Australian Family Party

Family Matters

South Australia

Remembering Al Capone

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al-caponeIn the 1920s, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. He was notorious for corrupting the windy city with everything from bootlegging (illegal liquor) to prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed ‘Easy Eddie’. Eddie was Capone’s lawyer for a good reason – he was very good. In fact, Eddie’s skill at legal manoeuvring kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid Eddie very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie and his family occupied a walled mansion with live-in help and all the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago city block.

Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocities that went on around him. But Eddie did have one soft spot – a family he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars and a good education. Money was no object. And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn’t give his son – a good name and a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. He wanted to rectify the wrongs he had done, so decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al Capone. He decided he would clean up his own tarnished name and offer his son some integrity. To do this he would have to testify against The Mob which he knew would cost him dearly.

Not long after he testified against them, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. In his pockets were a rosary, a cross, a religious medallion, and a poem he had clipped from a magazine. The poem read:

“The clock of life is wound but once and no man has the power,
To tell just when the hands will stop – at late or early hour.
Now is the only time you own, so live and love and toil with will,
And place no faith in time, for the clock may soon be still.”

Remembering Butch O’Hare

butch-ohareWorld War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare, a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier the USS Lexington in the South Pacific.

One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His squadron leader told him to return to the carrier, so he reluctantly dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the Lexington, he saw something that turned his blood cold – a squadron of Japanese aircraft speeding its way towards the American fleet.

His colleagues were away on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenceless. He couldn’t reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet, nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do, he must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, Butch dived into the formation of Japanese planes with wing-mounted 50 calibre guns blazing, attacking one surprised enemy plane after another. He wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was used up. Undaunted, he continued the assault diving at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in the hope of damaging as many as possible, rendering them unfit to fly.

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch O’Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival, he relayed the events surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera, mounted on his plane, told the tale and showed the extent of Butch’s daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had destroyed five enemy aircraft.

This event took place on February 20, 1942 and for that action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of WWII, and the first naval aviator to win the Medal of Honor. A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29.

His hometown would not allow the memory of their hero to fade, and today O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to his courage.

So, if you ever find yourself at O’Hare International Airport, give some thought to visiting Butch’s memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It is located between Terminals 1 and 2.

So, what do Al Capone and Butch O’Hare have in common?

Butch O’Hare was Easy Eddie’s son.

Redemption stories such as these never fail to inspire – provided the lessons are heeded.

In the wake of the recent South Australian election, several clear lessons emerge.

Multiple scandals, leadership churn (four leaders in four years), defections, and internal divisions left the Liberal Party in South Australia with a badly tarnished brand.

In a decisive rejection that stripped them of relevance, voters delivered at the ballot box the equivalent of that ‘blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago street’. The clock had stilled.

The real test now is whether the Liberals will heed the poem’s advice: ‘Toil with will, place no faith in time’, and choose the hard road of a good name over the easy road of power.

They say it’s the grit that forms the pearl. Suffering, difficulties, trials, crises are the grit that leads to the pearl.

The Liberal Party needs to embrace the humiliation of their election defeat and do whatever it takes to make it a fitter vessel for voters to support.

It is what turned Easy Eddie into the father of a hero whose memorial still stands to this day.

As for the Australian Family Party, we were swept away by the political tsunami that is One Nation.

One Nation, which has polled, on average, 4 per cent for the past 16 years in South Australia, polled 24 per cent of the vote. A 20 per cent increase – or 260,000 more voters than at the previous election!

A huge number of people who would normally vote for one of the parties on the Right (Liberals, Nationals, Christian parties, Libertarians, etc) went over to One Nation.

There is no doubt that what One Nation has done in South Australia will reverberate around Australia. And they will more than likely do the same at the Victorian election in November, the NSW election next March, and then the big one – the Federal election in 2028.

Having said all that, here at the Australian Family Party, we did everything we could to present an alternative on the Right side of politics – as did other minor parties. All of us succumbed to the One Nation juggernaut.

Thank you to everyone who helped with the campaign – candidates, volunteers and supporters all.

Those who were able to attend the election night function at the Rydges would have enjoyed good company and an upbeat atmosphere.

Special thanks to our campaign partner – Gerard Rennick’s People First Party – for sponsoring the evening.

It was great working with you all on this campaign.

 

State Dogged by Political Circus

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duckA political candidate was once asked where he stood on the issue of duck shooting.

“I have friends who are duck shooters”, the aspiring politician answered.

“And I have friends who are against duck shooting”, he continued.

“And I always stand by my friends”.

They say that if you can’t ride two horses at the same time, you don’t belong in the circus.

The campaign trail can be a hazardous place for candidates. Sometimes all it takes is one slip and your election prospects are finished. The circus tent collapses on top of you.

Fortunately, no such calamity has yet befallen us. But then again, there’s still a week to go!

As for the latest from the campaign trail, below is the first of a series of half page ads appearing in the Sunday Mail and Advertiser.

At the last State election, we drew box J on the all-important Legislative Council (Upper House) ballot paper.

As we know, J is the 10th letter of the alphabet.

Readers may recall my interest in Hebrew letters and in particular my reference to the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, ‘Yud’.

Yud is a very important letter in Hebrew because it is the first letter of the name of God, YHWH: Yud – Heh – Vav – Heh.

