Australian Sex Party Candidate Becomes One Nation MP

Topic: Government and Politics

Jason Virgo spoke as the member for MacKillop for the first time, but the ABC was not allowed to attend.

In short:

One Nation's Jason Virgo will represent MacKillop for four years.

Jason Virgo, 35, ran for the Australian Sex Party in 2010 and 2013 and was a Labor Party member.

What's next?

Mr Virgo said the party is 'united' when asked about past defections from One Nation.

One Nation winning MacKillop shows a shift in voting at the March 21 state election.

MacKillop was the Liberal Party's safest seat after the 2022 election, but now it belongs to One Nation.

The party's Jason Virgo won a tight race against Liberal Rebekah Rosser, who conceded defeat on Monday.

Rebekah Rosser conceded defeat on Monday.

One Nation has declined ABC requests to speak to winning candidates due to a pre-election interview dispute.

Not much is known about Mr Virgo's plans for representing MacKillop for the next four years.

A change of views

March's election was not the first time Mr Virgo ran for public office.

Mr Virgo joined the Labor Party at 16 and the Australian Sex Party at 19 or 20.

Mr Virgo ran for the Senate for the Australian Sex Party in 2010.

In 2013, he ran for the Australian Sex Party again.

Mr Virgo became the secretary of the Labor Party's Mount Gambier branch.

Mr Virgo said he joined those parties when he was '16 and 19'.

Jason Virgo's official candidate headshot.

Mr Virgo said he was 'a kid' when he joined those parties and has since changed his views.

Mr Virgo is focused on MacKillop, which he thinks has been taken for granted for too long.

Former Australian Sex Party leader Fiona Patten said Mr Virgo seemed 'like a nice guy' and wished him luck.

Fiona Patten was surprised at Mr Virgo's move to One Nation.

Fiona Patten campaigned for the decriminalisation of sex work.

The Australian Sex Party was all about equality.

The party fought for marriage equality, drug law reform, and medicinal cannabis.

The Australian Sex Party was founded in 2009 to counter conservative Christian minor parties.

It merged with the Australian Cyclists Party in 2017 to form Reason Australia.

One Nation is 'staying together' and 'completely united'.

Mr Virgo was listed as employed by G4S, the operator of Mount Gambier Prison.

He was also listed as a United Workers Union member.

Mr Virgo clarified he now lives in the electorate and has moved to Kingston South East.

Charles Sturt University's Dominic O'Sullivan has studied One Nation throughout its history.

Newly elected candidates will need to start talking publicly soon.

Dominic O'Sullivan says maintaining a united party will be One Nation's first challenge.

Professor O'Sullivan said the party's first challenge is to keep a united front.

One Nation has struggled to hold itself together as a coherent parliamentary force.

Jason Virgo puts his arm around leader Cory Bernardi at a press conference.

Mr Virgo was upbeat when asked about the chance of defecting from the party.

He laughed and put his arm around Cory Bernardi, saying they are 'great mates'.

ABC South East SA — local news in your inbox