Nicole Cornes
Encyclopedia
Politics of Australia
The Politics of Australia take place within the framework of a parliamentary democracy, with electoral procedures appropriate to a two-party system. Australia is governed as a federation and as a constitutional monarchy, with an adversarial legislature based upon the Westminster system...
Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
political candidate. She was the unsuccessful 2007 Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
candidate for the division of Boothby
Division of Boothby
The Division of Boothby is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. The division was created in 1903 and is named after William Boothby , the Returning Officer for the first election of Members of the House of Representatives in 1901....
, a marginal Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
seat in the south of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
.
Early life
Nicole Cornes was born in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, growing up in the suburb of Marino
Marino
Marino, Mariño or Maryino may refer to:In places:* Marino, Lazio, a town in the province of Rome, Italy* Marino, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide* Marino, County Down in Northern Ireland...
. She attended St Theresa's Primary School, Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, Marymount College, and Sacred Heart College, Somerton Park
Somerton Park
Somerton Park was a football, greyhound and speedway stadium in Newport, Monmouthshire. In April 1912 Newport County had been accepted to play in the Southern League for the 1912–13 season. Shortly afterwards, the site for the ground was obtained by the Club's chairman Bert Moss...
. She left school at 14 and held various jobs including as a secretary at Adelaide radio station 5AA. At 21 she met her future husband Graham Cornes
Graham Cornes
Graham Studley Cornes OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach, as well as a media personality with a weekday drivetime sports program that he hosts on Adelaide 5AA with Stephen Rowe....
, a radio presenter and former notable Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
player. She has completed a law degree at Flinders University
Flinders University
Flinders University, , is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has established a reputation as a leading research...
, and works as a legal officer for the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees' Association, SA Branch. She is also completing a Master of Law. For several years she was a regular columnist for the Sunday Mail.
Political career
Cornes' first political involvement began when she was approached by family friend and State Deputy Premier Kevin FoleyKevin Foley
Kevin Owen Foley , Australian politician, is the current Minister for Industry and Trade and Minister for Federal/State Relations in the Rann Labor government. He previously served as Treasurer of South Australia and Deputy Premier of South Australia from 2002 until his resignation in 2011...
to run as the Labor candidate for the South Australian Division of Boothby
Division of Boothby
The Division of Boothby is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. The division was created in 1903 and is named after William Boothby , the Returning Officer for the first election of Members of the House of Representatives in 1901....
in the 2007 Federal election, reportedly after her husband declined the nomination. Cornes admitted at a press conference that she had previously voted for the Liberal party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
, specifically for political opponent Liberal John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, and had written about him as a "fine PM" in her newspaper column.
Cornes' campaign was notable for her initial gaffes, inability to articulately answer questions, and reports highlighting her lack of knowledge of ALP policies. Perhaps most notable was her stumbling responses in interview on local ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
radio with journalist Matthew Abraham, revealing her ignorance of Labor's key issue industrial relations policy.
On another occasion when Cornes was contacted for an interview by the local newspaper, the Adelaide Advertiser, she said:
"I won't have to answer any tough questions, no hard-hitting questions, will I? I've had just about enough of those questions."
She was also quoted as saying her difficult first interview would not have been better for more preparation:
"I'm still going to lose my words, my thought patterns are still going to get jumbled. In a way, that's a bit of my personality too".
Such comments generated intense public and media interest that was generally unfavourable. Despite such negativity, Cornes resolutely conducted her campaign, concentrating on traditional methods such as door-knocking, train stations, street-corner meetings and public forums.
2007 Federal Election Results
The electoral results for the Division of BoothbyElectoral results for the Division of Boothby
This is a list of electoral results for the Division of Boothby in Australian federal elections from the division's creation in 1903 until the present.- Members :-Elections in the 2010s:-Elections in the 2000s:...
showed that Cornes obtained 30,501 votes first preference votes (34.12%) compared to long-time sitting member Andrew Southcott
Andrew Southcott
Andrew John Southcott MP is an Australian politician and medical practitioner. He has been the Liberal Party member for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Boothby, South Australia, since the 1996 election.-Early life:...
's 41,343 (46.25%). The two-party preferred result was 47% to 53% split, a swing of -2.44% from Southcott. This was in the context of a South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n state swing of 6.76% to the Labor Party.