In the Federal election that followed the State election, we drew the letter E, the 5th letter of the alphabet, which in Hebrew is Heh. Heh is the second letter of the name of God.

I mentioned at the time that we seemed to be spelling out God’s name “– just two more elections to go …”, I said.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, in this election we’ve drawn the letter F, the 6th letter of the alphabet, which in Hebrew is Vav – the third letter in the name of God.

In Hebrew, the letter Vav is a vertical line, symbolising the connection between heaven and earth. It’s the Jacob’s Ladder of the Hebrew alphabet. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth …”. In six days. The six days of creation. Vav is the sixth letter.

One more election, one more letter and I’m relocating to Jerusalem …!

Anyway, back to Adelaide and the State election.

For this election we have done the hard yards, put in the hard work, refined all our policies, put together a great team of 50 candidates – 47 in the House of Assembly and three in the Legislative Council – and negotiated some good preference arrangements.

All our How-to-Vote cards are listed here.

We have peace about all this.

Across the globe, however, there is little in the way of peace. In fact, there is havoc. Shakespeare’s ‘dogs of war’ are growling and Australia will not escape at least some of this havoc.

Saturday March 21 is election day. Without wanting to labour the point, we can’t let our State go to the dogs.

A toxic algal bloom has blighted the South Australian coastline and shows no sign of disappearing any time soon. The Malinauskas government is copping much of the blame for not acting when the bloom was first reported.

The Premier’s 2022 election promise to ‘fix ambulance ramping’ has not been fulfilled – in fact, ambulance ramping is worse now than it was in 2022.

State taxpayers are expected to lose $500 million on the government’s green hydrogen debacle.

State debt is climbing towards $50bn and South Australia, once considered the nation’s home-ownership capital, is now ranked the 2nd least affordable in Australia.

And the government has introduced legislation into the South Australian parliament enshrining an Aboriginal Voice, despite South Australians voting overwhelmingly ‘No’ in the Voice referendum.

In ‘The Adventure of Silver Blaze’, one of the Sherlock Holmes short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes is sent to investigate the disappearance – on the eve of an important race – of a champion racehorse called Silver Blaze and the murder of its trainer, John Straker.

In what has become a famous exchange known as ‘the curious incident of the dog in the night-time’ between Scotland Yard’s Inspector Gregory and Sherlock Holmes, Gregory asks Holmes, “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”

“Yes”, Holmes replied, “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time”.

“But the dog did nothing in the night-time”, said Gregory.

“That was the curious incident”, Holmes replied.

That the dog didn’t bark told Holmes that the person who took the racehorse was known to the dog. The thief was not a stranger. It was an inside job.

This exchange has become symbolic of the need to speak up, or ‘bark’, when something is amiss.

Rest assured, here at the Australian Family Party we will not hesitate to bark.

Early voting starts on Saturday 14 March and goes through to Friday 20 March. All Early Voting Centre locations are listed here.

Each electorate has between 22,000 – 25,000 voters. Half of them vote on Election Day, the other half vote early.

While each electorate has around 14 Polling Places on Election Day, there is only one Early Voting Centre per electorate (although some far-flung rural electorates may have more than one).

Therefore, it is possible to get a how-to-vote card into the hands of half the voters at the one early-voting location.

So, if you have an hour or so to spare between 14th – 20th March we’d love to hear from you.

Thank you for your support.

Authorised by Bob Day, Australian Family Party, 22 Grenfell Street, Adelaide SA 5000

Seven Voices, One Clear Choice

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seven voicesAs the late Texas politician Robert Strauss used to say, “You can fool some of the people all of the time – and they’re the ones you need to concentrate on”.

Very funny.

In politics, the golden rule is: whatever result you get, that is what was intended.

Former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson once said, “We live in an age of astonishing disengagement by far too many good citizens in the life of our nation. I suspect that without compulsory voting we’d have up to half the electorate not bothering to vote at all.”

If we apply the golden rule to John Anderson’s observation, then citizens being disengaged from politics is exactly what is intended. Keep people in the dark. Do things that turn them off politics.

Take parliament’s Question Time, for example.

Not only do our politicians behave appallingly, they take our money and our freedoms and say they will act in our best interests. But instead, they act in their own interest and the interests of the rent-seeking cartels. No wonder people are disillusioned and disengaged.

This world is not a playground; it is a battleground. The troubling aspect, however, is the consistency of the forces on that battleground.

Whether it’s rampant antisemitism, transgenderism or climate activism, the participants all seem to follow the same script – regardless of where they are in the world or how the issue affects them.

Most people, of course, are not into confrontation and therefore choose to opt out, leaving the world to be ‘ruled by those who show up’ as the old saying goes. The problem is that those who show up do not think the same as the ‘good citizens’ John Anderson had in mind.

The activists want everyone to be like them and embrace their views on everything from morality to marriage to matters of life and death. If you object, they say that “If you don’t shut up, we’ll shut you up”.

The Commonwealth Parliament, supported by both major parties, recently rammed through the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026.

As Liberty Itch’s Steve Holland reports, “The subsequent political fallout for the so-called ‘Liberal’ Party comes as no surprise.

“The Liberal Party is no longer the liberal political movement it once claimed to be.

“Justifiably, the Nationals aren’t interested in a coalition partner that has abandoned its principles by supporting laws that are completely antithetical to its stated values and platform.

