Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

HellRazor · Oct 6, 2010

Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

UPDATE:

[ame]http://vimeo.com/15732085[/ame]

Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Monday, October 11, ABC1, 6.30pm

IF THIS flattering portrait of a politician was not being presented by Peter Thompson and if said politician was not Nick Xenophon, the half-hour could be mistaken for a political infomercial. But given the integrity of the interviewer and program, we can only draw the conclusion that the independent South Australian MP actually busts the oxymoron of the good politician. We learn that his motivation for taking on the gaming industry, which got him elected to state parliament in 1997, was his horror at discovering a client at his personal injuries law firm blew his payout on the pokies. He's been fighting for government recognition and support of gambling addicts ever since. While he's been branded a "media tart" for fronting up to parliament with a goat, a cow, a box of mushrooms or a toy car to illustrate points, from his concerns about Scientology to his disgust at pollies' perks, he walks the talk. He refuses airline upgrades and repays his campaign donations. The story here is familiar — son of hard-working migrants grew up talking politics around the dinner table. What really sets Xenophon apart is his sense of humour, humanity and the fact that, inspired by mythological Greek king Sisyphus, he keeps pushing the proverbial up that hill.

Anonymous · Oct 6, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Go Xenophon!

I will definitely be recording and uploading this.

Anonymous · Oct 7, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Epic bio! A half hour of the Senator telling his life story in 3 segments and answering questions before, between and after them.

Anonymous · Oct 7, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Nick is our new god.

Sponge · Oct 7, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

What a guy.

"media tart", lol, so many jealous politicians.
Oh yes, he's our lovely and effective media tart. If I was a girl then I'd swoon and go "he's so dreamy".

RightOn · Oct 7, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

I thought the title meant these Talking Heads lol!

Cheers to Nick for doing moar and moar

Anonymous · Oct 7, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

It's good when good things happen to good people.

TinyDancer · Oct 7, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Sponge;1332987 said:

What a guy.

"media tart", lol, so many jealous politicians.
Oh yes, he's our lovely and effective media tart. If I was a girl then I'd swoon and go "he's so dreamy".

You luff him. On the inside.

Here's a bit more about Nick. Read it and swoon.

From 28 August 2010, Sky News:

Peter van Onselen: Do you have any regrets that you didn’t run some sort of a ticket, not just for the Senate in this campaign but for the Lower House as well? I mean South Australian Liberals have told me that they felt that if you decided to stick it in state politics you were every chance of becoming premier, that’s how high your support is over there in South Australia. This was one of those unique opportunities you could have had to really play a role rather than in a sense the Senate being a little bit left out of this process.

Nick Xenophon: The short answer is no and to my friends in the South Australian Liberals, like a little political memo to them - to form government to become premier you actually need to run a political party and have the majority of the seats in the Lower House, so I think they’re overstepping themselves a little bit there. I think they’ve missed you know politics 101. Look, I don’t regret it. I thought that was the right thing to do and the Greens would have had the balance of power in the Senate in any event and I’m very comfortable to work with that so no regrets.

Here's what his profile in The Australian says.

Nick Xenophon

Born: Adelaide, January 29, 1959.

Nick Xenophon is a rarity - an accidental politician who has prospered.

The 51-year-old was a member of the Adelaide University Liberal Club as an undergraduate at the end of the 1970s, but fell out with his student politician colleagues.

When Xenophon graduated he concentrated on his legal career, yet it was his law practice that pushed him back to politics.

By the second half of the 1990s Xenophon had a busy legal practice of his own, but he was worried. He mainly handled compensation claims, and saw too many of his former clients - blue collar types who were unable to return to work - feed their winnings into poker machines and end up with nothing.

Poker machines were only introduced into South Australia in 1992 as a desperate move to fill the massive financial hole left by the collapse of the State Bank of South Australia the previous year. The vote was rushed and smacked of panic. The legislation went through parliament before opponents of the bill were properly organised.

There was considerable disquiet, only heightened when it became clear within just a few years that a new class of problem gamblers could be found in suburban pubs across Adelaide.

At the 1997 state election Xenophon decided to make a stand. He took advantage of a quirk in South Australia's electoral laws to run for the Legislative Council where, despite being just another independent, he could have the words "No Pokies" next to his name on the ballot paper.

Enough voters noticed his protest. Their support, combined with the preference crumbs the major parties always throw to independents in an attempt to deny their opponents an advantage, saw Xenophon over the line.

He made a shaky start and seemed very much the loner, then infuriated the Liberal government by backing away from a pledge to support the privatisation of the state's electricity utility - yet another legacy of the state's debt crisis. But the populist stance did him no harm with voters.

