 A Catholic, Finnigan was a member of Labor's right-wing (Labor Unity) faction.In his maiden speech on 8 May 2006 Finnigan told the Parliament that "I am a servant of Christ and subject of His reign in history".During June 2008 on a conscience vote, he was among a number of Labor MLCs who joined Liberal and Family First MLCs to vote down an amendment to give same-sex couples legal access to gestational surrogacy.