Newly minted One Nation NSW leader and Cessnock candidate Mike Newman knows the high-stakes world of corporate finance and investment like the back of his hand.
As the former NSW senior trade and investment commissioner for north Asia, he also knows how to cut a deal worth billions of dollars.
But how well does this skill set set him up to represent the 67,815 electors in the Hunter mining town of Cessnock and surrounds?
On the face of it, he's a Pitt Street farmer who has parachuted in the middle of coal country - but these are not ordinary times in politics.
With some polls suggesting One Nation has more than 50 per cent popular support in the electorate, an orange tide looks likely to sweep across Labor's heartland in next year's state election.
If there's any doubt about the legitimacy of the threat, take a look at last weekend's byelection result in the Western Australian seat of Secret Harbour.
Voters delivered an 18.6 per cent two-party preferred swing against Labor in a seat it had held since 1989.
"Secret Harbour has shown us that there aren't any safe seats anymore. It fell because people are desperate for change," Mr Newman said.
"I don't for a second believe that I am entitled to anyone's vote, but if I end up premier I am going to have a lot more leverage over what can happen in Cessnock as opposed to if it remains one of Labor's so-called safe seats."
One Nation founder and president Pauline Hanson introduced the 55-year-old to the political fray in Singleton last Friday.
There's no question about his corporate credentials or fluency in Japanese, as those who attended the media conference can attest.
Mr Newman may have spent the best part of the past 25 years in Japan, but he is no stranger to the Hunter. His previous role involved bringing numerous delegations of potential international investors to the region.
But his new career path will bring far more public scrutiny - for instance, his decision to live 10 minutes outside the electorate has already come under fire.
With his Japanese wife soon to give birth to their fourth child, Mr Newman said the decision was made primarily for privacy.
"There are people trying to make out like I'm living in Tokyo. Nothing could be further from the truth," he said.
The odds of Mr Newman becoming premier lengthened this week when Opposition leader Kellie Sloane ruled out a power-sharing deal with One Nation.
However, Ms Sloane did say she and Mr Newman "seem to agree on a hell of a lot," and suggested she would be willing to work with One Nation on an informal basis.
Regardless, Mr Newman's dual responsibility as the party's state leader will be a double-edged sword.
It will certainly give him a broader profile but, at the same time, he needs to spend as much time as possible establishing himself among the locals.
While current polling might appear to make him a shoo-in to take Cessnock, he isn't underestimating the challenge of taking a seat Labor holds with a 19.7 per cent margin.
"I have spent a lot of time in the Hunter, but I will be listening and learning. God gave me one mouth and two ears so that I can speak less and listen more," he said.
"I will be giving my number to anyone I meet in Cessnock so that they can tell me directly whatever they want."
What those conversations with the punters might involve could be interesting.
For starters, 'wokeism' is dead, as is the Independent Planning Commission and the Net Zero Commission.
Mr Newman took to LinkedIn this week to advise senior bureaucrats from those agencies to start filling out their resumes.
It's all part of a conservative plan to eliminate waste and improve the efficiency of the state's public service.
"When I speak to the cops and tell them that I'm getting rid of pronoun training, they have said 'mate, we're voting for you' because it totally takes away from the jobs that they should be doing," he said.
"My main goal is to get government out of your life, but to be open and sincere about it. If people want to yell and scream or whatever, I understand that. It's something I'm going to have to deal with, but let's have a rational discussion."
Mr Newman is hoping his narrative of economic prosperity built around small government and the region's traditional economic drivers of coal mining and coal-fired power will ultimately win out in coal country.
"For a lot of people, One Nation is sort of a one-trick pony, you know, an anti-immigration party," he said.
"I'm bringing in a whole new narrative here. There is such a fantastic economic story, especially in the Hunter, to bring billions of dollars of investment back into this place and make sure that Cessnock, Maitland, Singleton or wherever in the Hunter is going to be a net beneficiary of that investment."
Behind it all is an industry policy underpinned by cheap coal, gas and nuclear energy - not renewables.
"Let's not beat around the bush, this government has totally bastardised the coal industry by stopping new greenfield coal projects and new exploration," he said.
In the short term, One Nation is calling for Eraring power station to remain open beyond its scheduled 2029 closure date, and plans to build a new coal-fired power station at Muswellbrook.
The recently announced $2.5 billion joint state and federal government plan to ensure Tomago Aluminium can run on clean energy beyond 2028 would also be scrapped.
"I want Tomago to be part of our industrial wherewithal, but we're going to get it in a position where it's going to run on efficient energy, and that's not renewables," Mr Newman said.
There's also a vision to support local train manufacturing, although Mr Newman doesn't support the government's recently announced $12 billion manufacturing plan. Instead, he argues it can be done for less by leveraging international partnerships and export opportunities.
"I have taken investors through UGL at Broadmeadow and shown them the quality of the TIG welding on bogey sets. It's definitely good enough to export," he said.
"I'm saying we could potentially partner with a Korean company like Hyundai Rotem. We could help build the infrastructure with them and lean on a lot of their IP. We could end up having a domestic and international rail manufacturing industry here for a lot less."
Another campaign battlefront will be the challenge of how to deal with the urban growth between Maitland and Cessnock.
The local government areas are expected to add another 50,000 people each by 2041, making the combined population more than 250,000.
Mr Newman supports a study into the feasibility of reintroducing passenger train services to the Coalfields via the South Maitland Rail Corridor.
"Whenever you get down to Keene Street, Darwin Street or around the areas, it's almost like peak hour in Sydney. It's gridlocked," he said.
"I'm absolutely for having a proper study done on introducing a train service. If we had a train service what frequency should it operate at? We need to understand the likely peak demands."
The train is part of Mr Newman's "everything is on the table" for the future of Cessnock.
"I can get your energy bill down and I can get your taxes down, that will make the businesses in Cessnock and the Hunter able to hire more people and be more mobile. That confidence generates its own economic growth," he said.
For a candidate who is largely driven by economic policy, Mr Newman says he is also mindful that the electorate has demographic spectrum ranging from affluence to social disadvantage.
He says he is keen to engage on community needs, in particular relieving pressures on families.
"I'm around some of the schools and I see a lot of divorced or separated parents or situations where both parents have to work long hours because of the cost of living," he said.
"I can't solve people's marital issues, but we can start thinking about how we can help kids who are affected by this. How can we help with schooling and after-school services or get them into sports? I want to hear what people think."
By the end of March next year, Mr Newman and One Nation will know whether voters have embraced the vision, or if the orange bubble has burst.
"You don't have to agree with me on everything. Maybe I can convince you, maybe I can't. But at the same time, everyone will know that I'm being very sincere in how I can deliver," Mr Newman said.
