It’s a new day in Washington DC and if Australia wants to maintain its security alliance with the US, it better take note.

The heated Oval Office exchange between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, alongside Vice President J.D Vance’s recent address at the Munich Security Conference, highlight the U.S. administration’s new priorities.

The Oval Office spat with Zelensky at the weekend is clear evidence the Trump Administration is serious about its “America First” agenda and that it will not keep underwriting wars on behalf of allies indefinitely.

At last month’s Munich Security Conference, Vice President Vance delivered a pointed critique of European leaders for undermining democratic principles, particularly freedom of speech.

He asserted, “I believe that dismissing people, dismissing their concerns or, worse yet, shutting down media… protects nothing.

“Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters,” he said.

This critique is equally pertinent to Australian politicians who preside over laws that clearly infringe upon free speech, thereby failing to uphold Western ideals.

While Family First unequivocally supports efforts to combat anti-Semitism, it is crucial to acknowledge that recent “hate speech” laws may inadvertently encroach upon legitimate free speech.

Australia’s longstanding anti-discrimination and anti-vilification laws also encroach freedom of speech, as evidenced by Family First’s National Director Lyle Shelton’s five-year legal battle with LGBTIQA+ drag queens.

Laws which allow litigation for speech that is deemed to likely ‘offend’ or ‘insult’ only serve woke agendas and suppress legitimate speech.

In light of these developments, Australia must critically evaluate its domestic policies and defence posture:

Australia must reexamine and amend laws that infringe upon freedom of expression to ensure alignment with democratic principles.

Australia must urgently increase defence spending by committing to substantial and timely enhancements in military capabilities to meet emerging global threats and fulfil alliance obligations.

Australia’s weak response to China’s live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea will not have gone unnoticed in Washington DC.

By proactively addressing these issues, Australia can reinforce its dedication to the principles underpinning its alliance with the United States, ensuring mutual respect and continued collaboration in promoting global security and democratic values.

It would be foolish for Australian politicians to ignore the new Administration’s priorities and its clear warnings.

Time to wake up.

Family First welcomes Vice-President JD Vance’s powerful pro-life speech at last week’s March for Life in Washington DC.

He made a compelling case for protecting unborn babies—something no establishment Australian political leader dares to do.

“We march to proclaim and live out the sacred truth that every single child is a miracle and a gift from God,” Vance declared. 

Speaking as a father, he described the awe of welcoming new life: “Each time Usha and I welcomed our own children into the world, we saw firsthand the indescribable beauty of new life.”

Yet, this joy comes with responsibility. “It is our responsibility to cherish and to protect it.”

Vance stressed that protecting life is about more than opposing abortion—it’s about fostering a pro-family culture.

“The task of our movement is to protect innocent life. It’s to defend the unborn, and it’s also to be pro-family and pro-life in the fullest sense of that word possible.”  

But he warned that Western societies are failing in this duty.

“Our society has failed to recognise the obligation that one generation has to another is a core part of living in a society to begin with.”

He condemned the rise of radical individualism, where family life is seen as a burden rather than a blessing.

Instead, Vance called for policies that make it easier to have and raise children.

“I want more babies in the United States of America. I want more happy children in our country. And I want beautiful young men and women who are eager to welcome them into the world and eager to raise them.”  

To achieve this, he said government must do more: “It is the task of our government to make it easier for young mums and dads to afford to have kids, to bring them into the world, and to welcome them as the blessings that we know they are.”

Family First agrees, which is why we support policies such as income splitting for tax purposes to give mothers, or fathers, a real choice when it comes to caring for their own children at home.

Vance’s leadership exposes the cowardice of Australian politicians on the issue of pro-family and pro-life policy.

While he boldly defends unborn life, leaders here either stay silent or actively protect our radical abortion-to-birth laws. 

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has even gagged his MPs from discussing Australia’s extreme abortion laws, ensuring the issue remains unchallenged.

This is despite Australia being one of the few nations in the world that permits abortion right up to birth.

Labor is all in on abortion-to-birth and wants to expand access to it, even though it is readily available and subsidised by pro-life Australians through their compulsory Medicare Levy. 

Vance reminded us of a truth too many in politics refuse to acknowledge: “It is a blessing to know the truth, and the truth is that unborn life is worthy of protection.” 

He cut through the euphemisms that dehumanise the unborn: “That picture on an ultrasound, that is a picture of a baby with hopes and dreams and potential to come.”

Above all, Vance called on pro-lifers to embrace their mission with optimism.

“It is a joy and a blessing to fight for the unborn, to work for the unborn, and to march for life.”  

Family First echoes this joy and stands with Vance in calling for a society that cherishes life. 

Australian politicians must stop silencing debate and start advocating for policies that support life and family.

As Vance said: “We are joyful to march for life. We are joyful to know that that picture on an ultrasound, that is a picture of a baby with hopes and dreams and potential to come.”

MEDIA RELEASE

Family First welcomes the return of commonsense to America under President Donald Trump and will continue its fight for Australia to follow suit at the up-coming federal election.

