An Australian State election roundup

Like all my "roundups", this is just my opinion of what has been interesting in the Australian news. I don't try to be systematic. You have "The Australian" for that


Feisty Independent does well in South Australian elections



Anti-pokies crusader Nick Xenophon has become the strongest force in South Australian politics outside the major parties after his shock re-election to the Upper House. Mr Xenophon, who was elected to parliament in 1997 on the back of several parties' preferences, went into Saturday's election hoping for a "minor miracle", after both Labor and Liberal abandoned him in preference deals. But so overwhelming was his first preference support -- with more than 20 per cent of the vote -- that not only did Mr Xenophon retain his own seat, he also won a second berth for his running mate, drug rehabilitation pioneer Ann Bressington.

Mr Xenophon's victory saw him dubbed "the third political force" in the state by shell-shocked federal Liberal MP Christopher Pyne. Clem Macintyre, senior politics lecturer at the University of Adelaide, said the No Pokies MP was now "the second most recognised politician in the state after the Premier". Mr Xenophon has boosted his profile with a series of media stunts, but has gained credibility, advocating on behalf of victims of crime and people suffering from asbestos poisoning. Liberal deputy leader Iain Evans said Saturday's election was a boon for "the two people with relatively high media profiles -- Mike Rann and Nick Xenophon". Mr Evans said the Liberal Party would have to re-evaluate its own relationship with the media.

Mr Xenophon's decisive win also pours cold water on Mr Rann's stated ambition to abolish the upper house. A good strong upper house is an insurance policy against the excesses of an arrogant government," Mr Xenophon said yesterday.

An exhausted but elated Mr Xenophon took to Adelaide's Rundle Mall yesterday to thank supporters in his own inimitable style -- wearing a sandwich board emblazoned with the words: "Thank You". "I'd like to thank Labor and Liberal for preferencing against me," he said, arguing that the decision created a groundswell of support in the community. Mr Xenophon put up $70,000 of his own money to finance his campaign, taking out a bank loan to retain the momentum in the final fortnight, and had a further $80,000 of public donations. "It really was a grassroots campaign," he said.

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The Nutty party fades

The South Australian result could mean the demise of the Australian Democrats after voters in the state that has produced four of the party's leaders and where it has often polled strongest gave the party only 2.8 per cent of the vote in Saturday's election. The swing away from the Democrats, once seen as the third force in national politics, means the party is expected to lose both its contested seats in the upper house, leaving the Democrats with only one MP in the South Australian parliament.



Former leader senator Natasha Stott-Despoja, who handed out how-to-vote cards on Saturday, said yesterday it was the party's worst result. "Our heartland has suffered a blow," Senator Stott-Despoja said. Leader Lyn Allison refused to comment.

South Australia cradled the Democrats as it emerged under founder Don Chipp, and leaders Janine Haines, Cheryl Kernot and Meg Lees to become a force in Australian politics under the motto "Keep the bastards honest". The party's popularity peaked in 1997 when two Democrats were elected to South Australia's upper house with 16.5 per cent of the vote. One member had been elected the previous term, taking the party's presence to three elected members. These seats were retained until Saturday.

At its national peak, nine Australian Democrats held seats in the Senate prior to the 2001 federal election. Today, there are four Democrat senators in Canberra, while in NSW the party has an upper house MP.

With veteran Democrats MP Ian Gilfillan retiring from South Australia's upper house, his party colleague and sitting MP, Kate Reynolds, was the party's most prominent candidate. But even with the last two of the 11 seats in the Legislative Council still to be filled, it is unlikely Ms Reynolds will return to her seat. Labor claimed four seats, the Liberals three and Nick Xenophon's No Pokies ticket won two. The last two seats were expected to be won by Family First and the Greens.

Yet Ms Reynolds was refusing to concede. "We definitely haven't ruled ourselves out, this isn't over until the State Electoral Commission declares the polls, and that's not going to be for at least a week," Ms Reynolds said. "We believe we're still in there with a chance." Ms Reynolds said despite political commentators writing the party off, the poor results would not spell the end of the Democrats. "The South Australian Democrats have worked inside and outside of this parliament for 27 years," she said. "We are not giving up if I do not win my seat back. Our work has always been in the community as well as the parliament and that's what we'll keep on doing." A double loss would leave leader Sandra Kanck as the party's only South Australian parliamentarian. She said the upper house vote showed a significant swing towards conservatism that had surprised her. "Four of the 11 elected were conservative, and maybe when you throw a couple of the Liberals and a couple of the conservative Labor Party members in, it's all conservative," Ms Kanck said. "There's only going to be one progressive candidate elected. That is the thing that astounds me the most."

But the party still polled better than it had at last year's federal election, despite the swing. "So there's been an improvement in some ways," she said optimistically

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Far-Left agenda hurts Greens in Tasmanian elections

The Greens were once very influential in Tasmania

The Greens thought themselves king-makers but instead suffered a king-hit likely to cost them at least one seat and official party status. The Greens, who had hoped to force their policy platform on a minority government, were yesterday rethinking policy and strategy instead. Kim Booth looked likely to lose in Bass, depriving the Greens of the four members needed for the extra parliamentary resources that go with official party status. Labor believes the Greens may yet lose a second of its four MPs, Tim Morris in rural Lyons, but this appears unlikely.



Greens leader Peg Putt blamed the drop in their vote -- from 22per cent in a poll four weeks ago to 16per cent on Saturday -- on the "grubbiest, most vicious" smear campaign in Tasmanian political history. "Despite coming into the poll looking like we could gain more seats, we just couldn't come back over the top of the negative fear and smear campaign that was run against us from so many quarters," she said. "Perhaps we need to take another look at the fact that negative campaigning has become the norm in Australian politics and that other parties are using that to drive where the electorate goes." She said the party would also take a look at its policy of refusing to guarantee support for budgets in a hung parliament and whether it had failed to focus sufficiently on core environmental issues. She accused both major parties, logging companies, big business and the evangelical Exclusive Brethren group of running smear advertisements against them.

Labor warned a minority government would deter investment and destroy the economy, with Premier Paul Lennon claiming house prices would fall if he failed to achieve majority government. A $100,000 advertising campaign funded by a mostly anonymous group of businessmen also pleaded for majority government. The Greens were also targeted by advertising paid for by forestry companies, while ads placed by the Liberals and Exclusive Brethren church members claimed Greens' policies would threaten the state's social fabric.

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