One Nation Candidate Proposes Farm Labor for Drug Offenders

A candidate for the One Nation party in Victoria, Australia, has put forward a proposal to send drug-addicted offenders to work on farms to combat labor shortages and assist in their rehabilitation. Chris Burson, a former Victoria Police officer and Australian Defence Force veteran, voiced this idea during a 2022 podcast appearance.

Burson, who is also a City of Greater Geelong councillor and a One Nation candidate for Western Victoria Region, expressed concern over the cycle of addiction, petty crime, and imprisonment experienced by many heroin addicts he encountered during his police career. "We're paying a fortune for these guys to go to jail to then come out and recommit offences," he stated on the podcast.

Instead of incarceration, Burson suggested that inmates with drug addiction could be relocated to regional areas facing a deficit of workers and be employed in agriculture. He noted the significant labor needs in rural areas, mentioning efforts to attract migrant workers for fruit picking and similar tasks. "We've got a massive issue out in the regions with employment," he said, adding, "They can't get enough workers, so they're trying to get migrants over to do all the fruit picking and do all this sort of stuff."

He clarified that his proposal was not for traditional "chain gangs" but envisioned offenders participating in farm work as part of rehabilitation programs and to make amends to victims. "I'm not against it. I mean, not an actual chain gang, but if you have them out picking fruit, doing whatever, it gets them away from the environment that they're in," Burson explained. He also suggested that rehabilitation professionals could engage with these individuals to help them improve their lives.

Burson argued that the current prison system often fails to address the root causes of addiction, suggesting it can instead lead to further criminal activity. He proposed that work programs could be combined with mentoring from individuals in recovery and create opportunities for long-term employment. "If they enjoy it, they might even move rurally and then keep working there and have an actual job," he said, noting that many offenders have no prior work experience or support systems.

He also suggested that earnings from such programs could be used by offenders to pay off fines and compensate victims, addressing the issue of unpaid fines due to lack of employment. "They get fined, but they never pay it because they never have a job," he said. "If they can work their fines off whilst also doing rehab, then that's doing something to get ahead."

Burson acknowledged that this was not a formal policy but stemmed from frustration with the ineffectiveness of current approaches. "What we're doing right now isn't working," he stated. "So why are we not looking at what other people are doing around the world to try and do best practice that's worked elsewhere?"

While this proposal is not currently part of One Nation Victoria's official platform, the party's policy includes expanding existing court programs for drug offenders, increasing access to treatment, strengthening community correction orders, and developing a 'H.E.L.P.' program focused on health, employment, learning, and purpose. The party advocates for supervised community-based rehabilitation as a potentially more effective and less costly alternative to imprisonment for suitable offenders.

These comments follow a recent statement by One Nation Victorian leader Warren Pickering, who disclosed his past use of drugs in his twenties before turning his life around through military service. Pickering admitted to using speed, methamphetamine, ecstasy, and marijuana in his youth.