Fred Nile with his wife Silvana in 2019
Fred Nile with his wife Silvana in 2019 (Image: AAP/Bianca De Marchi)

The Reverend Fred Nile will quit NSW Parliament after 41 years and has endorsed his wife to continue his political legacy in the upper house. 

Nile, 88, a deeply conservative independent who formerly led the Christian Democratic Party (CDP), decided to leave after being called to do so by God, his office said.

He will support Silvana Nile’s campaign for Parliament, he said in a video message posted to his Facebook page. Nile’s former wife, Elaine, served alongside him in Parliament from 1988 to 2002. She died in 2011, and Nile married Silvana, now 64, in 2013.

“I have no doubt that her passion, empathy, Christian values and godliness will see Silvana continue my legacy in NSW state Parliament  for many years to come,” he said. 

Silvana Nile said: “I believe that our real problems today are not economic, they are not even political. Our real problems today are a lack of good character values and common decency, and I would like to restore these to public policy. I believe in good governance. I want to be part of the rebuilding of the faith of Australians back into the leadership of our nation.”

Nile was asked by a reporter earlier this year, when he announced he would be joining the Seniors United Party, whether he was still capable of giving taxpayers their money’s worth in his work in Parliament.

“Yes, I’m sure they are [getting their money’s worth],” he responded. “I will be actually demonstrating that seniors can still contribute to society, and you’re not put on the shelf. So my example will encourage others in a senior age group to be more active in our society.”

While Nile is perhaps mostly known for his opposition to LGBTIQA+ adoption rights and abortion, his advocacy against them wasn’t enough to stop significant reforms.

When asked what his proudest achievements were during his many decades in Parliament, Nile said “being the key mover and shaker on the Aboriginal Land Rights Act [1983], something that was highly controversial at the time but I stand by it without regret or apology.

“I was [also] very pleased that I was able to ban smoking in public places — [and] eventually that the government listened to me and also banned smoking in cars where children are present.”

Nile also mentioned his advocacy for the Crimes Amendment (Provocation) Act 2014, which limited the ability of people accused of murder to rely on the defence that they had been provoked.

“Under those laws gay men were being killed under flimsy and offensive legal grounds,” he said. “It was antiquated legislation and was a disgrace to our state. I was chair of the select committee into that bill and was at the vanguard of its passage.”

The bill he calls “the culmination of his life’s work” is yet to pass — the Aboriginal cultural heritage bill — which was drafted in reaction to the Juukan Gorge destruction in Western Australia and would establish am Aboriginal cultural heritage council that would have the final say on whether objects and sites could be moved or destroyed. 

He said Silvana plans to run for Parliament as the lead candidate for the Revive Australia Party (Fred Nile Alliance), although his office clarified the party had yet to be formally established. 

Both husband and wife split with the CDP earlier this year after a messy falling out that included a court battle with the party’s former treasurer.

Upper house Greens MP Abigail Boyd, who has worked alongside Nile since her election in 2019, said she would not be sad to see him go. 

“Fred Nile has had a long and prolific career spreading hate against the most marginalised in our community,” she told Crikey. “With his tenure coming to an end, I hope this is the last the NSW Parliament sees of the harmful politics that Nile has spearheaded for the past 41 years.”

Labor’s upper house leader Penny Sharpe said: “Fred Nile has been a formidable and influential member of the Legislative Council. We have often not agreed but I respect the conviction he has brought to the issues he cares about.”