A MILDURA-based case worker in out-of-home care has put his hand up for the federal seat of Mallee.
Father-of-six Ashleigh Gray had been considering a run at federal politics for two years.
After a recent meeting with Family First senate candidate and former Victorian Liberal upper house politician Bernie Finn, Mr Gray decided to throw his hat in the ring and nominate as a Family First candidate.
He said the party’s values aligned best with his personal values, more so than other parties that are seeking to field a Mallee candidate.
“Family First sat so well with my values, that I couldn’t find anything in their policies that I actually went against,” Mr Gray said.
“Whereas most of the other parties I could find things that I agree and disagree with.
“From that perspective, I don’t have to look at where my compromise is going to be with party values because they already align, with some of the other parties I’d have to make some of those adjustments.”
He said in his view, the values of the majority of voters in Mallee sat somewhere between the National Party and Family First, and he hoped voters would consider change.
“The Mallee has been looking for something that’s different that they could sit with the values of, but major parties don’t have that,” Mr Gray said.
“The Nationals sit with the Liberals, so you vote National you vote Liberal regardless, and then you vote Labor which is in opposition to what most of country Victoria stands for in general.
“The Family First Party are very well poised to be able to actually support regional Victoria and hear the people and support them in that way, without actually having to compromise to the policies of a major party.”
He said he aligned with the Family First Party’s key election platforms, which include pausing net zero policies while pursuing nuclear energy, encouraging and incentivising monogamous, heterosexual marriage, banning late term abortions, repealing euthanasia laws and properly resource palliative care, and protecting freedom of speech and religion.
“One of their other key platforms is about keeping women’s spaces and women’s sport safe for our women and girls,” Mr Gray said.
“As a father with daughters that’s something that’s fairly important to me.
“While I recognise everyone has a right to their own truth and reality, biological makeup still plays a big role in that.”
Mr Gray he wanted Family First to be a united voice that “puts Mallee back on the map”.
“One of the key things I think is about reinstilling some of those traditional family values basically into society,” he said.
“Their main platforms at the moment are about the cost of living and energy prices and finding ways that are realistic to be able to actually transition across to cleaner energy without just trying to thrust the net zero policies into place and finding that in the process we’ve got higher cost of living because of higher energy prices across the board.
“It’s having an impact everywhere.”
