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Leon William Kennedy Bignell (born 30 July 1966), is an independent politician and former journalist representing the Electoral district of Mawson since the 2006 election.

Background

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Bignell was a high-profile ABC sports reporter and later a media adviser to Pat Conlon.

Political career

Bignell finished ahead of incumbent Liberal member Robert Brokenshire with a 52.2 percent two party preferred vote at the 2006 state election, delivering Mawson to Labor for the first time since it was lost in the 1993 election landslide. He increased his two-party-preferred vote to 54.4 percent at the 2010 election, bucking not only the statewide trend, but decades of voting patterns in the seat. Mawson was Labor's second most marginal seat, and on paper it should have been among the first to be lost to the Liberals in the event of a uniform swing large enough to topple Labor from office. Bignell's victory was critical in allowing Labor to eke out a narrow two-seat majority.

Bignell increased his majority to 55.6 percent at the 2014 election, again against the statewide trend.

The 2016 draft redistribution ahead of the 2018 election proposed to redistribute Bignell's seat of Mawson from a 5.6 percent Labor seat to a notional 2.6 percent Liberal seat, taking in areas down the coast as well as Kangaroo Island.

Bignell is affectionately known as "Biggles" in media circles, and was once caught drawing caricatures of his opposition colleagues while in the chamber. Bignell was engaged to Labor colleague and former member for Bright Chloë Fox between March 2006 and March 2007.

Bignell entered cabinet in January 2013 as the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport and Minister for Racing in the Weatherill Labor cabinet until the 2018 state election.

He is aligned with Labor's left faction.

On the 11th of April 2024, following the resignation of Geoff Brock, he resigned from the Labor Party to enable him to become the Speaker, following Speaker Cregan's elevation to the Ministry.

References

1. "Birth notices". The Advertiser. 1 August 1966.
2. Draft Report (PDF): Electoral Districts Boundaries Commission 15 August 2016
3. Electoral boundary reform in South Australia does not go far enough, Opposition says: ABC 15 August 2016
4. Libs seething after another boundaries blow: InDaily 15 August 2016
5. South Australian electoral boundaries redraw: The reaction: The Advertiser 16 August 2016
6. Duffy, Mike (25 October 2006). "Biggles' doodles waste oodles of time". The Advertiser. Archived from the original on 15 April 2008. Retrieved 25 October 2006.
7. "Trackside at the Cup: Russian to conclusions?". The Advertiser. 13 March 2007.
8. Cabinet of South Australia: Premier.sa.gov.au Archived 21 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
9. Owen, Michael (23 March 2010). "Left MP Tony Piccolo refuses to back move on Right's Kevin Foley". The Australian. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
10. https://twitter.com/AndreaLNicolas/status/1778278668466549099

External links

• "Bignell, Leon". Members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
• Parliamentary Profile: SA Labor website

• 1966 births
• Living people
• Members of the South Australian House of Assembly
• Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia
• Labor Left politicians
• 21st-century Australian politicians