Former Australian Christian Lobby head says he will oppose political correctness and gender ideology

Lyle Shelton to run for Australian Conservatives' Senate ticket in Queensland

A prominent opponent of same-sex marriage will lead the Australian Conservatives’ Queensland Senate ticket.

Lyle Shelton resigned as managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby in February to join the Australian Conservatives as their communications director, after leading the unsuccessful no campaign in the national postal survey on same-sex marriage.

• Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noon

“Canberra is working very well for the politicians,” Shelton said in a statement.

“It isn’t working very well for the people of Gladstone, Townsville, Toowoomba or Rockhampton.”

The leader of the Australian Conservatives, former Liberal Cory Bernardi, announced the decision on Saturday.

“The people of Queensland now have a clear, principled, conservative alternative,” Senator Bernardi said.

“Lyle brings a wealth of political and campaign experience having headed up the no campaign last year that saw millions of Australians stand up against political correctness.”

Lyle Shelton joins Cory Bernardi’s Australian Conservatives Read more

Every state and territory recorded a majority “yes” response in the same-sex marriage survey, in which nearly eight in 10 eligible voters had their say.

Shelton said he hoped to offer Queenslanders a conservative alternative at the next federal election.

If elected, he would oppose “political correctness, gender ideology and social Marxism”.

“By working together, conservatives across our state can put a handbrake on the extreme elite ideologies that have infected Canberra,” he said.

The former Liberal National party senator Jo Lindgren and the North Queensland bookkeeper Kate Horan will join him on the Queensland Senate ticket.