campaign would focus on protecting jobs in the area, while looking at alternate energy sources.

“We need to be pursuing renewable energy, we know that, but we also need to make sure we’re protecting jobs in the coal industry,” Ms McKay said.

The announcement leaves One Nation as the only party yet to announce a candidate, with NSW leader Mark Latham refusing to rule himself out of the race.

Mr Latham, who moved to Newcastle just after Christmas, remained tight-lipped when contacted by The Daily Telegraph about whether he would run for the seat, but said it was “important” One Nation had a candidate who could convey the party’s stance on the coal industry.

If Mr Latham was to have an unsuccessful tilt at winning the lower-house seat, he’s position in the Legislative Chamber would still be held open for him.

Mr Latham said they’d look to capitalise on a “significant non-major party vote”, buoyed on by the success of One Nation in the 2019 federal election, where they won 21 per cent of the primary vote.

It comes as Singleton businesswoman and local business chamber president Sue Gilroy was announced as the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party candidate on Monday.

The announcement leaves the Shooters as the only party to field a woman candidate for the ultra-competitive Upper Hunter by-election.

The Nationals last week announced engineer and father-of-four David Layzell as their candidate to contest the seat, which they currently hold by a razor-thin margin of 0.35 per cent after the resignation of former MP Michael Johnsen, who resigned over allegations he raped a sex worker, which he strongly denies.