“It is a bitter betrayal by those who claim to safeguard our liberties.

“While primary blame lies with the Labor Government for concocting such appalling laws, the Liberal Party’s complicity is especially disgraceful given its supposed commitment to free speech and individual freedom. As is often the case, hypocrisy amplifies the backlash.”

The world is polarised like never before.

As we’ve said on our website previously, the (political) centre is disappearing. Public policy is becoming something of a gym barbell with weights on each end and a long bar between them. People are either at one end of the political spectrum or the other.

Science was once similar to mathematics in that there was general agreement on the facts.

Not anymore.

‘Follow the science’ is looking less like mathematics and more like economics, with one side of politics pushing their version of the science and the other side pushing theirs.

So, what is the answer?

As we have argued from the outset, ‘family, faith and freedom’ are the best bulwarks against division and authoritarianism. We must stand firm.

In the forthcoming South Australian State election, the Australian Family Party has nominated candidates in every House of Assembly seat (47 in total) together with three in the Legislative Council – a total of 50 candidates.

We have a great team – young and old, male and female, professional and trades – a wonderful cross-section of society which is such a contrast to the current political class.

And the support we have received from other minor parties has been phenomenal.

Six political parties who have decided not to contest this election have pledged their support for the Australian Family Party.

That’s seven parties standing together and putting South Australia first.

Seven voices, one clear choice for South Australia.

Thank you for your support.

Authorised by Bob Day, Australian Family Party, 22 Grenfell Street, Adelaide SA 5000

Soccer, Sin and a State Election

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soccerThe story is told of the UN Secretary-General proposing that, in the interests of global peace and harmony, all the world’s soccer players should come together and form one ‘United Nations Global Soccer Team.’

“That’s a great idea!” said his deputy, “but who would we play against?”

“Israel, of course”, the Secretary-General replied.

There is no mention in the Bible of Adam and Eve ever doing anything to provoke or anger Satan.

Adam and Eve were just minding their own business and enjoying all the benefits that God had provided to this perfect couple.

So why did the serpent set out to destroy their paradise?

It is not uncommon for someone who can’t hurt an enemy to hurt someone close to their enemy instead.

Mankind’s battle between good and evil may have started in the Garden of Eden – Eve biting the apple and Adam following suit – but the real battle started before that, with Satan’s revenge campaign against God.

Even before Abraham became the first Jew, the conflict was there.

As US commentator Dinesh D’Souza puts it, “Plan A was to overthrow God. When that failed, Plan B was implemented – find the things that God cares about and ruin them instead.”

The Magnificent Seven

magnificent-seven

The 2026 State election has been officially called, and I am pleased to report that six other political parties have pledged their support to the Australian Family Party.

None of the following parties are running in this election – all are supporting our campaign:

“I am pleased to announce that People First is supporting the Australian Family Party at the forthcoming SA election.
If we want government to be for the people, then it has to be by the people.
Building a strong grassroots movement is vital if we are to make that happen.
It is our intention to formally merge our two parties after the election.”—Gerard Rennick, President, People First Party

“The HEART Party is proud to endorse and support the Australian Family Party in the South Australian State Election on 21 March 2026.
As a party committed to Health, Accountability, Transparency, Individual Rights, Environmental stewardship, and a strong, thriving Economy, we believe the Australian Family Party reflects these shared values and is well placed to represent them in the South Australian Parliament.
As the HEART Party is not contesting this election, we strongly encourage our members, supporters, and all South Australians who share our values to cast their vote for the Australian Family Party.”—Michael O’Neill, President, HEART Party

“South Australian Election–DLP Supports Australian Family Party.
South Australian DLP members and supporters and others who are committed to traditional Christian values are urged to vote for the Australian Family Party in the state election on Saturday 21 March 2026.”—Richard Howard, National Secretary, DLP

“So many smaller parties getting behind Bob Day’s Australian Family Party is magnificent! It is a testimony to both Bob’s standing in the political realm, and the Australian Family Party’s genuine pro-Australia, pro-South Australia policies.”—Rodney Culleton, Party Leader, Great Australian Party

“We are committed to supporting the Australian Family Party at the upcoming South Australian State Election.”
Whatever we, as a party, can do – including encouraging our members to support the Australian Family Party at pre-polls, polling booths, scrutineering and more – we will do.”—Glenn O’Rourke, National Director, Australian Federation Party

“The Libertarian Party SA is proud to formally endorse Bob Day for the upcoming South Australia state election on March 21. Bob brings a wealth of experience and a tireless commitment to individual liberty, free markets, and limited government”.—Libertarian Party SA

The Australian Family Party will be running candidates in every Lower House seat (47 in total) plus three in the Legislative Council – a total of 50 candidates.

With One Nation grabbing most of the headlines and the Liberals in disarray, SA’s Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas is now in an awkward position.

He has enjoyed extremely high personal approval ratings since becoming Premier and a 2025 YouGov poll showed the Premier’s net satisfaction rating at +70, a phenomenal number. Labor’s two-party preferred was also a whopping 67–33!

Malinauskas has dominated the news cycle with his ‘bread and circuses’ strategy of big-name events such as golf tournaments, beach volleyball competitions, motor sport carnivals and Katy Perry-type concerts.

