Nick Champion


Nicholas David Champion is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party and has served in the House of Representatives since 2007. He represented the Division of Wakefield until its abolition in 2019, when he transferred to the new Division of Spence.

Early life

Champion was born in Elizabeth in South Australia. He 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 also previously worked as a cleaner, salesman and trolley collector. He completed an Arts degree and a Graduate Diploma in Communication at the University of South Australia.
Champion became a union official at the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association in 1994, serving as an organiser, training officer and occupational health and safety officer. He is aligned with the Labor Right.
Champion 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.

Parliament

Champion won his seat at the 2007 election, defeating incumbent Liberal Party of Australia member David Fawcett.
Champion became only the third Labor member ever to win Wakefield at the 2007 election with a 56.6 percent two-party vote. Champion made it a safe Labor seat on paper 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 the first time the non-Labor parties won government at an election without winning Wakefield. Champion increased his margin at the 2016 election with a 61 percent two-party vote, again making Wakefield a safe Labor seat on paper.
Champion served as a shadow parliamentary secretary in Bill Shorten's shadow ministry from 2014 to 2019.
In August 2019 he called for the nationalisation of Port Darwin following its lease to a Chinese-owned company.

Personal life

Champion is married to Fiona Webber, a former Labor political staffer. Their first child was born just over a month after the 2016 election.