SA Senator Rex Patrick will quit Centre Alliance and run as an independent
South Australian Senator Rex Patrick will leave the Centre Alliance to become an independent, leaving the party with just two representatives.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Special Feature – Who is Centre Alliance?
- State-owned Chinese paper calls Patrick a “science fiction” writer
- Centre Alliance helps get tax package across the line
Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick will quit the party – a rebranding of the Nick Xenophon Team – and go it alone in a bid to retain his spot in the Australian Parliament at the next election.
Senator Patrick has described the decision as more of a “marketing” move than a split with fellow Centre Alliance MPs Senator Stirling Griff and Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie.
But Senator Griff said Senator Patrick had been “running his own race for some time”.
Senator Patrick, who will run as an independent, said Centre Alliance was facing an uphill battle to get a single seat in the next Senate, let alone two, which would be a disaster for South Australia.
“It’s more important than ever that SA keeps a strong and independent voice in the Senate to ensure that our state isn’t taken for granted by the major federal political parties, which are all dominated by the political and economic interests of Australia’s eastern coast,” Senator Patrick told The Advertiser.
“Strong independent representation will be all the more important as SA works to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Senator Patrick and Senator Griff were set to run for Centre Alliance at the next election in a move political pundits had been watching closely, with an expectation both men would want top billing on the Senate ticket.
At the 2019 Federal Election in the Senate, where Skye Kakoschke-Moore was Centre Alliance’s lead candidate, the party copped a 19 per cent swing in group-ticket voting, getting less votes in SA than Queensland-based parties Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and Palmer’s UAP.
Senator Patrick, who replaced Mr Xenophon in October 2017 when his former boss embarked on an unsuccessful bid to return to State Parliament, has vowed to remain outspoken on issues including Australia’s relationship with China, Defence’s multibillion-dollar shipbuilding contracts and a nuclear waste dump in the SA Outback.
Senator Griff said: “Rex has been running his own race for some time so it’s no surprise that he is taking the step to divorce himself from the party that selected him.”
He said the party would continue to ensure that South Australia’s interests were protected.
Ms Sharkie said she completely understood the decision and wished Senator Patrick “all the best”.
“I am sure we will continue to work together,” she said.