Fiona Rossiter has been described as the “perfect match” for Family First.
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The Orange City councillor yesterday announced her intention to stand as Family First’s candidate for the seat of Orange at next month’s state election - the first to be contested by the conservative political party in the NSW lower house.
While Mrs Rossiter stood unsuccessfully for preselection for the National Party, she said her decision to run for Family First was not a matter of settling for second best.
Mrs Rossiter said she had extensively researched the party’s policies before making a decision after being approached as a potential candidate.
“It’s never been a secret that I wanted to stand for State Parliament. These values fit in more with my values,” she said.
Mrs Rossiter is the third candidate to confirm her intention to run for the seat of Orange, which is widely expected to go to the Nationals candidate Andrew Gee after 15 years of being held by incumbent National Russell Turner.
Family First state director Phil Lamb said he believed Mrs Rossiter would be the “wildcard” in the seat of Orange.
“She is the perfect candidate for Family First,” he said. “Everyone that we have talked to is so excited to see Fiona stand for Family First because it’s the perfect match for her. I believe that Fiona is the wildcard in the Orange state electorate and she could become the trump card.”
Mr Lamb did not say how preferences would be directed.
“In terms of preferences we will be looking at the values of each candidate,” he said. “Naturally, being a conservative party there will be some synergies with the major parties, particularly the Liberal and National parties. But families are deserting Labor because of poor management. Family First will be looking at Labor voters who believe in strong families to support Fiona’s quest to become the local member.”
The party will aim to run candidates in most electorates.
Family First NSW lists the right to life and anti-abortion and euthanasia stances among its core values and opposes gay marriage.
Mrs Rossiter said her particular stance on reproductive rights was was one where circumstances should be taken into account.
“For example, if a woman who is raped and finds out she is pregnant, I wouldn’t advocate for her not to have an abortion,” she said.
Mrs Rossiter said she would be unveiling her campaign in the coming weeks and invited voters to share their concerns about the electorate with her.