Political journalist Alan Ramsey added some balance to her controversial canditature when he noted:
"No candidate for any party in any state emerged with more dignity in "losing" on election night than Cornes."
After the election, journalist Andrew Bolt
Andrew Bolt
Andrew Bolt is an Australian newspaper columnist, radio commentator, blogger and television host. Bolt is a columnist and associate editor of the Melbourne-based Herald Sun. He has appeared on the Nine Network, Melbourne Talk Radio, ABC Television, Network Ten and local radio...
apologised to Cornes for calling her a dill
Dill
Dill is a perennial herb. It is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens C.B.Clarke.-Growth:...
on the television show the Insiders, stating:
"I still think she was certainly no great candidate, but I very much regret that insult after watching last night’s Australian Story. From the show I learned that during her torrid campaign she was also going through a highly emotional court case against a relative who had abused her when she was just five. I also learned that the media coverage on which I’d relied in forming my opinion may not have been quite fair. Given all that, I’ve found a new respect for her strength and composure. And I’m cross with myself at having been unfair. I’m the real dill."
Victim of child abuse
After the election, Nicole Cornes was featured in an episode of the ABC'sAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
Australian Story
Australian Story
Australian Story is a national weekly documentary series, produced and broadcast on ABC Television.Since 1996 Australian Story has featured many Australians from diverse backgrounds and reputations...
program which focused on her unsuccessful campaign. During the episode it was revealed that she had been campaigning while also appearing in court as the victim in a child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
case. The accused was convicted and eventually lost his appeal. The final appeal was dismissed four months after the election was held.
Defamation case
In 2011, Cornes successfully sued the Network TenNetwork Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
television station for comments made on its AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
-themed panel discussion show, Before the Game
Before the Game
Before The Game is an Australian rules football/comedy television show in Australia on Network Ten. The show is hosted by Andrew Maher, with regular panelists including Mick Molloy, Dave Hughes, Sam Lane, and Lehmo. The format of the show is a light-hearted discussion of issues relating to the...
, by comedian Mick Molloy
Mick Molloy
Michael "Mick" Molloy is an Australian comedian, writer and producer who has been active in the fields of radio, television, stand-up and film.-Biography:...
. During the episode in question, Molloy made a joke implying that Hawthorn
Hawthorn Football Club
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
footballer Stuart Dew
Stuart Dew
Stuart Dew is a former Australian rules footballer and dual premiership-player for Port Adelaide and Hawthorn in the Australian Football League. Dew was a student at Enfield High School prior to his AFL career....
(formerly a teammate of Cornes's stepsons Kane
Kane Cornes
Kane Graham Cornes in an Australian rules football player who plays for Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League.-Early life:...
and Chad Cornes
Chad Cornes
Chad Studley Cornes is a Australian rules footballer, who is contracted to play for Greater Western Sydney in 2012, in the Australian Football League...
at Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide Football Club
The Port Adelaide Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, which plays in the Australian Football League and the South Australian National Football League...
) had slept with her. The joke was in reference to comments Cornes had made in her newspaper column praising Dew for having stated he would be prepared to walk away from his AFL career in order to support his then-girlfriend, actress Teresa Palmer
Teresa Palmer
Teresa Palmer is an Australian actress. She made her film debut in the suicide drama 2:37. Palmer was seen in The Grudge 2 in 2006, in December Boys, alongside Daniel Radcliffe, and in the 2008 children's fantasy Bedtime Stories, with Adam Sandler...
, and describing him therein as "a great catch". Justice David Peek awarded Cornes $93,000 in damages, costs and interest. Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
is appealing the decision
Personal life
She is the third wife of former Australian rules footballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
er and coach Graham Cornes
Graham Cornes
Graham Studley Cornes OAM is a former Australian rules football player and coach, as well as a media personality with a weekday drivetime sports program that he hosts on Adelaide 5AA with Stephen Rowe....
, 22 years her senior, and stepmother to his sons, high-profile footballers Chad and Kane. They have three children: Amy (born 1994), Charlize (born 2004), and a daughter born in early 2009.
External links
- Nicole Cornes - Candidate for Boothby (official biography, Australian Labor Party)