Over recent months, however, a number of more substantial policy areas have begun to chip away at the Premier’s seemingly impenetrable veneer.

A toxic algal bloom has blighted the South Australian coastline and shows no sign of disappearing any time soon. His government is copping much of the blame for not acting when the bloom was first reported.

His key 2022 election promise to ‘fix ambulance ramping’ has not been fulfilled – in fact, ambulance ramping is worse now than it was in 2022!

State taxpayers are expected to lose $500 million on his government’s green hydrogen debacle.

State debt is climbing towards $50bn and South Australia, once considered the nation’s home-ownership capital, is now ranked the 2nd least affordable in Australia!

And he has introduced legislation into the South Australian parliament enshrining an Aboriginal Voice, despite South Australians voting overwhelmingly ‘No’ in the Voice referendum.

All of these add up and eventually reach a tipping point.

That tipping point could well be election day.

Can you help?

Are you available to do some letterboxing in your area or hand out some how-to-vote cards for us on election day – or better still, at early polling stations? If so, please contact us here.

Thank you for your support.

Authorised by Bob Day, Australian Family Party, 22 Grenfell Street, Adelaide SA 5000

Aussie Osborne – AUKUS 2026 Part 2

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Yesterday, in Part 1 of Aussie Osborne – AUKUS 2026, we looked at connecting Adelaide’s new maritime defence precinct with the northern Adelaide plains via a new gateway bridge over the Port River. An industry sector this size we said was going to need a massive amount of defence procurement support, including manufacturing, commercial, retail, education, housing, health, and other professional services. In Part 2 of our proposal, we connect these support industries with long-haul freight infrastructure. One thing is for sure – there will be a lot more freight and a lot more heavy vehicles on our roads as a result of this announcement.

“Fatal crash closes freeway”

This has become an all too familiar news headline in Adelaide.

Whether it’s taking children to school, taking farm produce to markets or long-haul interstate freight, road safety is paramount.

My first project when I began working at the SA Highways Dept in 1969 was the new SE Freeway. To be fair to the government of the day, when it designed the freeway, it did not expect the level of residential development to take place that has occurred since. The Adelaide Hills has become one of the fastest growing urban areas in the State and commuter traffic on the SE Freeway has increased exponentially. Long-haul freight transport has become incompatible with that level of commuter traffic. Truck drivers dislike the current SE Freeway situation as much as commuters.

A solution is available. A solution that takes trucks and semi-trailers off the freeway, off Portrush Road, off Hampstead Road, off Grand Junction Road and will get freight to the shipyards and new northern precinct quicker, safer and cheaper.

First let’s put things into perspective. Long-haul freight transport on the SE Freeway is mainly coming from Melbourne – a 740km journey. A new north-bound road from Murray Bridge, connecting to the existing Sturt Highway at the new $200m Truro by-pass would deliver freight to the northern Adelaide development precinct by-passing the SE Freeway and Adelaide’s suburban roads completely.

While adding approximately 70 kms to the overall journey – less than 10% of the distance from Melbourne – this non-stop route would not increase the journey-time. Adelaide’s suburban road congestion and approximately 30 sets of traffic lights between the Tollgate and Port Adelaide reduces freight transport to a snail’s pace.

According to the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (Report No 148), the cost of building new highways in Australia is approximately $5m per lane per kilometre. A new 90 km four-lane Murray Bridge–Truro highway would therefore cost around $2bn. The safety benefits of such a project however would be incalculable and the cost of building the road would be recouped through increased productivity, fewer accidents and less suburban road maintenance.

To summarise these two Aussie Osborne – AUKUS 2026 reports, the new Osborne nuclear submarine announcement has changed everything.

The new maritime defence project is a $100bn endeavour spread over the next 30+ years. Again, to put things into perspective, spending a small portion of that amount to ensure the project works properly makes good sense. A new gateway bridge and a new Murray Bridge to Truro connection should be included in the overall cost of the maritime defence project.

As stated in Part 1 of this proposal, SA has been blessed with two great infrastructure visionaries in (former Premier) Tom Playford and (former Commissioner of Highways) Keith Johinke. Perhaps we could name the above infrastructure projects after each of them.

Thank you for your support.

Christmas 2025

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christmas-2025Christmas story No. 1:
A local primary school was rehearsing its annual Christmas Nativity play.

Roles for all the usual parts – Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the angels … were all allocated – except for the role of the inn keeper.

The student scheduled to play the part of the innkeeper took ill, so the role fell to Henry.

Henry was a special needs student. He was a kind boy, big for his age and had a loud voice. And he so wanted to be in the play.

He rehearsed his lines, ‘There’s no room! Be gone!’ over and over.

On the night of the play, all was going to according to plan – until, that is, the scene where Joseph and Mary knock on the inn keeper’s door.

‘Do you have any rooms?’ Joseph asked.

‘There’s no room! Be gone!’ boomed Henry.

Joseph implored the inn keeper, ‘We have been travelling all day. My wife is expecting a baby at any time now and she is very tired’.

‘There’s no room! Be gone!’ he replied.

The school had chosen its best actors to play the parts of Joseph and Mary.

They paused, dejected, their faces looking despondent. As they turned and began to slowly walk away, tears began to well in Henry’s eyes …

‘Wait! Come back!’ he shouted, ‘you can stay in my room!’

