Rex Jory: Nick Xenophon is serious power in SA politics so it’s time he confronted some hard questions

IT will eventually dawn on South Australians that they will have to elect a new government on March 17, next year. But this will be no ordinary election.

IT will eventually dawn on South Australians that they will have to elect a new government on March 17, next year. But this will be no ordinary election.

Just over one million voters will have to decide whether to re-elect Labor, give the Liberals a turn or make a leap of faith and support Nick Xenophon’s SA Best.

Labor and the Liberals are essentially known quantities. They have been the bread and butter of SA politics for nearly a century.

But what about SA Best? Senator Xenophon is a political phenomenon.

Polls suggest SA Best has a groundswell of support which will almost certainly give it the balance of power in the new Parliament and just might squeak it into government.

What do we know of SA Best?

Wash away the glamour of a political movement which is fresh and different and the answer is: not much.

Here are a few questions Senator Xenophon should answer in the run-up to the election:Will you seek a preference deal with either of the major parties before the election?

Which of the major parties will you support if you hold the balance of power?

If SA Best wins more seats than either Labor or the Liberals will you rule out the possibility of becoming Premier in coalition with one of the two major parties?

Have you ever been a member of a major party and when you were at university did you consider joining the Labor Party?

Are you a one-man band?

Will Parliamentary members of SA Best be required to vote for your personal policy beliefs or will they have a free vote?

What confidence can SA voters have in the stability of SA Best when the only two members elected to State Parliament on a Xenophon ticket — John Darley and Ann Bressington — withdrew their support after being elected?

Why did you leave it until the day of the announcement to tell your three federal colleagues you were quitting the Senate to run for a seat in the SA Parliament in 2018?

Because SA Best aspires to hold the balance of power (or possibly govern) in the House of Assembly, will you be releasing — well before the election — detailed policies in all areas of State government responsibility including tax, debt, the size of the public service, education, health, community safety, the environment and the cost and reliability of electricity?

Do you believe state debt is too high and, if so, how would you reduce it?

If you became Premier who would you appoint as Treasurer and Attorney-General and can SA voters be expected to trust ministers with no parliamentary experience?

If you became Premier, or hold the balance of power, will you insist on the elimination of poker machines, as you did when first elected to the Legislative Council in 1997?

If not, why not?

What do you believe is more important to SA electricity consumers — lower prices or the continued growth of solar and wind power?

Do you support a carbon tax?

Will you oppose the proposed bank tax?

What is your attitude to euthanasia and would you propose or support legislation to legalise mercy killing?

Should there be greater restrictions on the ownership of firearms?

How would you tackle the increasing use of illegal drugs?

You once used Parliamentary privilege to name and accuse an Adelaide priest of rape. Do you regret that decision and should the rules of Parliamentary privilege be changed?

You have called for a reduction in the number of MPs in the State Parliament. Do you favour reducing the number of local councils across SA?

If you don’t win the seat of Hartley, will that be the end of your Parliamentary career?

These are only a sample of the issues Senator Xenophon must discuss with the SA electorate before the election.

Senator Xenophon is now a serious power in SA politics.

He can no longer distract the SA people with stunts or the simplistic appeal: trust me.

He must confront some hard questions. I look forward to his answers.