Nick Champion

Nick Champion
MP
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Wakefield
Incumbent
Assumed office
24 November 2007
Preceded by David Fawcett
Personal details
Born 27 February 1972
Kapunda, South Australia, Australia
Nationality Australian
Political party Australian Labor Party
Alma mater University of South Australia
Occupation Union official

Nicholas David "Nick" Champion (born 27 February 1972 in Kapunda, South Australia[1]), is a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the division of Wakefield. He is also Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health and the Deputy Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. He won his seat at the 2007 Australian federal election,[1] defeating the sitting Liberal member, David Fawcett.[2]

Champion spent his early years in the rural town of Kapunda and completed his secondary education at Kapunda High School while working part-time as a fruit picker. He completed an Arts degree at the University of South Australia and became a union official at the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association in 1994.[3] He is aligned with the Labor Right.[4]

He served as South Australian State President of the Australian Labor Party from 2005 to 2006 and was a ministerial adviser to state Labor Minister Michael Wright.[5]

Champion became only the third Labor member ever to win Wakefield at the 2007 election with a 56.6 percent two-party vote. Champion technically made it a safe Labor seat at the 2010 election with a 62 percent two-party vote, and became the first Labor member to be re-elected to Wakefield. The South Australian federal redistribution in 2011 had the greatest impact on Wakefield where the Labor margin declined by 1.5 percent. Champion retained Wakefield at the 2013 election on a 53.4 percent two-party vote even as Labor lost government, marking only the second time the non-Labor parties have been in government without holding Wakefield.

Nick is married to former ABC journalist and Labor political staffer, Fiona Webber.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Mr Nick Champion MP, Member for Wakefield (SA)". Retrieved 2008-08-22.
  2. ↑ "Big swings against Coalition across SA". 24 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  3. ↑ "Nick Champion - Candidate for Wakefield". Archived from the original on 2007-08-31. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  4. ↑ Wakefield MP's push to remove 'pokies trickery': The Advertiser 13/9/2009
  5. ↑ Nick Champion: APH

External links

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by
David Fawcett		 Member for Wakefield
2007–present 		Incumbent