Despite roars of laughter, the audience got the true message of Christmas that year.

Christmas story No. 2:
Attending primary school in the 1930s, my father told me of the time he returned to school after the Christmas holidays one year and the teacher asked all the students in the class what each of them had received for Christmas.

One by one, and with great delight, the children described the wonderful presents they had received.

Until, that is, it came to my dad’s friend Maurice.

“And what did you get for Christmas, Maurice?”, asked the teacher.

“I didn’t receive anything Miss”, Maurice replied solemnly.

“What, nothing?”, quizzed the teacher gently. “So, what did you do over Christmas?”, she asked.

“Well Miss, my family is Jewish, and my father has a toy shop, so every Christmas Day we go down to the shop and hold hands and look up at all the empty shelves and sing ‘What A Friend We Have in Jesus’.”

Thus began my father’s admiration of the Jewish people. Their creativity, their intelligence, their courage and, of course, their sense of humour.

In our Newsletters this year we have covered everything from Bondi to Beersheba, from Bob Hawke to Bob Dylan, from Donald Horne to Donald Trump, from Tom Cruise to Tom Playford, from Voltaire to Voltaic cells – and a whole lot more in between.

With so many highs and lows this year, how should we end the year?

SA State election
The forthcoming SA State election took a dramatic turn a fortnight ago with the resignation of Liberal Leader Vincent Tarzia and the election of Ashton Hurn.

As it happens, Ashton Hurn is my local member. She is highly regarded.

With the Liberals in disarray since being turfed out of office at the last election, SA’s Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas has had a dream run.

He has enjoyed extremely high personal approval ratings since becoming Premier in March 2022 with a May 2025 YouGov poll showing the Premier’s net satisfaction rating at +70, a phenomenal number. Labor’s two-party preferred was also a whopping 67–33!

Malinauskas has dominated the news cycle throughout the year with his ‘bread and circuses’ strategy of big-name events such as golf tournaments, beach volleyball competitions, motor sport carnivals and Katy Perry-type concerts.

Over recent months, however, a number of more substantial policy areas have begun to chip away at the Premier’s seemingly impenetrable veneer.

A toxic algal bloom has blighted the South Australian coastline, and his government is copping much of the blame for not acting when the bloom was first reported.

His key 2022 election promise to ‘fix ambulance ramping’ has not been fulfilled – in fact, ambulance ramping is worse now than it was in 2022.

His government’s green hydrogen debacle is projected to cost state taxpayers nearly $500 million.

State debt is climbing towards $50bn and South Australia, once considered the nation’s home-ownership capital, is now ranked the 2nd least affordable in Australia!

And he has introduced legislation into the South Australian parliament enshrining an Aboriginal Voice, despite the state voting overwhelmingly ‘No’ in the Voice referendum. Every electorate in South Australia voted ‘No’.

All of these add up and eventually reach a tipping point.

Which brings us back to new Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn, who now enjoys an underdog status that politicians can only dream of.

As with the Melbourne Cup, where we line up our best horses, put the heaviest weights on them and then cheer like mad when an outsider gets up and beats them, Australians – both the public and the media – love a David and Goliath, rags to riches, wooden spoon to premiership story.

It’s been said, ‘dog bites man’ isn’t a story. ‘Man bites dog’ is also no longer a story. But man dogged by bytes – now that’s the digital story of the year!

And superstar Malinauskas falling from dizzying heights and being beaten by first-termer Ashton Hurn … that would be a headline!

Ashton Hurn could be just the breakthrough the Liberal Party has needed.

Australian Family Party
With the State election just over 12 weeks away, if you are able to assist with our campaign as either a candidate, or a volunteer letterboxing, or on election day, please let us know.

Thank you.

I will close with this wonderful insight from Max Lucado:

If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been finance, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so He sent us a Saviour.

To all our members and supporters, have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and thank you again for your support throughout 2025.

Bounce Back Better

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bounceIn a much-quoted exchange, a pollster once asked an Australian voter the following question: “Going into this election, and thinking about the average voter, what would you say is the biggest problem facing Australia today – ignorance or apathy?”

The voter replied, “I don’t know, and I don’t care”.

As we approach the South Australian State election, our key messages are crystal clear:

1. Competence & Care
Are you competent? And do you care?
Whether it’s your doctor, your mechanic or your child’s teacher, all you want to know about them is: ‘Are they competent?  And do they care?’
At the Australian Family Party, we stress the importance of appointing capable people.

2. Understanding the Times
In uncertain times, the choices we make shape our future.
At the Australian Family Party, we are focused on electing strong principled leaders — people who understand the times and know what needs to be done

3. Climate Change
If we wish to have a strong enough economy that can build a strong military to be able to defend ourselves against looming regional threats, then we are going to need to abandon our obsession with useless forms of energy generation, such as wind, solar and green hydrogen.
There is no climate emergency, there is no cause for panic.

4. Israel
In today’s uncertain world, the choices we make as a State and as a nation will determine our future. At the Australian Family Party, our support of Israel is what sets us apart.
Protecting our nation, strengthening our economy, and supporting our families is the foundation of a strong society. Australia – South Australia in particular, given its climate and topography – would benefit enormously from a closer relationship with Israel.

