Blatantly Partisan Party Review XXII (federal 2022): Rex Patrick Team
Running where: SA
Prior reviews: None, this is a new party, although my 2016 review of the Nick Xenophon Team and my 2019 review of the Centre Alliance are relevant
Rex Patrick was appointed to the Senate to fill the casual vacancy created when Nick Xenophon quit in 2017, hence the link above to my review of the Nick Xenophon Team in 2016. Patrick had been one of Xenophon’s staffers, and before that he worked for Liberal senator David Johnston. Xenophon’s term was 2016–22, so Patrick was not up for re-election in the 2019 federal contest and his party, now named the Centre Alliance, failed to pick up any additional senators. So, in August 2020, he left the party, believing that he had a better chance of retaining his seat if he ran as an independent. Basically, he was going to have to slug it out with Stirling Griff for top billing on the Centre Alliance ticket, and 2019 showed that the party would likely struggle to get even one quota, never mind two. He then went on to register a party under the name Rex Patrick Team (RPT), pretty much a team of one.
As things have transpired, Griff is now the running mate for Xenophon’s independent tilt to get back into the Senate. I thought RPT was unlikely to get near a quota the moment it was formed, and with Xenophon back in the mix I think it’s safe to say Patrick’s days in the Senate are almost over. Still, what do he and his purported team stand for?
Patrick’s platform skews towards South Australian interests, especially country interests. Most of it is pretty middle-of-the-road stuff that tries not to alienate anyone too much. He makes a big deal of being a “South Australian country boy at heart” (he was born in New Zealand but grew up in Whyalla). In his quest for greater government transparency and a federal ICAC, he’s running with the Democrats’ old slogan of “keep the bastards honest”.
Having served in the navy, it’s unsurprising that Patrick has a strong interest in defence, in particular defence jobs for South Australia. He wants greater manufacturing and heavy industry in SA and supports government intervention and protectionism if it provides this outcome. His approach to environmental management is basically “more water for SA from the Murray-Darling Basin”. Although he recognises the reality of climate change, his policy uses a lot of words to say not much more than “net zero by 2050, maximise renewable energy production in SA, I like electric cars, and how about a national aerial fire-fighting fleet?”
Basically, if you want South Australian boosterism, here’s your guy. One of his few truly national policy offerings is to make your first university or TAFE degree free, funded by reforming corporate taxation and mining royalties. If something would broadly benefit the whole country but have costs for SA, I have doubts that he would support it; likewise, I suspect he is a bit too acquiescent a crossbencher if a government is prepared to give SA a couple of shiny new toys in return for his vote.
My recommendation: Give Rex Patrick Team a middling preference.
Website: https://www.rexpatrick.com.au/