Trump’s declaration in his second inaugural address today that “as of this day it will be the policy of the United States Government that there are only two genders” is a win for the safety of girls and women, Family First National Director Lyle Shelton said.

“How hard is it?” Mr Shelton asked.

“We have been calling for this for years yet Australian political leaders remained captured by Woke political correctness.

“Family First’s Senate candidates will not rest until Australia adopts the same policy.

“But it shouldn’t take pressure from a minor party for Liberal, Labor, Teals and Green to wake up to the commonsense of human biology and repudiate the crazy demands of LGBTIQA+ political activists.”

Mr Shelton said the same applied to the Paris Climate Accord with Trump today signing an executive order to leave what he described as a “rip off”.

Vice-President JD Vance said exiting Paris would save US taxpayers $1 trillion.

Mr Shelton said Australians struggling with our own home-grown cost-of-living crisis brought on in large part by Liberal and Labor Governments pursuing the Paris agenda should also be given relief which would come by withdrawing from the accord.

“The idea that so-called renewables provide cheaper and reliable electricity and save the planet is completely discredited,” Mr Shelton said.

“All we are doing by being in Paris is punishing working families.”

Family First has long called for commonsense on gender and net zero, but it has taken the re-election of Donald Trump to be a first mover.

Mr Shelton also noted Donald Trump would restore freedom of speech and religion.

“The new White House has adopted Family First’s key campaign objectives for the up-coming Australian federal election – cut power prices, protect parental rights to educate their kids and protect women and children from gender ideology.”

Mr Shelton noted that President Trump has also vowed to protect girls’ and women’s sports, get radical gender ideology and critical race theory out of schools.

“Family First is also campaigning for this and notes that the Liberal, Labor, Teal and Green political establishment are largely on a unity ticket on gender and Paris.”

On my run this morning I listed to the live audio feed direct from Donald Trump’s victory rally from the Capital One Arena in Washington DC.

Livestreaming allows ordinary people access to information unfiltered by the spin of the legacy media.

There’s no doubt it was inspiring, despite the usual over-the-top American kitsch and team-Trump hyperbole.

But that’s all part of the fun, Kid Rock and all.

Doubtless there will be more from 3am tomorrow when coverage of his second inauguration begins.

I’ll be up.

Underneath all the glitz though, was serious policy for families which I hope will reverberate to Australia.

Trump’s boldness on so many commonsense issues is killing Woke and its toxic DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) offshoot that infests big corporations, government departments and universities.

That is good news for mums and dads.

For those who don’t know, DEI pushes racial discrimination and LGBTIQA+ issues and career limits and punishes anyone who questions its orthodoxy.

Woke ideology and DEI has given us forced pronoun compliance and biological males in girls and women’s sports and their private spaces.

That’s why on the campaign trail and then again at the victory rally, Trump continues to lambast it.

At the rally he repeated:

“We will get critical race theory and transgender the hell out of our schools. We will keep men out of women’s sports. It will be done tomorrow”.

Trump’s policy adviser Stephen Miller told the crowd:

“It's not up to you if you are a man or a woman. That decision is a decision that is made by God and it can't be changed.”

Apart from Family First and a few others in the minor party space, no Australian political leader has spoken with such clarity and resolve about one of the major cultural issues destroying the lives of thousands of our young people.

(In fairness the Liberal leader in WA, Libby Mettam, has been good).

If Peter Dutton similarly pledged to save girls’ and women’s sports and get LGBTIQA+ ideology out of our schools, along with critical race theory, he would win the up-coming federal election.

Because of the leadership vacuum, Family First is standing Senate candidates in Qld, NSW, Vic and SA – supported by a team of lower house candidates – who are committed to protecting children from Woke LGBTIQA+ indoctrination.

Trump also said he would restore patriotism in American schools.

Like America and much of the West, Australian children have also been taught to question the legitimacy of their nation and this badly needs to be addressed.

If young people don’t love their nation, despite its faults, how can we expect them to fight for it if the time comes, which it might given current global instability?

Elon Musk, who famously took the “red pill” and switched from being a left-wing Democrat to a full-blown MAGA Trump supporter, has single handedly saved freedom of speech by purchasing Twitter, which he renamed X.

Suddenly conservatives had a voice without the censorship of their ideas that the likes of Mark Zuckerberg of Meta have only dropped since Trump was elected.

Musk took the stage this morning and declared that the Trump project was looking well beyond tomorrow when Trump’s flurry of executive orders will restore sanity to girls’ sports, the border, energy and so much more.

“We want to set the foundation of America to be strong for a century.”

If Trump delivers in his final term and if JD Vance succeeds him, that vision may well be fulfilled.

The Biden-Harris attempt to continue the Obama experiment has shown the world what Woke is and the voters didn’t like it.

Australians are only just starting to feel the pain of Woke policies and haven’t fully realised the nightmare.

But things are moving quickly thanks to Trump.

The question for the up-coming election is will the “Trump effect” affect Australia?

Family First hopes so and our candidates will carry similar commonsense policies on energy, family and gender to this election.

Whether it is this election, or a subsequent one, Woke’s days are numbered.

RIP DEI.