http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/nick-xenophon/ Nick Xenophon got into politics at the 1997 SA Election when he ran for the Upper House on a ‘No Pokies’ platform. Before that he was minding his own business, running a small suburban legal practice in Paradise (the suburb!). But in the mid 1990s he began to see client after client whose lives had been damaged in some way by the introduction of poker machines into pubs and clubs. So he decided to make a point to run for State Parliament to at least raise the profile of the issue. He didn’t expect to win but scraped in with a bit over three per cent of the state-wide vote. He spent the next eight years fighting the pokies, as well as campaigning on other issues where people and groups weren’t getting a fair go – asbestos, victims of crime, and land tax, to name but a few. At the 2006 State Election he was re-elected with 20.5 per cent of the state’s vote. He was as shocked as his political opponents. He decided to leave state politics and run in the November 2007 Federal Election because he believed (and does even more so now) that he could do more for South Australians in the Senate. The writing was on the wall for state governments when the High Court handed down its decision on John Howard’s WorkChoices in August 2006. The Court basically said that the Federal Parliament can effectively override the states, using its Commonwealth powers, even to bring in a law like WorkChoices, which was unfair for many Australians. He was elected to the Senate with 14.5 per cent of the vote at the 2007 poll – just over a full Senate quota (so he didn’t have to rely on preferences from any political parties). en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/spend-on-job-creation-not-overseas-cruelty/ It’s hard to know what the live animal export industry is more concerned about. The fact that Australian animals are being tortured in Indonesia, or the fact that Australians now know that Australian animals are being tortured in Indonesia. I have long been opposed to the live animal export industry. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Nick Xenophon) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/spend-on-job-creation-not-overseas-cruelty/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/spend-on-job-creation-not-overseas-cruelty/#item5970 Tue, 31 May 2011 19:55:19 +0000 Nick Xenophon | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/coalition-stance-on-pokies-has-nothing-to-do-with-pokies/ After more than a decade in politics, I have sadly grown used to watching the often bizarre stances taken by other pollies and wondering why they are doing what they are doing. The response of some members of the Coalition to the poker machine issue is a case in point. To truly understand the Coalition’s current position on pokies, you need to know it has nothing to do with pokies. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Nick Xenophon) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/coalition-stance-on-pokies-has-nothing-to-do-with-pokies/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/coalition-stance-on-pokies-has-nothing-to-do-with-pokies/#item5713 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:45:24 +0000 Nick Xenophon | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/time-is-running-out-for-the-church-of-scientology/ Believe it or not, Senate Inquiries can generate all sorts of humorous exchanges. A hearing earlier this week into the Tax Laws Amendment (Public Benefit Test) Bill generated so much laughter at one point, you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ instead. It went something like this. When discussing the impact of the introduction of a Charities Commission in New Zealand, the Church of Scientology’s New Zealand Secretary, Michael Ferriss, explained that the organisation’s income of $2.623 million in 2007 fell to $374,000 the following year because of, “from memory, the exchange rate drop”. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Nick Xenophon) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/time-is-running-out-for-the-church-of-scientology/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/time-is-running-out-for-the-church-of-scientology/#item3460 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:50:14 +0000 Nick Xenophon | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-to-be-able-to-act-when-online-alarm-bells-ring/ The internet offers a world of opportunities. But it also brings some new threats a lot of parents and young people don’t adequately understand. The tragic murder or 15 year old South Australian girl Carly Ryan by a 50 year old Victorian man who travelled to Adelaide after grooming her on a social networking site brought home to many of us how badly our outdated laws deal with the new threats posed by the internet. The fifty year old killer had pretended to be a 20 year old youth online in order to win over Carly’s confidence. With the support of Carly’s mother Sonya I introduced into the Senate a Private Senator’s Bill which would make it illegal for an adult to misrepresent their age while communicating with a minor online. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Nick Xenophon) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-to-be-able-to-act-when-online-alarm-bells-ring/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-to-be-able-to-act-when-online-alarm-bells-ring/#item3119 Wed, 19 May 2010 19:45:19 +0000 Nick Xenophon | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/james-you-should-get-your-head-out-of-your-pokies/ My first reaction to James Packer’s claims that casinos contribute positively to the community was, ‘Spoken like a true billionaire’. The comments seemed as removed from reality as James’ fortune allows him to be. Specifically James told the Crown AGM:” Next time you read an unbalanced story about…casinos and their impact on the community, stop and think about the other side of the story.” And that story as James tells it seems to be a work of fiction. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Nick Xenophon) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/james-you-should-get-your-head-out-of-your-pokies/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/james-you-should-get-your-head-out-of-your-pokies/#item1598 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:50:38 +0000 Nick Xenophon | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/ivf-for-the-rich-and-infertility-for-the-rest/ One in six people in this country will encounter problems conceiving and need medical assistance to have a child. It’s a startling figure and it probably explains why most of us know someone who has struggled to start or add to a family. In the past there was little that could be done for these couples, but thankfully science has provided options that many only dreamed of previously. Sadly it seems the Government is about to take those options away from many Australians. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Nick Xenophon) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/ivf-for-the-rich-and-infertility-for-the-rest/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/ivf-for-the-rich-and-infertility-for-the-rest/#item963 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:50:12 +0000 Nick Xenophon | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudd-acting-like-a-used-car-salesman-over-ets/ The most baffling aspect to the entire debate surrounding the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is how so many who agree on a problem can be so divided about the best solution. With the exception of a few mavericks in the Nationals and the Liberals and one lone Senator from Family First, parliament accepts that the scientific debate is over. Anthropogenic climate change presents us with the most pressing and complex policy problem humankind has faced. Ever. And personally, I can’t help wondering what planet climate change denialists are living on. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Nick Xenophon) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudd-acting-like-a-used-car-salesman-over-ets/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudd-acting-like-a-used-car-salesman-over-ets/#item870 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 07:38:46 +0000 Nick Xenophon | Author bios | The Punch