No Pokies
Encyclopedia
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
ticket that contested the 1997, 2002, and 2006 statewide legislative council elections. Poker machines or "pokies" are the Australian version of slot machines.
Independents elected from this ticket consist of:
- Nick XenophonNick XenophonNicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
, barrister and anti-gambling campaigner, elected in 1997 on 2.9 percent with preferences and again in 2006 on 20.5 percent - Ann BressingtonAnn BressingtonAnn Bressington is an Australian politician. She was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2006 South Australian election as Nick Xenophon's running mate on his independent No Pokies ticket...
, anti-drugs campaigner, elected in 2006 as Xenophon's first of two running mates - John DarleyJohn Darley (Australian politician)John Andrew Darley , a former valuer-general, was appointed to the South Australian Legislative Council by a joint sitting of the Parliament of South Australia on 21 November 2007 to replace outgoing No Pokies MP Nick Xenophon. Darley was the third of three candidates on the independent No Pokies...
, former valuer-general, third running mate in 2006 was appointed on 21 November 2007 to replace outgoing MP Nick Xenophon.
Xenophon's vote at the election came approximately equally from Labor and Liberal party voters.
Federal politics
Xenophon resigned from the South Australian Legislative CouncilSouth Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
in early October 2007 to stand for the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
as an independent at the 2007 federal election in which he was successful, on a primary vote of 14.78 percent. ABC election analyst Antony Green
Antony Green
Antony John Green is an Australian psephologist and commentator for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.-Early years and background:...
had stated prior to the election that Xenophon would win a seat, while Centrebet
Centrebet
Centrebet is an Australian bookmaker licensed in the Northern Territory.Centrebet originated from Alice Springs, Northern Territory and was the first bookmaker to be licensed in Australia in 1993 and the first bookmaker to go online in the Southern Hemisphere. Centrebet was acquired by its biggest...
speculated his odds would start on a favourable $1.50 for and $2.70 against. Nick Minchin
Nick Minchin
Nicholas Hugh "Nick" Minchin is a former Australian politician, serving as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing South Australia from July 1993 to June 2011, and a former cabinet minister in the Howard Government....
"urged people not to vote for Mr Xenophon", with the Liberal Party's 2006 upper house vote only 5.5 percent higher, and polled lower than Xenophon in some booths.
Xenophon's federal platform consists of anti-gambling, pro-consumer protection
Consumer protection
Consumer protection laws designed to ensure fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors and may provide additional...
, attention to the water crisis, ratifying Kyoto
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
, opposition against what he calls a decrease in state rights, and opposition to WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
. His addition resulted in holding the balance of power
Balance of power (parliament)
In parliamentary politics, the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor political party or other grouping whose guaranteed support may enable an otherwise minority government to obtain and hold office...
in the Senate along with the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
and Family First
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
's Steve Fielding
Steve Fielding
Steven "Steve" Fielding , was a Senator representing the state of Victoria and the federal parliamentary leader of the Family First Party in Australia. Elected to the Senate at the 2004 federal election on two percent of the Victorian vote, he failed to gain re-election at the 2010 federal election...
. Xenophon has been reported in the media as "left-of-centre", whilst Hansard reveals that Xenophon and the Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
have found common ground on a number of issues.
South Australia
- John DarleyJohn Darley (Australian politician)John Andrew Darley , a former valuer-general, was appointed to the South Australian Legislative Council by a joint sitting of the Parliament of South Australia on 21 November 2007 to replace outgoing No Pokies MP Nick Xenophon. Darley was the third of three candidates on the independent No Pokies...
MLC, 2007-current - Ann BressingtonAnn BressingtonAnn Bressington is an Australian politician. She was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2006 South Australian election as Nick Xenophon's running mate on his independent No Pokies ticket...
MLC, 2006-current - Nick XenophonNick XenophonNicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
MLC, 1997–2007
External links
- Nick Xenophon for the Senate 2007
- http://www.seo.sa.gov.au/archive/2002/pdfs/I.PDF2002 No Pokies upper house preferentialSingle transferable voteThe single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
] legislative council ticket. - http://www.seo.sa.gov.au/election2006/candidates/pdfs/H.pdf2006 No Pokies upper house preferentialSingle transferable voteThe single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
] legislative council ticket.