Federal Election 2019: Robot-sex professor Adrian Cheok running for Fraser Anning’s party one of a raft of minor candidates

The robot sex expert who quit Clive Palmer’s party because he wasn’t enough like Donald Trump is now running for Fraser Anning’s party because it better fits his beliefs.

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The robot sex expert who quit Clive Palmer’s party because he was not the “Australian Donald Trump” he wanted to represent says running for Fraser Anning’s party better fits his beliefs.

Professor Adrian Cheok says he left Mr Palmer’s United Australia Party Senate ticket after being told to “dumb” down policies because Australians would not understand.

Professor Cheok is a computer scientist who specialises in human-computer interfaces and was behind a cancelled Love and Sex with Robots conference.

Conservative National Party senate candidate Adrian Cheok.

He will run for Mr Anning’s Conservative National Party as a lower house candidate for the state’s marginal seat of Boothby.

He says Mr Anning was a better fit for his beliefs about populism and conservative nationalism.

“Bringing political power back to the working-class man and woman … and where we put Australian citizens first, it’s all about looking after Australian citizens that have jobs,” Prof Cheok said.

“One of his policies is a development bank … that’s an example of how his policies fit in with my passions.”

The Adelaide-born professor denied claims that he or Mr Anning were racist.

“Look at me, my mother is Greek, my father is Malaysian-Chinese,” he said.

Prof Cheok is among a raft of minor party SA candidates running for election in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Agribusiness professional Tim Burrow is the lead Senate candidate for the once-defunct Australian Democrats.

The party’s last SA Senate representative was Natasha Stott Despoja, who left office in 2008. The Democrats were deregistered in 2016 but two years later merged with the Country Minded party, before being re-registered three days before Prime Minister Scott Morrison called this year’s election.

Tim Burrow

Nathan Herbert

Mr Burrow said he considered running as an independent before approaching the Democrats.

“The tenure of the parliament has come down over the past decade or so,” Mr Burrow said. “Our key role in the Senate in particular … is to keep the bastards honest.”

Mr Burrow’s running mate, Andrew Castrique, was a Democrats member for almost two decades, while hospitality worker Chris James is the party’s candidate for the lower house seat of Adelaide.

The trio’s grassroots campaign includes banners and driving around with Democrat posters on e-scooters.

Elizabeth South bricklayer Nathan Herbert got his first taste of politics through Democrats founder Don Chipp.

“My first partner was Don Chipp’s personal assistant, when they set up the Democrats,” Mr Herbert said.

He is running as an independent for the seat of Spence in Adelaide’s northern suburbs with the campaign slogan: “The bricky will fix it”.

“We need people like me who are used to working in society that comes from somewhere like I do to let them (politicians) know what it is really like out there for the common person,” Mr Herbert said.

“People are really suffering in Spence … because we are the safest seat nothing is really happening here.”

Mr Herbert said unemployment, ice drug addiction and a lack of industry were key issues for voters.

“We need jobs, we’re sick of the violence, (people in Spence) can’t afford to live — electricity costs too much,” he said.

In March, The Advertiser revealed Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party SA candidates included Kristian Rees — a former Adelaide United soccer player — as lead on the Senate ticket, and Peter Salerno, who offers laughter therapy, fortune-telling and inspirational speaking, in the lower house seat of Boothby.

Originally published as Federal Election 2019: Robot-sex professor Adrian Cheok running for Fraser Anning’s party one of a raft of minor candidates