5. Let’s Make South Australia Great Again
Many South Australians can probably remember the time when more than a dozen of Australia’s top 100 listed companies had their head offices in Adelaide – News Ltd, Fauldings, Southcorp, Elders, Normandy Mining, Adelaide Bank, Adelaide Brighton, Standard Chartered Finance to name just a few. Today there’s just one – Santos (and even Santos is on borrowed time).

At the time of Federation, South Australia led the constitutional debates and had an influential hand in shaping the new Commonwealth of Australia.

For decades after, Adelaide was Australia’s Number 3 city – bigger and more prosperous than either Brisbane or Perth.

South Australia prospered when it supported people who made things, grew things, and built things.

Over recent years, some bad ideas have found their way into the South Australian Parliament resulting in some awful legislation being passed. These include: the ‘Urban Growth Boundary’ which gave us severe housing affordability problems; ‘Transforming Health’ which led to chronic hospital ramping; ‘Renewable Energy’ which resulted in SA having the most expensive power bills in the nation; ‘Anti-Life’ legislation that has given us those grotesque abortion-up-to-birth, assisted suicide and prostitution laws.

In addition, a conga-line of rent-seekers, bootleggers and carpetbaggers looking to exploit the public purse. These crony-capitalists, who base their business models on schmoozing politicians and convincing them that their particular goods or services are essential – and that the government should either pay for them or limit competition to providing them – have essentially created another layer of taxation.

This is important as South Australians already pay enormous amounts of tax in the form of GST, stamp duties, registrations, and numerous other levies and taxes hidden in water and power costs.

When state governments privatised SA’s water and power utilities, for example, they did deals with the purchasers permitting them to increase power and water charges in exchange for a higher purchase price of the utility – just taxation by another name. Consumers simply ended up paying more for their power and water. On top of that, utilities such as SA Water, then pay ‘dividends’ to the SA state government every year – ever more taxation under a different guise. SA Water has paid over $3bn in ‘dividends’ to the SA State Government over the past ten years. That $3bn should have been used to provide much-needed water infrastructure.

Yet in spite of all the revenue and dividends collected from SA taxpayers over the past ten years – up from $12bn in 2015 to $17bn in 2025 – the State Government’s reliance on subsidies from the other States to meet its spending commitments has also risen from $7bn in 2015 to $12bn in 2025, taking the SA State Government’s total spend from $19bn in 2015 to $29bn in 2025!

Why the other States continue to put up with South Australia’s flagrant spending habits is beyond me.

Likes and Dislikes

As you would have gathered, at the Australian Family Party:

We like …
South Australia, Australia, Farming, Mining, Small Business, Free Markets, Free Speech, Property Rights, Home Ownership, School Choice, Income Splitting, Traditional Family Values, Pro-life, Low Immigration, Australia’s Defence Forces, Israel.

And we dislike …
Big Government, Big Business, Big Unions, Rent Seekers, Wind Turbines, Solar Farms, Green Hydrogen, Net Zero, The Voice, Toxic Algae, Ambulance Ramping, Urban Growth Boundaries, $50bn State Govt Debt, Digital ID, High Immigration, High Crime Rates, Transgender Ideology, The UN, The WEF and The WHO.

bouncerStanding Guard
The key role of an independent or minor party member of parliament is that of a gatekeeper – ‘standing guard at the gate’ to prevent bad laws getting into the Parliament – someone who will ‘sound the alarm’ when dodgy legislation is presented to the parliament.

If Parliament House were a night club, they’d have a bouncer on the door only admitting those who would add value! Undesirables would be turned away.

As a former Senator, I know how to stand up to destructive policies and how to stop laws that drive up costs, disrupt society and make life harder for everyday Australians.

Walk …. Get Fit …. Go Letterboxing ….!

As we often say, it’s one thing to have an opinion – it’s a very different thing to support a cause.

With summer approaching, what better time to get fit, go for a walk …. and do some letterboxing!

Can you do some letterboxing in your area? As few or as many letterboxes as you like would be just fine.

Note: Political material is not junk mail. It is defined and protected by legislation as political communication.

If you would like to do some letterboxing, please let us know here (choosing ‘Admin’ as the recipient).

Thank you for your support.

Standing on the Promises

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South-Australia-electionAt the Australian Family Party, we have always believed in building a stronger nation — through Defence, Economy, and Family.

What we do:
We stand to protect our nation, rebuild our economy, and support families as the foundation of a strong society.

How we do it:
We advocate for stronger defence and alliances, policies that promote growth through business and innovation, and values that protect and support families — honesty, respect, and responsibility.

Why it matters:
Because the Australia we know, love, and respect is worth safeguarding — for our children and grandchildren. In an uncertain world, we must unite, stand strong, and make sure our voices are heard.

Our last newsletter The Promised Land was very well received, and the momentum is building.

According to Roy Morgan, 17 per cent of Australians believe that the government should do more to support Israel.

A political party in South Australia needs just 4 per cent of the vote to be elected to the Upper House — and once in parliament, we will have the platform to make our case for stronger ties with Israel, and a stronger future for Australia.

To do this, we need good people — specifically, 50 candidates: 47 in the Lower House and 3 in the Upper House.

Being a candidate is not difficult — in fact, it is a great experience. There are no costs involved, and you can contribute as much or as little as you are able.

If standing yourself isn’t possible, perhaps you can encourage a young person who might be considering a political future. Mentorship is vital — without it, we risk leaving the future to career politicians with no conviction.

