Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

Editor’s Note: The Daily Declaration is running a series from candidates for the upcoming South Australian election who are committed to standing for Christian values. Here is the first of the series.

__

A personal journey of faith, loss and responsibility that reshaped one man’s priorities—and compelled him to step forward into public service for future generations.

I’ve always had a sense that life was meant to be about something bigger than just myself and the satisfaction of my own desire. Even before I had a strong faith, I carried a deep sense of moral responsibility. It’s a feeling that doing the right thing for people mattered, even when it wasn’t easy or popular.

Back in primary school, whenever we played group sports, the other kids would make me the umpire. Not because I was the loudest or the toughest, but because they knew I would be fair and I didn’t cheat. I wouldn’t let the popular kids get away with things, and I wouldn’t disadvantage those who weren’t. I’ve always found myself drawn to that role; not from a desire to control people, but to make sure things were fair and just.

As a teenager, I had a good life. I enjoyed school, had plenty of friends, played national-level baseball and club football, and often found myself in leadership roles. On the surface, everything was going well, but inside, I still felt something was missing.

Even after great weekends with friends, family and sport, I’d lie awake on Sunday nights with this quiet question in my heart: Is this all there is? Is life just a cycle of chasing the next moment of enjoyment?

Faith Forged Through Loss and Love

In my early twenties, I finally asked God directly if He was real. I wanted more than just comfort and entertainment. I wanted meaning. I wanted purpose. And from that point on, things began to change in my life.

The moment that truly reshaped my priorities and deepened my faith came with the birth of my first son. At his six-week check-up, we were told he had spinal muscular atrophy, a condition that at the time was 100% fatal. We were told he likely wouldn’t live beyond his first year.

From that point on, work was no longer the centre of my world. Holding my family together and supporting my wife became everything. I was incredibly grateful that my workplace allowed me time away so we could face that season together.

This was my moment of wrestling with God, like Jacob, or of carrying the cross in my own small way. If I were ever going to walk away from faith, this would have been the time. But there was nowhere else to go. I knew God loved me. I knew He had no pleasure in suffering or death. And even in the hardest moments, I knew He was present.

Our son passed away just shy of four months old. It was a grief that changes you forever. But it also re-oriented everything in my life toward what truly matters: family, love, service and building things that last beyond ourselves.

Learning What Truly Matters

That season taught me that life cannot be only about one person or even one generation. There is an inherent dignity in every human life and a responsibility we carry to leave something better behind. As the saying goes, good men plant trees whose shade they know they will never sit under. That is the kind of legacy I believe we are called to build; systems, communities, and institutions that protect and uplift people long after we are gone.

By trade, I am an electrician, and I’ve spent much of my working life in the energy and electrical sectors. Over time, I transitioned into business development and a sales role, not because I disliked technical work, but because I am deeply people-oriented. I enjoy helping people solve problems, bridging communication gaps and making complex systems easier to understand.

Through both my work and my personal experiences, I began to see how deeply policy and systems affect families. When our son was ill, the only medical option available to him was liquid oxycodone. Whilst we received incredible care from South Australia’s palliative services, it became clear to me that having more medical options matters. Choice in medicine matters. Compassionate, flexible, human-oriented systems matter.

From there, I became increasingly concerned about government waste, debt and short-term decision-making that leaves future generations to pay the ever-growing bill.

From Private Conviction to Public Service

Over time, it became clear to me that commenting from the sidelines was no longer enough. If I truly believed that service matters, then at some point, service requires stepping forward, not just speaking up.

When the opportunity came to stand as a candidate and advocate for ordinary Australians, including responsible firearms owners, small business people, families under cost-of-living pressure and communities like Onkaparinga and Mawson, I saw it as an honour and not a career move.

I believe deeply that Australia has the capacity to solve the challenges we face: energy reliability, housing affordability, immigration pressures and the long-term sustainability of our public finances. The solutions do exist. What is required is the willingness to prioritise our future generations over short-term politics.

My faith calls me to serve. It calls me to invest whatever talents I have into the wellbeing of others. And it calls me to care not just about today, but about the world we leave to our children and our children’s children.

That is why I have chosen to step into public life, not for recognition, but out of responsibility, and out of hope that we can build a stronger, fairer, more resilient Australia together.

___

Image courtesy of One Nation.