Family First Party

The Family First Party is an Australian political party based in South Australia, founded on 28 July 2021 by former state Labor ministers Jack Snelling and Tom Kenyon. As of March 2022, Lyle Shelton is the party's National Director. History The Family First Party previously existed as a political party in Australia, founded in 2002 by Andrew Evans, who won a seat in the South Australian Legislative Council at the state election that year. In 2017 it merged with the Australian Conservatives which dissolved in 2019. On 28 July 2021, Jack Snelling and Tom Kenyon both left the Labor Party, forming the Family First Party. Upon founding the party, Snelling has said that "we are very concerned about religious freedom and attempts to restrict that freedom", and that "I think that particularly in the last few years the political environment has shifted significantly in both the major parties where you simply cannot prosecute arguments about religious liberty". Both The Australian and ABC News noted that the Liberal Marshall government in South Australia was led by moderates who had supported reforms relating to abortion and euthanasia. Snelling has cited "moves to restrict the rights of hospitals and clinicians to refuse to participate in abortions and euthanasia" as a concern.