The good news is, Australians are ready for change. As The Australian recently reported, “Support for minor parties and independents has reached its highest level in at least four years.” The time is right.

Will you stand with us?
If you’re interested in becoming a candidate — or in supporting someone who might be — please get in touch today. Together, we can make sure that Australia remains safe, prosperous, and proud.

If you are interested in becoming a candidate, please contact us here (and choose ‘Federal Director’ as the recipient).

Thank you for your support.

Fox and Friends

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foxIn 1969, former SA Federal MP Bert Kelly was sacked as Minister for the Navy after the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collided with America’s USS Frank E Evans in the South China Sea. Ministerial responsibility was interpreted differently in those days.

In 2025, Australia is once again on a collision course with the US, this time over our commitment to defence spending – with China again eerily in the picture.

Putting it bluntly, Australia is not pulling its weight and the Americans, who we rely on to defend us, are not happy.

In fact, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, together with his Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Defence Minister Richard Marles and Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd, seem to be going out of their way to annoy our most important ally.

All have made no secret of the fact that they do not like Donald Trump – or even America for that matter – but do they have to take the opposite side on everything?

It brings to mind those two great books – ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ and ‘How to Lose Friends and Irritate People’.

Albanese and Co. have clearly been reading the wrong book!

What they are doing is downright dangerous.

They are jeopardising the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) agreement which, at present, is our only forward defence plan.

Meanwhile, Chinese warships traverse our waters with impunity.

It is a given that the first duty of any government is the defence of the nation.

However, from the defence of the nation to the Middle East conflict to Russia and Ukraine to Australia’s energy policy and censorship laws, the Albanese government is letting the Trump administration know that we are not on the same page.

In Shakespeare’s Henry VI, Richard Plantagenet (later Richard III) says, ‘How sweet it is to wear the crown.’

Richard covets the crown and expresses his ambition and desire for the throne. He yearns for power and the perceived joys of kingship as he plots against the reigning King Henry.

However, when the question, ‘Where is thy crown?’ is posed to Henry himself, Henry responds that his crown is in his heart, not on his head, symbolizing that true kingship lies not in outward symbols of power but in what the crown represents.

Shakespeare’s insights into human nature and the yearning for power are timeless.

Like Richard Plantagenet, our Prime Minister might be good at getting to the top – be it to the top of a student union or the top of a political party – but once there he has proven himself to be totally unsuited to the role of competent governing.

It’s been said that voters want leadership, they want to be led – “But don’t boss me around,” they quickly add.

The job of a leader isn’t easy, but that’s the whole point.

Anthony Albanese was once asked, ‘Mr Albanese, if you were dictator, what’s the first thing you would do?’

‘Ban social media’, he replied.

How revealing.

That the Prime Minister would ban social media – our most popular means of communication – is brutally authoritarian.

It reminded me of a scene in the movie Oppenheimer in which nuclear scientist Robert Oppenheimer meets with President Harry Truman shortly after the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War 2.

Following his successful testing of the bomb, Oppenheimer was known to have uttered the words, ‘Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds’, a quote from the Bhagavad Gita, a holy scripture from Hinduism.

After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Oppenheimer told Truman he felt he had ‘blood on his hands’.

Truman angrily responded with the words, ‘The blood is on my hands, not yours. It was me who dropped the bomb, not you’.

With that, the meeting was over, and Truman said he ‘never wanted to see that man again’.

There’s more than a little Oppenheimer in Albanese’s view of himself and the world around him.

There’s an old Greek proverb, ‘The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows only one thing’.

Albanese knows only one thing – politics. It’s all he’s ever done. He’s a hedgehog.

But as we know, the world isn’t made up of just one thing, it is made up of a whole range of competing factors and trade-offs that differ for different people of different ages who live in different places and have different priorities.

Like the ‘crystallised intelligence’ vs ‘fluid intelligence’ paradigm. Crystallised intelligence employs experience and wisdom and knows how the world works. Fluid intelligence knows how to study, learn facts and pass exams. Foxes vs hedgehogs. We’ve all met them.

Harry Truman – a Democrat (America’s version of the Australian Labor Party) was a good President. A Bob Hawke type of President.

Before entering politics, Truman was a soldier and then a shopkeeper. A better understanding of how the world works you wouldn’t get than by owning a shop!

Harry was quite the fox.

The story is told of when Truman was elected President, his former army buddy and shopkeeper partner, Eddie Jacobson, said to him, ‘O Harry, now that you’re President, everyone’s going to start telling you what a great man you are, when you and I both know you ain’t’.

True leaders value the Eddie Jacobsons in their lives.

Anthony Albanese is no Harry Truman – or even a Bob Hawke for that matter.

And Australia is all the poorer for it.

Having said all that, I am consoled by the words of a small child who prayed, ‘Dear God, please look after mummy, and please look after daddy, and please look after my brother and sister and most of all please look after yourself because if anything ever happens to you we’re all going to be in a real mess.’

Thank you for your support.

Life Lessons from Les Mis

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les-misWhen the great French novelist Victor Hugo was in his 80s, he reflected on his life with the words, “I am like a forest that has been continuously cut down; yet each time I am cut down, the new growth has more life than ever”.

Hugo’s writings reflect his understanding of Biblical truth – that we are ‘continually and always being sanctified’ (Hebrews 10:14).

