For non-South Australian readers, the name Nick Xenophon will probably mean very little, if anything. But that will soon change.

Xenophon, a cheeky state politician from SA, recently announced his candidacy for the Senate – something he is expected to win easily.

But Xenophon may end up holding more than just a seat in the Senate. If the major parties poll as closely as many predict, Xenophon may well end up holding the balance of power.

And that would place the fate of the entire nation on his shoulders.

Nick Xenophon is something of a phenomenon in SA. He was first elected to State Parliament as an independent back in 1997. Since then, he has proven to be a thorn in the side of both Liberal and Labor state governments.

He is best known, and liked, for his outrageous media stunts – often involving animals, sometimes even toy cars.

Once he even walked with a cow the entire length of the Adelaide CBD to draw attention to government revenue from pokies, a "cash cow".

In 2006, he was re-elected to SA parliament with a staggering 20.5 per cent of the primary vote - only five per cent less than what the entire state Liberal party achieved.

Now with his sights set on federal politics, Xenophon will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.

Speaking from his Adelaide office, Xenophon says his campaign for the Senate will focus on three specific issues: pokies, water and pollies’ perks. These are largely the same issues that brought him such success in local politics.

“State governments are hopelessly addicted to the revenue they get from poker machines,” Xenophon says.

“Australia has got 20 per cent of the world’s poker machines and only 0.003 per cent of the world’s population.”

He says he wants to see pokies banned outright, but concedes this will be difficult. For now, he’s committed to reducing their impact, particularly by removing ATM machines from gaming rooms.

“Having access to ATMs is a very big factor in fuelling addiction to gaming machines,” he says.

As for water, Xenophon says South Australia is being short changed on its water rights. He wants more water flowing down the Murray River, and wants more efficient water conservation.

Xenophon also says he’s got a big gripe with politicians’ perks. In state politics, he once drove a model train across the steps of parliament to protest the superannuation “gravy train” of MPs.

Expect to see similar stunts in federal politics if he gets elected.

“I don’t like the idea of fully fuelled, taxpayer funded cars,” Xenophon says, before committing not to use them. He also promises to fly economy-class on all plane trips.

If Xenophon gets the balance of power in the Senate, however, he will have to form judgements on more issues than just pokies and water. When asked about other election topics, the SA maverick displays a clear left-of-centre bent.

“I think the Libs went too far with WorkChoices,” he says in regards to the industrial relations debate.

“I believe our industrial relations system must be family friendly.”

As for the $30 billion-plus tax package released by both the major parties, Xenophon expresses more concerns.

“I think we need to look at the bigger picture... I think we can [have tax cuts], but I’d also like there to be money spent on essential community infrastructure, particularly water,” he says.

There is little doubt over whether Xenophon will be elected to the Senate. He commands a high profile in South Australia and should win the seat easily.

The only real question is: what media stunts will he perform along the way?

“I’ve got stunt block at the moment,” Xenophon replies, in all seriousness.

“You know how you can get writer’s block? Well, I’ve got stunt block.”

Still, he assures voters that stunts will still happen – he just has to think of some good ones first.

Nick Parkin, 23, will be 'tracking' Kevin Rudd in the second last week of the campaign and reporting to electiontracker.net. He is a postgraduate journalism student at RMIT.