One Nation Vows to Reverse Lake Name Change Honouring Sikh Founder

A One Nation volunteer stands outside a polling booth during the Farrer by-election in Albury, Australia on May 9, 2026. Jesse Thompson/Getty Images

One Nation has pledged to reverse what it calls “woke” name changes to public assets across Victoria if the conservative-leaning party wins office in the upcoming state election on Nov. 28.

The commitment was made by the rising party’s candidate for Berwick, Michael Piastrino, who is seeking to unseat Liberal heavyweight Brad Battin, the current Shadow Minister for Police and Corrections, and Sport.

“One Nation will restore sanity and common sense. Enough is enough now,” he told The Epoch Times.

A central issue dividing the region is the renaming of Berwick Springs Lake to Guru Nanak Lake by the Labor government in 2024. The change fulfilled a 2018 election commitment by former Premier Daniel Andrews to honour Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith.

The City of Casey, which encompasses Berwick, is home to a rapidly growing Sikh community.

However, a petition to restore the original name has received over 10,000 signatures. Local residents said it was changed to Guru Nanak Lake without proper community consultation, while ratepayers expressed concern over politicians altering established public landmark names across the state.

Piastrino has promised that One Nation would act immediately if elected.

“We’ll change the name from the first day. We’re not going to take it to a consultation like the Liberal Party,” he said. “It’s what the locals want and that’s what we’ll be doing.”

Ann-Marie Hermans, Liberal MP for the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, sponsored a petition opposing the name change in July 2025, supported by Battin, who had launched an earlier petition.

However, when debated in Parliament in October, only Libertarian David Limbrick and One Nation Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell supported the motion.

Meanwhile, the Victorian Liberal Party has pledged to hold a full, open, and genuine community consultation on the lake’s name if it wins government.

Who Is Michael Piastrino?

Piastrino previously ran as the Liberal Party candidate against Andrews in the seat of Mulgrave during the 2022 state election.

He has since left the Liberals because of the party’s internal divisions, describing One Nation as Australia’s only remaining true conservative party.

The award-winning hairdresser and small-business owner said a stronger future for Victoria and Australia begins with education systems and a return to core values.

“A boy is a boy and a girl is a girl. Enough of this gender crap. We just need to restore faith and family values back in this country,” he said.

“We have one flag to raise, which is the Australian flag.”

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