His epic novel, Les Miserables, embraces themes of crime and punishment, law and grace, sin and repentance, love and redemption.

As most will recall, the main character in the novel, Jean Valjean, is convicted of a petty crime and is imprisoned. He manages to escape before completing his sentence and begins to lead a bitter and resentful life. When he is treated kindly by a local bishop he repays the bishop’s kindness by stealing from him.

He is caught, but instead of pressing charges, the bishop vouches for him and invokes the words of Jesus, telling him to ‘go and sin no more’.

This is grace, unmerited favour, and it has a profound effect on him. His life, having been cut down, re-grows with love and ‘more life than ever’.

Valjean’s antagonist throughout the story is the ruthless and unforgiving policeman, Javert.

As US cleric Bishop Robert Barron puts it, ‘If Valjean represents grace, Javert is the embodiment of the law’ – harsh and unyielding.

Ultimately, Javert, being the proverbial Pharisee, cannot handle Valjean’s act of grace towards him and takes his own life.

This theme of law and grace permeates the Bible.

Jesus, for example, was crucified between two thieves.

These two thieves represent the two types of people in our fallen world: those who accept God, and those who reject Him.

As recorded in the gospels, both men speak to Jesus.

The first thief to speak represents those who reject God, “Aren’t you supposed to be the Christ? If you are, then save yourself … and us!”

No contrition, no remorse, no acceptance of responsibility for his crimes.

The second thief then rebukes his accomplice, “Don’t you fear God? We’re being justly punished for our crimes, but this man has done nothing wrong”.

The second thief takes responsibility. He doesn’t blame others. He admits he’s a sinner and is redeemed.

This is at the core of what has gone wrong with the world in which we now live.

As described in my last newsletter, Noughts and Crosses, sometimes we need to be reminded of what our Judeo-Christian heritage has brought to the world – the establishment of schools, universities, hospitals, aged care organisations and welfare agencies. The elevation of women, as well as the abolition of slavery, cannibalism, child sacrifice and widow burning.

The ‘equality of human beings’ is a Judeo-Christian idea which led to the abolition of slavery and international human rights.

All form the basis of Western civilisation which acknowledged original sin and the need for redemption.

We fail, we sin, we feel guilty. Acknowledging this is virtue.

In response, we confess, we repent, we accept forgiveness, and then we move forward with confidence. That is how we survive the vicissitudes of life.

I have proven this in my own life.

Marxists, leftists, and people from many other cultures, however, do not see it that way.

To them, admitting fault is seen as weakness. They do not accept responsibility for their situation. They blame others. To them, all is a zero-sum game.

And herein lies the problem.

By rejecting God’s system of confession, repentance and forgiveness, Westerners respond by looking elsewhere to placate their guilt – virtue-signalling being one of the main outlets.

As British-born American philosopher and scholar Kwame Anthony Appiah points out, watching King Charles acknowledge the unceded – or ‘stolen’ land – on which the Canadian parliament stands begs the question, ‘Then why do they continue to occupy it? And the obvious contradiction: acknowledging theft while benefiting from it is like apologising for eating someone’s lunch while still holding the sandwich!’

This is the West surrendering to the anti-God Left.

British journalist and political commentator Douglas Murray makes this point in his 2017 book, The Strange Death of Europe.

It is civilizational suicide.

Speaking of which, allow me to make an observation or two about the recent Federal election.

First, before too many claims are made about Labor getting a ‘strong mandate’, at the previous election (2022) Labor’s primary vote was 32.5%. In 2025, it was 34.5% – a 2% improvement.

As a percentage of registered voters, however – including informal votes and those who chose not to vote – Labor’s vote was just 29.5%

Seats won, however, paints a very different picture – from 77 seats in 2022 to 94 seats in 2025 – a 22% increase.

Winning 62% of the seats with 29% of the vote is starting to look like the UK or Europe!

Or compare Labor’s vote in 2016 (34.7%) 69 seats; 2019 (33.3%) 68 seats; 2022 (32.5%) 77 seats; and now 2025 (34.5%) 94 seats!

The disparity between votes and seats in 2025 is due to changes in preferences by the Liberal Party and minor parties.

In the past, the Liberal Party would typically put Labor last on its how-to-vote cards. This time it put the Greens last, resulting in what one might describe as the bright and silver lining on an otherwise dark and gloomy cloud – the ejection from parliament of Greens leader Adam Bandt!

In India it was said that people did not cast their vote but rather vote their caste. India’s caste system divided its society into hierarchical groups based on birth, occupation and ‘dharma’ – a cosmic order of law and moral principles that apply to all beings and things – and people voted accordingly.

That Labor’s vote does not change materially from election to election suggests that the old ‘Labor, right or wrong’ principle is alive and well.

Whether it’s education, immigration, net zero, energy or the environment – power bills going up $1,300 instead of coming down $275 – Israel and the Palestinians, international relationships (UN, WHO, WEF etc), the taxing of unrealised capital gains on our superannuation, abortion and euthanasia, the Albanese government is deeply entrenched in the Left of politics.

It will not end well.

Which is why we are readying ourselves.

Our merger plans with the DLP (and other like-minded parties) are progressing and we are looking forward to contesting the next election on the horizon – the South Australian State election in March next year.

Thank you for your support.