An image of Family First candidate Mark Burge has been put up at the former Michael Slater Oval with a link to an ABC article. Photo: Supplied.
An image of the Family First Party’s candidate for Riverina, Mark Burge, has been posted to a board at the former Michael Slater Oval with the captions ”Truth First” and ”Hypocrite Out”.
The poster, which includes an image taken from the candidate’s Facebook page, also features a QR code linking to an ABC news article.
It is not known who put up the board or what the sign means.
Region reached out to Mr Burge for comment but did not receive a response. We also contacted the Family First Party.
“Nothing has been provided to Family First to cause the party to reconsider Mr Burge’s endorsement,” a party spokesperson said.
Family First is a minor party contesting several seats in the upcoming federal election. Its national director is high-profile conservative activist Lyle Shelton, a former managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby.
The party’s stated goal is: “To build a political movement that will fight for and sustain the social and economic well-being of the nation by promoting family, life, faith, freedom, enterprise and subsidiarity.”
Earlier this month, Region requested an interview with Mr Burge to discuss his candidacy and why people should vote for him. He declined our request.
“I’m going to stick with direct forms of media [ie social media] at present, allowing me to interact and represent myself directly with constituents,” he said.
Mr Burge had stated he would not be attending Committee 4 Wagga’s candidate forum on Monday, 28 April.
According to a biography on the Family First website, Mr Burge was born and raised on the rural South Coast of NSW before studying and launching his IT career in Western Sydney.
“Returning to the regions, he has now called the Riverina home for over 20 years. Previously residing in Gundagai and Junee, he currently lives with his wife and daughter on the outskirts of Wagga Wagga,” the blurb reads.
“He has successfully delivered large and complex IT projects and leads teams toward improvement and efficiency. He seeks to place his faith at the centre of his life and to grow God’s kingdom by pointing people to Him and serving others in His name.”
Mr Burge’s Facebook page has posted that he believes there are “two sexes, no genders” and that he opposes the use of puberty blockers and biological-born males participating in women’s sports.
He has also weighed in on the energy debate.
“China dwarfs our resource usage in every way by comparison and continues to increase its usage at a rapid rate,” he posted.
“We literally wouldn’t make a dent in global emissions if we simply ceased to exist tomorrow.
“We should not keep sending our coal to China and shuttering our own plants while we cripple our ability to generate cheap energy – the fundamental cost component in running our economy.”
Wagga Council voted to rename Michael Slater Oval in 2024, but as yet has not chosen a replacement name.
