Family First will direct preferences away from sitting Liberals in crucial seats of Newland, King

The reborn Family First party has revealed why it will direct preferences away from sitting Liberal MPs in seats that could decide the election.

The reborn Family First party spearheaded by former Labor ministers Tom Kenyon and Jack Snelling will divert preferences away from sitting Liberal MPs in crucial marginal electorates northeast of Adelaide.

The party has also highlighted four Covid-19 vaccine mandate opponents among its candidates as it reveals 34 will contest lower house seats.

Mr Kenyon said his group’s cornerstone issue — and one of his key motivations for re-entering politics — was a controversial failed amendment to the abortion laws that passed the parliament last year.

He said the amendment, moved by Black MP David Speirs, would have prevented abortion after 23 weeks except in very limited circumstances.

“The vote on that Speirs amendment will be the threshold issue for whether we support people with preferences or not,” he said.

Based on that strategy, the party will preference against incumbents Richard Harvey in Newland and Paula Luethen in King, but towards Carolyn Power in Elder.

Mr Kenyon said Family First has “no great expectation to win seats”, but would instead hope to influence the outcome.

Labor minister Tom Kenyon said parliament “chose not to listen to the vast majority” when voting on an amendment to abortion laws last year. Picture: Tait Schmaal

Labor must pick up Newland, where Dr Harvey’s margin is just 0.2 per cent, and neighbouring King, held by Ms Luethen on 0.8 per cent, in order to form government.

In 2014, when Mr Kenyon won a third term as Newland MP and Family First last ran, the party polled eight per cent of first-preference votes in the seat.

“We’ve just got to move one per cent of the vote across and (Dr Harvey’s) in trouble,” he said.

The original Family First’s heartland was in the northeast — it was co-founded by Pastor Andrew Evans, who was based at the-then Paradise Community Church. He was elected to the state upper house in 2002 and retired in 2008.

Mr Evans gave his blessing to the former Labor ministers’ Family First revival, revealed last July.

A former teacher who lost his job because of the vaccine mandate has been named the third candidate on the party’s upper house ticket.

Craig Boyer, one of the litigants in the Supreme Court challenge to mandates, is among two ousted teachers who will stand. The other, Cameron Lock has nominated in the lower house seat of Hammond.

Darryl McCann, a journalist and Pembroke School teacher, will run against former deputy premier Vickie Chapman in Bragg.

In the Adelaide Hills electorate of Heysen, Belinda Nikitins will take on sitting member Josh Teague.

Editor’s note: Earlier versions of this story regarding Dr Markus Nikitins and Mr Daryl McCann were incorrect.

Both Dr Nikitins and his practice are in full compliance with government Covid-19 directives. Mr McCann is vaccinated and works as a teacher at Pembroke School.

The incorrect information was provided, in error, by a Family First party official.