Lyle Shelton has announced he’ll run for the Upper House in the New South Wales state election as an independent.
Shelton is currently the National Director of the Family First Party, but as the party is not registered in New South Wales he’ll be standing as an independent.
Shelton was previously a local government councilor in Queensland before he spent a decade in Canberra working as a lobbyist for the Australian Christian Lobby.
After heading the failed ‘No’ campaign against marriage equality Shelton stood in the 2019 federal election for Cory Bernardi’s Australian Conservatives.
Following the collapse of that party, Shelton found a new political home with Fred Nile’s Christian Democrats in New South Wales. Nile declared Shelton would be his successor when he retired, but the pair had a falling out sooner after the announcement.
Shelton told a online seminar with Family Voice Australia that he’d be standing as an independent but would be backed by Family First’s infrastructure.
“We cant unfortunately register family first in time for the New South Wales election. The New South Wales rules are different to Victoria, we were able to register in a matter of months in Victoria, that’s just the way their Electoral Commission rules are, here in New South Wales they are very strict.” Shelton said.
In the discussion with Family Voice Australia Shelton outlined what he was in favour of in society, and also what he opposed.
“We’re for the family, we’re for marriage, we’re for the flourishing of children, we’re for justice in our society, integrity in politics, all of these good things, truth, beauty and goodness. If we’re for these things in does mean we have to take a stand against the things which are corrosive to those good things.
“That’s while I’ll never apologise for highlighting that which is wrong, that which is in my opinion evil.” Shelton said.
“We need to get on the front foot and say ‘How do eat the Elephant here, do we tackle these problems and cast a more compelling vision that will overcome the evil?'”
“I want to say there’s a better way for society, there’s a better economic plan, there’s a better plan for out energy future, our cost of living, our housing affordability. We can do much better in terms of protecting our children from things that will harm them.
“We can do much better in rebuilding a culture of marriage and family which we know has overwhelming positive benefits. Kids do best whenever they have the opportunity to be raised by their biological mother and father, wherever that’s possible.”
Shelton said the “political correctness’ was curtailing discussions on these important topics because people were afraid of offending people who might be “pursuing alternative lifestyles”.
Shelton recently appeared before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal over an article he published on his blog which discussed drag performers who delivered a Drag Story Time event in a Brisbane library.
The two performers Johnny Valkyrie and Diamond are suing Shelton saying that his post post incited hatred, severe ridicule, and serious contempt toward them. The result of the case is expected to be announced in the coming months.
Graeme Watson
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