Rex Patrick claims he wears the crown of Senate kingmaker uneasily. But the South Australian crossbencher – who blindsided everyone, including his own Centre Alliance colleagues, this week by announcing he will sit as an independent, in a bid to improve his re-election prospects – is far from a passive participant in the Senate's wheeling and dealing.

"I don't like the idea that we're portrayed as having power," he tells AFR Weekend. "We use the power of the vote we've got to get effective outcomes.