Tragedy struck early in life for Jerry Nockles.
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He was just three years old when his father walked out, leaving his mother and grandmother to raise five children in a public housing block on the outskirts of Bathurst.
He was orphaned at 16 when his mother died, forcing him to drop out of high school.
Such tragedy and misfortune could have pushed Jerry Nockles over the edge.
It didn't.
He instead signed up to the Royal Australian Navy, setting him on a path which would catapult him out of poverty and into a career which would also include high-ranking positions in politics and the not-for-profit sector.
"I had this idea that when life is tough, you don't wish it to be easier you decide to be stronger," Dr Nockles said.
Now, the father-of-three wants to use his tale of triumph over adversity to help and inspire underprivileged young Australians as he pursues a new career.
The Jindabyne resident will run as the Liberal candidate in Eden-Monaro in the looming election, one of nine "captain's picks" installed in NSW seats following Scott Morrison's controversial interventions into local preselections.
The NSW Court of Appeal this week tossed out a case challenging the validity of the intervention, although the Liberal figure behind the action is reportedly pushing to appeal the verdict in the High Court.
Some grassroots members, including in Eden-Monaro, remain upset at being denied the right to select their local candidate.
Dr Nockles was set to face a challenge from Mark Schweikert, before the former Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council deputy mayor withdrew from consideration after the branch vote was cancelled.
The drawn out process means the Pharmacy Guild of Australia executive has just days to prepare a campaign to knock off Labor's Kristy McBain before the federal election is called.
Ms McBain holds the electorate which surrounds the ACT on a margin of less than one per cent.
"It was far from ideal the way the [preselection] process played out and I would have much preferred to have been in the field [campaigning] from the middle of last year," Dr Nockles told The Canberra Times.
"But that is done now. I am the endorsed candidate and the fight starts now."
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After a 24-year career in the Navy, Dr Nockles worked as a research scholar before he joined the office of then Eden-Monaro MP Peter Hendy in 2014.
Dr Nockles was also head of office for Royalla-based Liberal senator Jim Molan, between stints with the Australian branches of World Vision and UNICEF.
A school drop out who was raised in public housing, Dr Nockles has followed a different path to many on his side of politics.
But he argued Liberal values were at the core of his story and his approach to life and politics.
"The Liberal Party is about hope. For me, these aren't just articles of faith they are who I am."
Dr Nockles had reportedly eyed Liberal preselection ahead of the 2020 Eden-Monaro byelection, before Fiona Kotvojs secured the nomination.
Dr Kotvojs' contentious views on climate change were the focus of Labor attacks ahead of the vote, which was held just months after the Black Summer fires roared through the NSW South Coast.
Asked about his stance on climate change, Dr Nockles said: "It's very simple. Climate change is real, it's urgent, and we need to address it both through mitigation and adaptation."
Dr Nockles wouldn't be drawn on whether the Coalition should pursue stronger targets, but argued Australia should be proud of its record in cutting emissions.