Family First/Australian Conservatives and Catholic Right Labor faith factors in politics of South Australia
Two significant religious faith identities in 21st Century South Australia parliamentary democracy: Andrew Evans (left), Paradise church pastor or 30 years, elected to represent Family First in the Legislative Council in 2002. Don Farrell, from the Catholic Right, headed the Shop, Distributive Allied Employees’ Union and was a powerbroker in the Labor party.
Images courtesy Family First Party South Australia and Australian Parliament
South Australia produced two church-related political forces with state and national influence in the 21st Century.
These were the Family First party (later merged with the Australian Conservative, started by former South Australian Liberal senator Cory Bernardi) and the Catholic Right faction of South Australian Labor Party.
The Family First grew out of the booming Paradise Community Church (later Influencers Church) that spread interstate and to Atlanta in the United States of America. While the party said it represented conservative Christian values generally, its founder, Andrew Evans, pastor at the Paradise church for 30 years, was elected to represent Family First in the Legislative Council in 2002. The party had two members in the council in 2016.
The party had early success nationally when Steve Fielding (Victoria) was elected to the senate in 2004 and became the deciding vote on several issues. Field was not returned in 2010 but the party’s federal chairman Bob Day was senator for South Australia (2014-16) until his home building company failed.
In the South Australian Labor party, the Catholic Right consolidated its place through its base in the Shop, Distributive Allied Employees’ Union.
The union nationally has traditionally had links with the Roman Catholic Church, dating back to the 1950s spilt within the Labor party and the anti-Communist Democratic Labor Party (DLP) being formed. The DLP was aligned with “The Movement” or National Civic Council headed by B.A. Santamaria.
Ted Farrell, treasurer of the DLP in South Australia in the 1970s, was the father of Don Farrell who became a long-time state secretary of the Shop, Distributive Allied Employees’ Union. He later moved into the senate (2008-14 and from 2016) and remained the powerbroker of the right-wing faction with the Labor party and government in South Australia. He was special minister of state and trade minister in the Anthony Albanese federal Labor government.
