One Nation’s new MP for the South Australian seat of Narungga, Chantelle Thomas, has told the state’s parliament she will tackle her first term “with God within me”.

Thomas ended her maiden speech on Wednesday with the message that “the Godly are as bold as lions”, thanking her church community, One Nation federal leader Pauline Hanson, her fellow One Nation members and her electorate, which she is the first woman to represent.

“When there is moral rot within a nation, a government topples easily but wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability,” Thomas said.

She used her speech to outline her views on reducing overall migration, opposing net-zero climate policy and being firmly pro-life.

Thomas said one of the most prominent issues she encountered on the campaign trail ahead of the March 21 South Australian election was the ability to fish snapper, despite the toxic algal bloom in waters along the state’s coast.

“People asked me, ‘there is so much snapper. Why are we not allowed to catch it?’. I had many parents simply wanting to take their children out in the water to catch a snapper,” she said.

“The algae bloom affected parts of the Yorke Peninsula, yes, but many locals believe it did not affect snapper numbers.”

Thomas also revealed her stance on families and said that too many parents felt Christian values were being replaced by a “growing woke agenda”.

“As a member of this house, I will always stand for parental rights, the protection of children and an education system that puts learning before ideology,” she said.

“It is time to restore balance, accountability, and common sense in our schools and institutions.

“Now that I stand among that same political class in the halls of power, one of you, perhaps, but different, real, honest, an everyday Australian, not a university student, not a political staffer, and not a lawyer.

“I worked as a Lifeline counsellor, hearing the stories of many struggling Australians who needed hope, who needed someone to listen and to care.”

Like Thomas, One Nation state leader Cory Bernardi thanked Hanson in his own speech in the SA upper house on Tuesday afternoon. He said she was “the most resilient, tenacious and courageous political figure in Australia’s history”.

Bernardi’s maiden speech saw colleagues walk out. Photo: AAP

Bernardi, who started his speech by welcoming those in the chamber to “the land of my ancestors”, said he was a “traditionalist”. He said “men and women have distinct but complementary roles in family life and in the raising of children”.

Bernardi said Australia had become a “nation of easily offended snowflakes that melt at the slightest challenge or obstacle”, with people fed “a steady diet of tasteless vegan political tofu”.

Bernardi also said he believed the Covid-19 pandemic gave “midwit” politicians “an excuse to exercise the dangerous and draconian powers of the state”.

“They locked us down, they silenced dissent, they imprisoned citizens, and they forced people to take dangerous and experimental injections,” he said.

Greens MLCS Robert Simms and Melanie Selwood walked out of Bernardi’s speech after he claimed that “the media is silent while the government allow doctors to mutilate children in the name of gender-affirming care”.

One Nation’s other new South Australian MPs, David Paton, Jason Virgo and Robert Roylance, will deliver their first speeches later this week.