With the Liberals aping Dan Andrews on costly renewables and radical LGBTIQA+ drag queen shows for children, Family First is putting the values of mainstream Warrandyte families on the ballot paper on August 26.

The party today announced father and grandfather Richard Griffith-Jones as its candidate for the by-election.

If elected, Mr Griffith Jones will introduce legislation to ban drag queen story time in public venues and pause bi-partisan net zero policies which have increased the price of electricity.

The comments were immediately picked up by Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper.

“The question for Warrandyte families is who will protect your family from the cost-of-living crisis driven by the Labor, Liberal, Greens and Teal rush away from affordable and reliable energy supplies?” Mr Griffith-Jones said.

“Who will protect girls and women’s sports and private spaces from the Liberal’s and Labor’s support of radical LGBTIQA+ gender-fluid ideology?

“Sadly the answer is not John Pesutto,” Mr Griffith-Jones said.

“Families simply want affordable and reliable energy for their lighting and heating.

“They don’t want the countryside carpeted with solar panels and the seascape cluttered with bird-chopping windmills.

“A proper engineering and economic case has not been made for the expensive net zero policies of Liberal and Labor.

“Parents are sick of their kids being indoctrinated at school, they are tired of politicians’ ideology driving up their cost of living.

“Daniel Andrews and John Pesutto’s support for sexualised gender-fluid drag queens in Parliament House reading to children was a red line for most Warrandyte families and is emblematic of the push to indoctrinate children.”

Mr Griffith Jones brings 30 years of corporate executive experience to the role, having served as project manager with leading international hotel chains before returning to Melbourne post-Covid.