Xenophon's attacks on the pokie barons were well received. As he gained confidence he put his legal skills to work and became a parliamentary advocate for people and causes lost in the labyrinth of bureaucracy. When this grew into a broader campaign for government transparency and accountability, he only widened his constituency of support. He was a tireless worker. A string of gauche but good humoured media stunts made him a favourite with television stations, and journalists respected his sincerity.

When he faced re-election at the March 2006 state poll, Xenophon's support was so strong he was not only re-elected in his own right, but had enough votes to get a second No Pokies candidate up.

Despite this, many observers thought he had overreached himself when he announced he would run for the Senate in 2007. Others feared that his name would be lost on the ballot paper, as federal electoral law meant he could not use the No Pokies name on the ticket without a formal party. Xenophon proved them wrong and won a quota in his own right.

In Canberra he has widened his interests to include the Murray-Darling Basin - a crucial issue for South Australia - and skilfully used his strategic vote to win major concessions for his state on a string of issues.

Xenophon is seen as intelligent, capable and sincere. Just how much he can achieve, however, will depend on who holds the balance of power after the next election. At the moment the government needs his vote. That gives him power in Canberra.
Christian Kerr

Anonymous · Oct 7, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Sponge;1332987 said:

What a guy.

"media tart", lol, so many jealous politicians.
Oh yes, he's our lovely and effective media tart. If I was a girl then I'd swoon and go "he's so dreamy".

I am a girl, and he is definitely dreamy *swoons*.

Anonymous · Oct 9, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Bump.

Anonymous · Oct 10, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2010/10/talking-heads-oct-11.html

Xenophon is a man with a powerful urge to help people – victims, the disadvantaged and those without a voice. He is a politician who’s actually too embarrassed to take up his entitlement to fly business class. He routinely swaps his seat with another passenger and sits at the back of the plane.
In the 1990’s, working as a personal injury lawyer, Xenophon became increasingly angry about the spread of poker machines in his home town. A client of his, who had brain-damage, had lost thousands of dollars at the hands of seemingly unscrupulous hoteliers who actively encouraged the man’s addiction.
So Xenophon set up the “No Pokies Campaign” and ran for State Parliament hoping to focus attention on the issue. What he didn’t expect was what happened …he got elected.
“I honestly didn’t think I would get in at the State election in October 1997 but I scraped in with the help of preferences from all sides of politics…they didn’t think I was going to get in so they thought it was quite safe to pass their preferences with me.”
Three years ago he was lured to the national stage and to have a tilt at the Senate by Kevin Rudd’s stated determination to take action on poker machines.
“If I think something’s wrong then I want to do something about it and to me poker machines are a litmus test of good government … I figured in a democracy if you believe in something strongly enough you should make a stand.”
Suddenly this maverick crusader found himself in the Upper House holding the balance of power.
Now, with independents and pokies firmly back in the spotlight, TALKING HEADS shines a little of that light on one of Australia’s most unusual pollies.
“I’d like to think that I made a difference and I like to think that I’m still, I’m still the same bloke that I was before I got involved in politics in the first place.”

Anonymous · Oct 10, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Not long now.

Anonymous · Oct 11, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Its on!

*swoon*

Anonymous · Oct 11, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

ftw.

Also his epic scientology speech was just on.

Anonymous · Oct 11, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

"Are there any votes in taking on Scientology?"

"No, but thats not a reason not to do it"

FTW.

Anonymous · Oct 11, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

TinyDancer;1333033 said:

You luff him. On the inside.

We luff you, on the outside, inside or any side we can haff choo.

Hold me closer, NAO!!

TinyDancer · Oct 11, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Anonymous;1334387 said:

We luff you, on the outside, inside or any side we can haff choo.

Hold me closer, NAO!!

Blush. :$

Anonymous;1334383 said:

"Are there any votes in taking on Scientology?"

"No, but thats not a reason not to do it"

FTW.

Wow.

Anonymous · Oct 11, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

I will have video up later on Vimeo btw.

Or if you're Australian you can check it out on iView - http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/653854

Anonymous · Oct 11, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

http://vimeo.com/15732085

TinyDancer · Oct 11, 2010

re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Anonymous;1334426 said:

http://vimeo.com/15732085

Thank you!

And, wow.

Sponge · Oct 11, 2010

Re: Tonight: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

fify

TinyDancer;1334429 said:

Anonymous;1334426 said:

http://vimeo.com/15732085

Thank you!

And, swoon.

TinyDancer · Oct 11, 2010

Re: Tonight: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

Sponge;1334433 said:

fify

You got that right!

Ann O'Nymous · Oct 11, 2010

Re: Video: Talking Heads: Nick Xenophon - October 11

UPDATE:http://vimeo.com/15732085

Thanks. Nice.

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