David Winderlich Explained

David Winderlich
Office1:Member of the Legislative Council
of South Australia
Term Start1:17 February 2009
Term End1:20 March 2010
Birth Date:1964 1, df=yes
Birth Place:Adelaide, Australia
Nationality:Australian
Party:Australian Democrats (2009)
Independent (2009–10)

David Nicholas Winderlich (born 18 January 1964), is an Australian teacher, public servant and politician who in February 2009 was the Australian Democrats nominee to fill a South Australian Legislative Council casual vacancy in a joint sitting of the Parliament of South Australia following the January 2009 parliamentary resignation of the incumbent Democrats member Sandra Kanck.[1] [2] Becoming an independent after nine months, he was the last Democrat to have sat in any Australian parliament. He was not re-elected at the 2010 election.

On 20 July 2009 Winderlich announced that, unless 1,000 new members joined the Democrats SA division by 23 November, he would leave the party and sit as an independent,[3] which eventuated on 7 October 2009.[4]

Winderlich announced that, as an independent, he would focus on three policy areas: governmental reform,[5] [6] rights and freedoms, e.g., for bikies,[7] and a sustainable approach to the management of water resources in South Australia. In particular, he was opposed to the Port Stanvac Desalination Plant and to the Wellington Weir proposal.[8]

Notes and References

  1. 3263. David Nicholas Winderlich. yes. 20 December 2022.
  2. 625. Sandra Myrtho Kanck. yes. 20 December 2022.
  3. News: 2009-07-20 . Democrats MP divides party with 1,000-member ultimatum . en-AU . ABC News . 2022-12-20.
  4. News: 2009-10-07 . Last Democrat goes from Aussie parliaments . en-AU . ABC News . 2022-12-20.
  5. News: 2009-03-15 . MP urges ICAC to plug crime fighting gap . en-AU . ABC News . 2022-12-20.
  6. News: 2009-07-01 . Burnside CEO reappointment 'illegal' . en-AU . ABC News . 2022-12-20.
  7. Web site: 2009-06-16 . Amendments to tough SA anti-bikie laws . 2022-12-20 . The Age . en.
  8. News: 2009-03-14 . Wellington weir 'will speed up acidification' . en-AU . ABC News . 2022-12-20.