Centre Alliance facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Centre Alliance
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| Abbreviation | CA |
| Founder | Nick Xenophon |
| Founded | 1 July 2013 |
| Preceded by | No Pokies |
| Headquarters | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre |
| Colours | Orange Black |
| Slogan | "Working in South Australia's interests" |
| House of Representatives |
1 / 151
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| Senate |
0 / 76
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Centre Alliance (CA) is an Australian political party. It is based in the state of South Australia. The party is known for its "centrist" ideas, meaning it tries to find a middle ground in politics.
The party started in July 2013. It was first called the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT). It changed its name to Centre Alliance later. Currently, it has one person elected to the House of Representatives. Her name is Rebekha Sharkie.
Centre Alliance focuses on ideas that combine social liberalism and populism. This means they support things like same-sex marriage and helping everyday people. They also want to support Australian-made products and jobs.
Contents
History
The party began with Nick Xenophon. He was an independent politician in South Australia. He ran under the name "No Pokies" from 1997 to 2006. He was elected in 1997 and 2006.
In the 2013 Australian federal election, Nick Xenophon's group did very well. They won almost 25% of the votes in South Australia for the upper house of parliament. This was a big achievement for a smaller party. Nick Xenophon was re-elected.
In 2014, the "Nick Xenophon Team" (NXT) was officially formed. Its main leaders were Nick Xenophon, John Darley, Stirling Griff, and Connie Bonaros.
In 2017, Nick Xenophon announced a new party for South Australia. It was called "Nick Xenophon's SA-BEST". This party focused on issues only in South Australia. John Darley left the Nick Xenophon Team around this time.
The party then decided to change its name. They first tried to call themselves "SA-BEST (Federal)". But before this was approved, Nick Xenophon left politics. So, the party changed its name again to Centre Alliance. This new name was officially registered in June 2018.
In August 2020, Senator Rex Patrick left the Centre Alliance. He then started his own group called the Rex Patrick Team.
What Centre Alliance Believes In
Centre Alliance is seen as a "centrist" party. This means they often try to find a middle way between the main political parties. Some of their members used to be part of the Liberal Party. For example, Rebekha Sharkie used to be a Liberal Party member. She won her seat in 2016, which was a big win for Centre Alliance.
The party strongly supports Australian businesses and jobs. They believe the government should buy more Australian goods and services. They say this could be worth a lot of money each year. They also want clear labels on products. These labels would show where ingredients come from.
In 2020, Centre Alliance supported a new law about universities. This law aimed to create more university places. It also changed the cost of different university degrees. Some degrees became cheaper, like teaching and science. Others, like law and business, became more expensive.
The 2016 Federal Election
Choosing Candidates
For the 2016 Australian federal election, the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT) carefully chose its candidates. They wanted people with "real life experience." Many of their candidates came from small businesses.
NXT decided to have candidates in every state for the Senate. They also had candidates in all eleven House of Representatives seats in South Australia. They also ran candidates in some seats in other states.
Public Opinion
Before the 2016 election, surveys showed NXT was quite popular. In South Australia, some polls even showed them doing better than the Labor Party. Experts thought NXT could win many votes across Australia.
Working with Other Parties
Centre Alliance has sometimes been criticized by the Liberal Party. They said NXT's leader, Nick Xenophon, had problems in the past. But Xenophon said these were unfair attacks.
A former Liberal leader, Martin Hamilton-Smith, supported Rebekha Sharkie. He said she was the best person for the job in his area. This showed that some people from other parties saw value in Centre Alliance.
Election Results
During the 2016 election, Nick Xenophon and NXT faced many attacks. But they still did well. In South Australia, their party got a lot of votes. No major party won more than half the votes in any South Australian seat.
In the end, three NXT members were elected to the Senate. These were Nick Xenophon, Stirling Griff, and Skye Kakoschke-Moore. Also, Rebekha Sharkie won a seat in the House of Representatives.
Later, Nick Xenophon left the Senate in 2017. Rex Patrick took his place. Skye Kakoschke-Moore also left the Senate in 2017 due to rules about citizenship.
The 2019 Federal Election
For the 2019 election, Skye Kakoschke-Moore was the main Senate candidate. Rebekha Sharkie ran again for her seat in Mayo.
The Centre Alliance's votes in the Senate went down a lot. No Centre Alliance senator was elected this time. However, Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick kept their Senate seats. This was because their terms were longer and they were not up for re-election.
Rebekha Sharkie was the only Centre Alliance candidate to win. She kept her seat in Mayo.
The 2022 Federal Election
In the 2022 Australian federal election, Centre Alliance ran only one candidate. This was Rebekha Sharkie in the seat of Mayo. She was re-elected again.
Stirling Griff ran as an independent candidate for the Senate. He was with Nick Xenophon's group, but they were not successful.
Rex Patrick had left the party in 2020. He ran with his own team but did not win re-election.
Election Results
| House of Representatives (South Australia) | ||||||
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| Election | Leader | Candidates | Seats won | ± | Total votes | % |
| 2016 | Nick Xenophon |
11 / 11
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1 / 11
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 1 |
221,210 | 21.26% |
| 2019 | None |
3 / 10
|
1 / 10
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 |
46,931 | 4.38% |
| 2022 | None |
1 / 10
|
1 / 10
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|
36,500 | 3.32% |
| Senate (South Australia) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Election | Leader | Seats won | Total seats | ± | Total votes | % | |
| 2013 | Nick Xenophon |
1 / 6
|
1 / 12
|
1 |
258,376 | 24.88% | |
| 2016 | Nick Xenophon |
3 / 12
|
3 / 12
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2 |
230,866 | 21.76% | |
| 2019 | None |
0 / 6
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1 / 12
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 1 |
28,416 | 2.60% | |
People in Parliament
Current
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Rebekha Sharkie MP (for Mayo, South Australia) since 2016.
Former
Federal Parliament
- Senator Nick Xenophon (South Australia), 2008–2017. He resigned in 2017.
- Senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore (South Australia), 2016–2017. She resigned in 2017 due to rules about her citizenship.
- Senator Rex Patrick (South Australia), 2017–2020. He left the party in August 2020 to become an independent.
- Senator Stirling Griff (South Australia), 2016–2022. He was not re-elected in 2022.
South Australia Parliament
- John Darley MLC, 2007–2017. He became an independent in 2017.
See also
In Spanish: Alianza del Centro (Australia) para niños
- 2013 Australian federal election
- 2016 Australian federal election
- 2019 Australian federal election
