He has formed his own party known as the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT), and this election he's trying to spread his influence beyond South Australia.
A new SBS Essential poll suggests his campaign could be working.
Of more than 1000 Australians surveyed, 23 per cent responded they believe Nick Xenophon stands up for people, polling higher than Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at 20 per cent. The same question yielded a result of 26 per cent for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.
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The poll also revealed 23 per cent of respondents believed Nick Xenophon genuinely believes what he is saying, compared to 26 per cent who thought that of Malcolm Turnbull, and 22 per cent for Bill Shorten.
Nick Xenophon began political life as an anti-gambling 'single issue' politician, first in the State Parliament of South Australia. In the 2007 federal election, he won a Senate seat.
He puts himself “firmly in the middle” of the political spectrum.
“The problem with Australian politics these days, is it’s a toxic race between the left and the right,” he told SBS.
His own approach, he says, is “all about finding solutions to problems by not being ideological about it.
“Being pragmatic and sensible, and looking for the good things from left and right of politics.”
The former lawyer and one-time young Liberal isn’t always popular with other politicians.
Speaking to media earlier this month, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said voting for an independent was “a waste vote.”
“Independents can promise everything to everybody, but they deliver nothing,” she said.
This election, Nick Xenophon will run candidates in the Lower House as well as the Senate.
Sydney-based Marie Rowland is running as a member of NXT in former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s seat of Warringah.
“I have always been a great admirer of Nick Xenophon,” she said.
“He’s somebody that has shown incredibly good judgment when he’s made his decisions.”
“He’s never looked at issues from a right-left point of view, but more of a right-wrong point of view.”
It is in South Australia where his impact will mostly be felt.
Speaking from NXT’s inner-Adelaide campaign office, campaign manager and Senate candidate Sterling Griff says the party is “not just totally about Nick.”
“But people know what Nick stands for,” he adds.
“And the people that we have running as candidates have exactly the same core.”
Political commentator William Bowe says the big question is whether NXT can perform well enough to take seats away from the major parties in the lower house.
“You do have to account for that possibility that there’s going to be a complete paradigm shift, a completely unprecedented outcome,” he said.
“On the other hand, it might be that he doesn’t get as much traction during the election campaign.”
One scenario could see NXT holding the balance of power in the Senate – and if his team wins enough lower house seats, they could have a say in who runs the country.
Nick Xenophon calls that possibility “highly unlikely.”
“What I’ve said, what the team has said, is that in that highly, highly unlikely event, that we will go to the two major parties and talk to them about our core policies.”
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