The stuntman. The anti-politician politician. The no-pokies crusader. Mr X. Crossbench whisperer. Senate powerbroker.
Nick Xenophon has gone by many names during his two decades in politics.
Now, with the announcement he is resigning from the federal Senate to head back to South Australian state politics, Xenophon has taken the first steps towards another potential line to his repertoire – premier.
Always an intriguing combination of stunts and the serious, Xenophon launched into politics and straight into a powerbroker position, an assignment he has never given up.
Listening to Xenophon speak is like watching a word cloud become sentient
He is still standing while those who begrudgingly needed his support have fallen as he continues to wheel and deal with all and sundry, chalking up small wins and wiping away the missed opportunities with the Next Big Thing.
Listening to Xenophon speak is like watching a word cloud become sentient.
He is always three steps ahead in any conversation, often saying why he can’t talk while still in the midst of greetings.
His buzzing phone is so ubiquitous, its silence would be noted. But it has always been this way. Xenophon didn’t so much launch into politics as bend it to suit him, learning the power of personality after dabbling in party politics in university.
He eventually leveraged his knowledge of the political sphere to turn Nick Xenophon: the crusader into a platform, standing as an Independent for the South Australian Legislative Council in 1997.
He ran promising to cut down on pokies and won just 2.86% of the vote. But thanks to what he would later call an “improbable series” of preference deals, he was boosted over the line and, given the precarious state of the Olsen Liberal government, became an immediate power player.
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A commercial lawyer by trade, specialising in personal injury, Xenophon knew how to watch for which way the wind was blowing, and how it could help him play the game.
But every master must learn somewhere, and for Xenophon, the privatisation of the Electricity Trust of South Australia in 1999 proved a steep learning curve.
He voted with two disgruntled Labor MPs, Trevor Crothers and Terry Cameron, to keep the bill alive for a second reading, before voting against the bill itself. But it didn’t matter – Crothers and Cameron voted with the Liberal government for the sale and, as recently as last year, Xenophon was having to clarify his actions.
The experience left those in state politics wary of trusting him. Xenophon insisted, and still does, that he is guided by what is best for his constituents and the state at large.
No one ever seems to know for sure which way he will jump until the votes are being counted, but they can be sure Xenophon will be at the forefront of the debate, attracted to the cameras as if by a magnet, knowing they hold the key to his continued prosperity.
Nick Xenophon at a press conference.
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Nick Xenophon at a press conference. Photograph: Mike Bowers for the Guardian
While in the South Australian parliament the first time, Xenophon perfected the art of the stunt, ensuring the first Independent in decades commanded the front pages and a spot in the local news bulletins, in the process winning hearts and minds.
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In his 11 or so years in the SA legislative council, he paraded a goat to show he was not “kidding around” while a cow was used as a surrogate for state governments’ love of the gambling tax “cash cow”. He also rode a model train to demonstrate the “gravy train” of politicians’ perks.
By 2006, despite the frustrations of the major parties, Xenophon had made a career as a political gadfly, winning 20.5% of the vote.
The next year, he stood in front of a giraffe at the Adelaide Zoo to announce he was “sticking my neck out” and running for a seat in the federal Senate, walking a mule along Adelaide’s Rundle Mall to represent his stubbornness as the federal election campaign wound down.
He won just under 15% of the vote and a seat at the table for the first Rudd government, which needed two Senate crossbenchers to get its legislation through.
As Brian Harradine had before him, Xenophon hit the ground running and remained a bugbear to successive governments.
The stunts continued but were more low key, a sideshow to governments on tenterhooks wondering which way he would go – there were pajamas in the halls of the Senate during a late night sitting, a set of Australian-made crockery for Parliament House, doormats and cakes to celebrate the government’s birthday and broken promises.
Nick Xenophon in his pyjamas and slippers in the corridors of Parliament.
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Nick Xenophon in his pyjamas and slippers in the corridors of Parliament in the early hours of Friday 18th March 2016. Photograph: Mike Bowers for the Guardian
But in the backrooms, he helped win protections for whistleblowers, an issue which almost brought him to tears, accountability for the Murray-Darling water plan, and one-off payments for low-income households. He sent the government back to the drawing board on many issues, including data retention and higher education reforms.
Wherever a deal went, criticism followed, with “I did my best” becoming almost a mantra.
There have been splits within his own camp – both his 2006 state parliament running mate Ann Bressington and, more recently, John Darley have abandoned him. But despite the Canberra grumbles Xenophon continues to win over voters.
The Nick Xenophon Team was announced in time for the 2016 election, winning 21.7% of the South Australian vote – slightly down on his vote at the previous election – but with reduced double dissolution quotas, enough for another two Senate candidates to join him, and to win a lower house seat.
Nick Xenophon with his Trump doormat that states “Australia - not your doormat” at the senate doors in Canberra.
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Nick Xenophon with his Trump doormat that states “Australia - not your doormat” at the senate doors in Canberra. Photograph: Mike Bowers for the Guardian
Earlier this year, the state arm was announced as SA Best. Xenophon’s latest rabbit was to announce he plans to resign from the Senate and run in the state seat of Hartley.
Who will take his place depends on the outcome of the high court challenge to his eligibility to have stood in the Senate, given his recent discovery he has dual citizenship.
Xenophon has already moved on, announcing his plans without animals, but with plenty of surprise.
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