Family First Party - History

History

The party was founded in South Australia in time to contest the 2002 state elections, when former Assemblies of God pastor Dr Andrew Evans became its first Member of the Legislative Council (MLC), winning a seat in the South Australian Legislative Council. A second MLC, pharmaceutical executive Dennis Hood, was elected at the 2006 state election.

In the October 2004 federal election it contested seats all over Australia, generally exchanging preferences with Liberal candidates (but in some seats exchanging preferences with the Australian Labor Party). At that election the party was successful in electing their only federal politician Steve Fielding, Senator for Victoria. He shared the balance of power in the Senate with independent Nick Xenophon and the five Australian Greens in the July 2008 to July 2011 Senate.

The Western Australian branch of the party, officially named the WAFamilyFirst.com Party, was launched in June 2008. It began when sitting MP and former Liberal Party member Dan Sullivan joined as an executive member of the Western Australian State Branch of Family First, giving it official status as a Parliamentary Party. When three former One Nation MPs, attended the public launch it fuelled media speculation that they may try and influence the new party.

In recent years the party has grown with support on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, gaining members through online advertising along with supporters and followers on Twitter.

Although officially eschewing religious labels, many of its candidates and members are from conservative Christian backgrounds. In the 2009/10 financial year party chairman Bob Day made two loans totalling $405,000 to the Family First Party. Its performance, however in which it gained 4 per cent of the vote in several lower house seats and in the South Australian Senate race - was enough to secure it about $400,000 in Commonwealth election funding.