Bob Such

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Hon. Bob Such

Dr Robert Bruce 'Bob' Such is an Independent MP in the Parliament of South Australia. Before entering politics Such was a Teacher/Lecturer and Researcher in the fields of politics, economics and the environment.

Bob Such originally started off as the Liberal Party of Australia member for Fisher in the 1989 election. As part of his campaign efforts, Such parked an old army caravan on Main South Road, in the suburb of Darlington, emblazoned with the slogan "Working for you in Fisher". The whereabouts of this caravan is currently unknown. In the landslide Dean Brown Liberal win in 1993, Such gained the portfolio of Employment and Training, however this ended when John Olsen took over the leadership in November 1996. Unhappy with the Olsen government's style, Such became an independent in October 2000. He also had a lack of party support due to a preslection challenge by Susan Jeanes, the former federal member for Kingston. Such was also known to anger the members of his minority government by crossing the floor, and was regarded as more likely to side with Labor than other non-major party MPs Rory McEwen or Karlene Maywald.

Such won his seat as an independent in the 2002 election against Jeanes by 3.7% on the primary vote and 13.1% on two party preferred. The Liberals had Such in fifth place on the ticket, even behind the Australian Labor Party, whereas Labor had Such at second, which increased his election chances. After the 2002 election when the three elected independents held the balance of power, Such drew praise from his district by giving them surveys on who he should support. As Peter Lewis had backed Labor, they responded with a preference of backing the Rann government for the purpose of stability. The Kerin government was ultimately brought down by Such's decision to abstain from a confidence motion when parliament resumed in March 2002, which prevented the need for Peter Lewis to exercise his casting vote as the newly appointed Speaker. While not voting to put the Rann government in office, Rann has since cultivated the support of Bob Such, often described as a 'small-l' liberal independent,^[1] and served as Deputy Speaker before taking on the Speaker's role for the remainder of the term following the implosion of Peter Lewis.

The 2006 election actually saw Such facing a Labor candidate on the two party preferred vote due to the collapse of the Liberal vote in the district and the state. Such was re-elected as an independent in the by 18.8% against Labor and 26.7% against the Liberals on the primary vote and 16.7% on two party preferred.