Nicole Joanne Cornes (born 7 January 1970) is a union legal officer, a former newspaper columnist and a former
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
Labor
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the la ...
political candidate. She was the unsuccessful 2007
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
candidate for the
division of Boothby
The Division of Boothby is an Australian federal electoral division in South Australia. The division was one of the seven established when the former Division of South Australia was redistributed on 2 October 1903 and is named after William Bo ...
, a marginal
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
seat in the south of
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
.
Early life
Nicole Cornes was born in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, growing up in the suburb of
Marino. She attended St Theresa's Primary School,
Brighton, Marymount College, and Sacred Heart College,
Somerton Park
Somerton Park was a football, greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Newport, South Wales.
Football
In April 1912 Newport County had been accepted to play in the Southern League for the 1912–13 season. Shortly afterwards, the site ...
. She left school at 14 and held various jobs including as a receptionist at Adelaide radio station 5AA. At 19 she met her future husband 22 years her senior
Graham Cornes
Graham Studley Cornes OAM (born 31 March 1948 in Melbourne, Victoria) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, as well as a media personality. From 1995 until early 2013, Cornes co-hosted a weekday drivetime sports program that he ...
, a radio presenter at 5AA and former notable
Australian rules football player. She has completed a law degree at
Flinders University, and works as a legal officer for the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees' Association, SA Branch. She is also completing a Master of Law. For several years she was a regular columnist for the ''
Sunday Mail''.
Political career
Cornes' first political involvement began when she was approached by family friend and State Deputy Premier
Kevin Foley to run as the Labor candidate for the South Australian
Division of Boothby
The Division of Boothby is an Australian federal electoral division in South Australia. The division was one of the seven established when the former Division of South Australia was redistributed on 2 October 1903 and is named after William Bo ...
in the 2007 Federal election, reportedly after her husband declined the nomination.
[Labor recruit who votes Lib]
''The Daily Telegraph'', 1 May 2007[Barrie Cassidy (2007]
''The Insiders'', 30 September 2007, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Cornes admitted at a press conference that she had previously voted for the
Liberal party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
, specifically for political opponent
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
, and had written about him as a "fine PM" in her newspaper column.
Cornes's early campaign was marked by several gaffes, such as when she admitted that she was not familiar with Labor policies.
When Cornes was contacted for an interview by the ''
Adelaide Advertiser
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demo ...
'', she said:
"I won't have to answer any tough questions, no hard-hitting questions, will I? I've had just about enough of those questions."
She was also quoted as saying her difficult first interview would not have been better for more preparation:
"I'm still going to lose my words, my thought patterns are still going to get jumbled. In a way, that's a bit of my personality too".
Such comments generated intense public and media interest that was generally unfavourable.
[Labor's Nicole Cornes falls short in SA]
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 24 November 2007. Despite such negativity, Cornes resolutely conducted her campaign, concentrating on traditional methods such as door-knocking, train stations, street-corner meetings and public forums.
2007 Federal Election results
The
electoral results for the Division of Boothby
This is a list of electoral results for the Division of Boothby in Australian federal elections from the division's creation in 1903 until the present.
Members
Election results Elections in the 2020s 2022
Elections in the 2010s 2019
2016
...
showed that Cornes obtained 30,501 votes first preference votes (34.12%) compared to long-time sitting member
Andrew Southcott
Andrew John Southcott (born 15 October 1967) is an Australian politician and medical practitioner. He was the Liberal member for the House of Representatives seat of Boothby from the 1996 election until he stood down at the 2016 election.
...
's 41,343 (46.25%).
[Boothby]
Australian Electoral Commission The two-party preferred result was 47% to 53% split, a swing of -2.44% from Southcott. This was in the context of a
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
n state swing of 6.76% to the Labor Party.
Political journalist Alan Ramsey added some balance to her controversial candidature when he noted:
"No candidate for any party in any state emerged with more dignity in "losing" on election night than Cornes."
After the election, journalist
Andrew Bolt
Andrew Bolt (born 26 September 1959) is an Australian right-wing social and political commentator. He has worked at the News Corp-owned newspaper company The Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) for many years, for both '' The Herald'' and its succe ...
apologised to Cornes for calling her a
dill
Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Anethum''. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food.
Growth ...
on the television show ''
the Insiders'', stating:
"I still think she was certainly no great candidate, but I very much regret that insult after watching last night's ''Australian Story''. From the show I learned that during her torrid campaign she was also going through a highly emotional court case against a relative who had abused her when she was just five. I also learned that the media coverage on which I'd relied in forming my opinion may not have been quite fair. Given all that, I've found a new respect for her strength and composure. And I'm cross with myself at having been unfair. I'm the real dill."
Victim of child abuse
After the election, Nicole Cornes was featured in an episode of the
ABC's ''
Australian Story
''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs Department. The program first aired on 29 ...
'' program which focused on her unsuccessful campaign. During the episode it was revealed that she had been campaigning while also appearing in court as the victim in a
child abuse case. The accused was convicted and eventually lost his appeal. The final appeal was dismissed four months after the election was held.
Defamation case
In 2011, Cornes successfully sued the
Network Ten television station for comments made on its
AFL
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
-themed panel discussion show, ''
Before the Game
''Before the Game'' was an Australian rules football comedy panel television show which aired on Network Ten on 1 March 2003 until 27 September 2013. The show was hosted by Andrew Maher with regular panelists Mick Molloy, Dave Hughes, Anthony ...
'', by comedian
Mick Molloy
Michael Molloy (born 11 July 1966) is an Australian comedian, writer, producer, actor and television and radio presenter who has been active in radio, television, stand-up and film. He currently hosts '' The Front Bar'' on the Seven Network.
...
. During the episode in question, Molloy made a joke implying that
Hawthorn
Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to:
Plants
* '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae
* ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...
footballer
Stuart Dew (formerly a teammate of Cornes's stepsons
Kane and
Chad Cornes
Chad Studley Cornes (born 12 November 1979) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club and Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was a member of the Po ...
at
Port Adelaide) had slept with her. The joke was in reference to comments Cornes had made in her newspaper column praising Dew for having stated he would be prepared to walk away from his AFL career in order to support his then-girlfriend, actress
Teresa Palmer
Teresa Mary Palmer (born 26 February 1986) is an Australian actress. She began her career with roles in '' Bedtime Stories'' (2008), ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' (2010), '' Take Me Home Tonight'' (2011), and '' I Am Number Four'' (2011). She r ...
, and describing him therein as "a great catch". Justice David Peek awarded Cornes $93,000 in damages, costs and interest.
Network Ten is appealing the decision
Personal life
She is the third wife of former
Australian rules footballer and coach
Graham Cornes
Graham Studley Cornes OAM (born 31 March 1948 in Melbourne, Victoria) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, as well as a media personality. From 1995 until early 2013, Cornes co-hosted a weekday drivetime sports program that he ...
, 22 years her senior,
[Nicole Cornes (2007]
So smitten by the older man
''Sunday Mail'', 14 April 2007 and stepmother to his sons, high-profile footballers Chad and Kane. They have three children: Amy Nicole (born 1994), Charlize Alice (born 2004), and Gia Alexzandra (born 2009).
References
External links
Nicole Cornes - Candidate for Boothby(official biography, Australian Labor Party)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornes, Nicole
1970 births
Living people
Nicole
Nicole may refer to:
People
* Nicole (name)
* Nicole (American singer) (born 1958), a contestant in season 3 of the American ''The X Factor''
* Nicole (Chilean singer) (born 1977)
* Nicole (German singer) (born 1964), winner of the 1982 Euro ...