Bob Day
Robert John Day is an Australian former politician and businessman who was a Senator for South Australia from 1 July 2014 to 1 November 2016. He is a former federal chairman of the Family First Party. Before entering politics, he worked in the housing industry, owning several businesses, and at one stage serving as president of the Housing Industry Association.
Day was the Liberal Party's candidate for the federal seat of Makin at the 2007 election, but resigned from the party after failing to gain preselection for the 2008 Mayo by-election. He subsequently joined the Family First Party and was their candidate for the by-election, later becoming their lead Senate candidate in South Australia at the 2010 election and 2013 election.
On his fourth attempt to enter federal parliament in 2013, Day was elected to the Senate from a 3.8 per cent primary vote for Family First, to a term beginning on 1 July 2014. Despite a decline in the party's vote to 2.9 per cent, he was re-elected at the 2016 double dissolution election. Elected to the 12th and final South Australian Senate spot, Day's term was due to expire on 30 June 2019.
Following the liquidation of Home Australia Group, Day announced his intention to resign from the Senate. However, he stated that a potential new investor had expressed interest in the business, that there was too much important work for the Family First Senate seat to be vacant for even one day and that therefore he would not resign before the year's end. However, Day resigned on 1 November 2016 after stating that the investor had backed out.
On 5 April 2017 the High Court held that Day's re-election to the Senate in July 2016 was invalid, since he'd had an "indirect pecuniary interest" in an agreement with the Commonwealth since at least February 2016. As a result, he had not been eligible to sit as a senator from at least February 2016 onward by reason of section 44 of the Constitution.
Early life
Day was born in Manchester, UK, on 5 July 1952. He came to Australia as a child in 1963, settling in the inner-northern Adelaide suburb Gilles Plains, where his family lived in a housing trust. Day attended Gilles Plains High School and the University of South Australia.Career
Day's career started in the South Australian public service at the Materials and Research Laboratories of the former Highways Department, now part of the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. He qualified as a science technician after studying at the SA Institute of Technology. After six years he resigned and started in the building industry.He was a founder of Homestead Homes and Home Australia, which now also owns Collier Homes in Western Australia, Newstart Homes in Queensland, Ashford Homes in Victoria and Huxley Homes in New South Wales. These are all major constructors of new houses in their respective states. He is the founder of Oz Homes Foundation, and is managing director of Home Australia. Day's business activities have made him a millionaire. Both Huxley Homes and Day himself have been fined for not complying with rectification orders. Huxley Homes has built many thousands of homes in NSW however twenty-five customers claimed they were in dispute with Huxley Homes and were taking legal action against the company for substandard or unfinished work. Huxley Homes denied the allegations saying they would vigorously defend any legal action. Day is the sole director of Ashford Homes, which is also facing action over unpaid money to creditors. In September 2016, The Australian newspaper raised concerns of how Day contributed $380,000 to Family First in 2012–13 while his businesses appeared to be facing financial difficulties.
He is a past president of the Housing Industry Association, the trade association which represents the residential housing industry in Australia.
Day was the long-time secretary of the New Right-influenced H.R. Nicholls Society and a founder of Independent Contractors of Australia – a front group campaigning for labour market deregulation in Australia. According to John Stone of the H. R. Nicholls Society, "one of the most active members of that Association, Mr Bob Day, has been a member of the Society's Board of Management almost from the outset. I do not think he will contradict me if I say that he has taken the ethos of the Society into the work of the Association."
Day was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to the housing industry and to social welfare, on Australia Day 2003. Day is a board member of the North East Development Agency, having been president for almost a decade, and of North East Vocational College in Adelaide.
In his community service role, Day has planted several thousand trees for farmers and land owners across South Australia. He undertook a roadside planting, irrigation and re-vegetation program along North East Road including a local school.
Day was elected federal chairman of the Family First Party in 2008.
On the day of Senator Cory Bernardi's resignation from the Liberal Party to form a new party, Day confirmed that he was collaborating with Bernardi but would not say whether he would join the new party; Family First stated that Day had resigned from its executive and believed that he had left the party.
Day formally filed bankruptcy papers and was declared bankrupt in April 2017. He was discharged from bankruptcy on 3 July 2020.
Election candidacies
2007 federal election
Upon the resignation of incumbent Trish Draper, Day was preselected as the candidate in the Division of Makin for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2007 federal election, one of the three marginal seats in South Australia lost to the Australian Labor Party. On a record two-party vote of 57.7 percent to Labor from a record two-party swing of 8.6 percent in Makin at the time, the seat became the safest of the 23 Labor won from the coalition at the election.2008 Mayo by-election
Day decided to run as a Family First Party candidate at the 2008 Mayo by-election but was unsuccessful. He had joined Family First immediately prior to the by-election, after resigning his 20-year membership of the Liberal Party, accusing the party of a "manipulated" process which saw former Howard government advisor chiefly for WorkChoices, Jamie Briggs, gain Liberal preselection at the expense of others including Day. Although endorsed by former deputy Liberal Leader and former Treasurer Peter Costello, the Liberal preselection process saw Day obtain just 10 of 271 votes. Labor did not contest the safe Liberal seat, and on a two-party vote of 57 percent at the previous election, the Liberals retained the seat in the by-election with 53 percent of the two-candidate vote against the Australian Greens on 47 percent. Family First and Day received 11.4 percent of the primary vote, picking up a swing of 7.4 percent, coming fourth out of eleven candidates, behind the Liberals on 41.3 percent, the Greens on 21.4 percent and independent Diane Bell on 16.3 percent.2010 federal election
Day was first on the South Australian Family First Party ticket for the Australian Senate at the 2010 federal election but was unsuccessful. Previously, the 2007 result saw the Family First Party in South Australia suffer a 1.09 percent swing, finishing with a statewide primary vote of 2.89 percent. After preferences, a candidate needs 14.3 percent of the vote to gain election. Some commentators claimed Day had a "strong chance of taking one of the last two South Australian Senate seats", citing "effective preferences from nine smaller parties". Other commentators rated Day a "slim" chance, citing campaign and financial troubles with the Family First Party. The 2010 result saw Day and Family First receive a swing of 1.19 percent to finish on 4.08 percent of the vote, compared with the party's lower house vote of 4.96 percent, receiving a swing of 0.91 percent. This was well short of a quota, with Liberal Party former MP David Fawcett projected by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to win the last of the six South Australian Senate seats up for election. Progression of the count temporarily gave Day a 512-vote lead, with Day being listed by the ABC as the provisional sixth South Australian Senator. However further progression of the count put Fawcett back in the lead by several thousand votes and went on to win the sixth and final South Australian Senate seat.In the 2009/10 financial year Day made two loans totalling $405,000 to the Family First Party.