Nick Xenophon ( Nicholas Xenophou; ; born 29 January 1959) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who was a Senator for South Australia from 2008 until 2017. As a centrist, populist, independent politician, he twice shared the balance of power in the Australian Senate (from 2008 to 2010, 2014 to 2017). Xenophon was widely regarded as being among the most powerful politicians in Australia and among the most electorally successful independent politicians in Australian history, eventually able to form a political party: Nick Xenophon Team federally, and Nick Xenophon's SA-BEST in the state of South Australia.
From 1997 to 2007, he was a member of the South Australian Legislative Council, serving as an independent on a No Pokies policy platform. When the Nick Xenophon Team changed its name to Centre Alliance, Xenophon himself ceased to be directly involved with the party. Xenophon initially focused on his central anti-gambling policy, but came to advocate for other issues in federal parliament such as civil liberties, defence, education, foreign policy, health, infrastructure, manufacturing, national security, and regional affairs. Xenophon failed in his central mission to have poker machines curbed or eliminated in a lasting way, but was instrumental in the Rudd government's repeal of WorkChoices legislation and the passage of the economic stimulus package, as well as the Abbott government's repeal of the Clean Energy Act 2011. Additionally, Xenophon was pivotal in the obstruction of the Abbott government's 2014 austerity budget, the plan to build next generation submarines overseas, and the Pyne higher education reforms.
In October 2017, Xenophon resigned from the Australian Senate to contest a seat in the House of Assembly at the 2018 South Australian state election. Polls suggested that Xenophon's party may have been able to form government, however by election day support had collapsed, and Xenophon was not elected to a lower house seat. He tried to re-enter the Senate in 2022 but received less than 3 percent of the vote, the lowest performance at an election since his first statewide result in 1997.
Early life Nick Xenophon was born Nicholas Xenophou in Adelaide, South Australia, to Theo Xenophou from Cyprus, and Georgia from Greece as the oldest of two children. Xenophon attended Prince Alfred College from 1965 to 1976 where he achieved three As in English, Mathematics and Economics, and his father was involved with college fundraising.Prince Alfred College 'Chronicle' October 1976, www.pac.edu.au. He studied for a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Adelaide. From 1976 until 1981, he was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia and the Young Liberals. In his first year, Xenophon was elected on the Adelaide University Liberal Club ticket to On Dit student magazine. In his university days Xenophon was a reactionary conservative who held numerous views against women's liberation, gay rights, squatters' rights, Marxism, the anti-Apartheid movement, the anti-nuclear movement and the anti-free traders (all views he later departed from). At the end of his eighteen-month term, Xenophon wrote as a whistleblower in On Dit that the Young Liberals had rigged the 1976–77 vote in order to secure the unlikely victory of their editing team. According to Xenophon, the party politics of the On Dit incident disenchanted him, although some Labor members maintain that he considered joining the Australian Labor Party while at university.
In 2015, the publishers of former Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard's 2014 memoir, My Story, retracted an allegation and made a public apology after writing that Xenophon had been "infamously excluded from university for a period as punishment for stuffing a ballot box full of voting papers he had somehow procured".
Legal career In 1982 and 1983, Xenophon worked as a lawyer in the private practice of Jacob van Dissel. In 1984, van Dissel gave Xenophon the personal injury part of his practice, enabling Xenophon to become principal of his new firm, Xenophon & Co. Lawyers. The firm dealt primarily with workers compensation and personal injury claims on a no-win-no-fee basis.
In 1994 and 1997, Xenophon served as President of the South Australian branch of the Australian Plaintiff Lawyers' Association. During this time, he also taught law at the University of South Australia, where his future political opponent Christopher Pyne was among his students.
In 2019, the Australian Financial Review reported that his law firm was representing Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei, who Xenophon claims have "been treated incredibly unfairly". He also represented the military whistleblower, David McBride.
In 2024, Xenophon transferred his legal practice to a different firm who took on his staff and clients. Xenophon remained involved as a consultant.
Political views
Xenophon considers himself to be a centrist politician with strong views against poker machine gambling.
In 2008, The Australian quoted many Liberal and Labor politicians who believed Xenophon had shown himself to be a "lightweight" political opportunist during his decade in state politics.
In 2010, Xenophon sought to introduce anti-cult legislation similar to that of France's anti-cult legislation, primarily targeting the Church of Scientology and its tax-exempt status.
In 2012, Xenophon co-sponsored a bill with Victorian Senator John Madigan to restrict federal government subsidies for wind farms. Xenophon's concerns about wind turbines were predominantly related to anecdotal evidence of health problems and the reliability of wind-sourced power.
In 2015, Xenophon appealed in person to Indonesia's largest Islamic body to support a reprieve for two Australian convicted drug smugglers sentenced to death in Bali. Xenophon's translator reportedly stated, “We are aware that the death penalty is the right of the Indonesian government. Therefore, we do not ask that it be cancelled but plead that it be delayed”.
In 2018 during the 2018 South Australian state election, Xenophon and his party pushed for a law that crystal methamphetamine users in South Australia will be forced into drug rehabilitation.
Political career South Australian Legislative Council (1997–2007) At the 1997 state election, Xenophon stood for the South Australian Legislative Council under an independent No Pokies ticket, advocating the reduction and abolition of poker machines (colloquially known as "pokies"). He received a vote of 2.86 percent, a statewide total of 25,630 votes – much less than the 8.33 per cent needed to be elected in his own right – but by receiving a large number of preferences first from microparties and then from Grey Power, he went from a quota of 0.34 to 1.08 and was therefore elected. This made Xenophon the first independent elected to the Legislative Council in 60 years.
Following the 1997 election, the Olsen Liberal government needed the support of an additional two non-Liberal upper house members in order to pass legislation, with the Australian Democrats retaining the balance of power on three seats. However, defectors from Labor in the upper house, Terry Cameron and Trevor Crothers, often brought Xenophon in to play. In 1998, Xenophon voted with Cameron and the government to proceed with the second reading of the ETSA power sale bill. The bill became law when Cameron and Crothers voted with the Liberal government, although Xenophon voted against the bill in its final form. Following the election of the Rann Labor government at the 2002 state election, the government needed an additional five non-Labor upper house members to pass legislation, giving a shared balance of power to the Democrats on three seats, incumbent independents Xenophon and Cameron, with the Family First Party winning their first seat.
Xenophon was an activist for a range of issues apart from the elimination of poker machines, speaking out on consumer rights, essential services, the environment, taxation, and perks for politicians. Xenophon was also vocal in the Eugene McGee hit and run affair, becoming an advocate for the victim's wife, with public opinion eventually forcing the Kapunda Road Royal Commission that led to harsher laws for hit and run offences.
At the 2006 state election, he ran an aggressive campaign and attracted considerable publicity through a range of imaginative stunts, including riding a model locomotive "gravy train" outside Parliament House to protest MPs' superannuation entitlements, parading along Rundle Mall wearing a sandwich board to advertise his campaign, and bringing a small goat to Parliament urging voters not to "kid around" with their vote.
Despite media speculation that he would struggle to be re-elected due to the major parties preferencing against him, he attracted sufficient funding and volunteers to staff most state booths on polling day. He received 190,958 first preferences or 20.51 per cent of the total vote, enough to not only be re-elected himself, but also to elect the second No Pokies candidate, Ann Bressington. McCarthy is a senior lecturer in politics at the University of Adelaide. His total was 5.46 per cent less than the Liberal Party, and he outpolled the Liberals in some booths, including the electoral district of Enfield. With the Labor government needing four non-Labor upper house members to pass legislation, No Pokies on two seats shared the balance of power with Family First on two seats, the Democrats on one seat, with the SA Greens winning their first seat.
Australian Senate (2008–2017) 2007 election campaign On 11 October 2007, Xenophon called a press conference at the Adelaide Zoo in front of the giraffe enclosure, declaring he would "stick his neck out for South Australia" by announcing his resignation from the South Australian Legislative Council in an attempt to gain election to the Australian Senate at the 2007 federal election. His platform consisted of anti-gambling and consumer protection measures, attention to the water crisis affecting the Murray River, ratifying Kyoto, opposition against a "decrease in state rights", and opposition to WorkChoices. Nick Minchin, a Liberal senator from South Australia, urged people not to vote for Xenophon. Due to running as an independent Xenophon's name did not appear above the line on the ticket, instead he was represented only by the letter "S" above the line, with voters having to search for his details.
As Xenophon had vacated his Legislative Council seat to run for the Senate, a joint sitting of the South Australian parliament was convened for 21 November 2007 to select Xenophon's replacement. Former valuer-general John Darley, who had stood as the third candidate on Xenophon's ticket in 2006, was appointed. During the joint sitting convened to confirm the nomination, Ann Bressington criticised Xenophon, questioning his integrity and suitability for federal parliament, suggesting that his "anti-politician" image was more spin than reality. She also said Xenophon had demanded she contribute AU$50,000 towards campaign expenses at the 2006 state election. Xenophon said in response that he was "shocked and hurt" and "deeply upset" that she had failed to share her concerns with him in person, saying "privately and publicly, I have been very supportive of her."
Some whose causes Xenophon had championed also came forward to defend Xenophon, including Di Gilcrist, whose husband's hit and run death resulted in the Kapunda Road Royal Commission. In an interview the following day, Gilcrist said "based on my experience not only as a victim who's dealt with Nick but also somebody who's worked with Nick and his office... Nick is passionate and he cares and he is empathetic. And he is truly committed." Lower House independent Kris Hanna also defended Xenophon, arguing Bressington had "obviously been out to do some damage" and injure Xenophon's election chances.