Dennis Hood
Encyclopedia
Dennis Garry Edward Hood (born 12 January 1970) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the South Australian Legislative Council
, and the South Australian leader of the Family First Party
.
, Adelaide
, South Australia
; his father a Vietnam War
veteran and his mother legally blind. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Arts (Politics) and Economics from the University of Adelaide, and subsequently became an executive for Johnson & Johnson's pharmeceuticals
.
in the 2006 state election
. He was elected with the assistance of preferences on a primary vote of 5%, becoming the party's second representative in state parliament's upper house. Family First and the other minor parties, share the balance of power
in the Legislative Council. Although Dennis Hood tends to hold party lines, as distinct from the mandatory requirements of the Australian Liberal Party and Australian Labor Party
, and more like the Australian Greens
, party members exhibit a unique flavor of policy, as evident by Hood sometimes operating independently from his colleague Brokenshire, analogous to Bob Brown
who described his own party as having "as many factions as there were candidates". Hood has been vocal about factual
errors
and false
assertions
in newspapers about Family First.
Dennis Hood has suggested the scrapping of compulsory voting
, on the basis it is undemocratic to force people to cast a vote. He also established a Parliamentary committee to evaluate the establishment of marine parks off the coast of South Australia, which involves the examiniation of the environment, economic and social impacts. Hood has advocated the creation of a task force to address the problem of increasing police
warrants
. Dennis Hood supported the redevelopment of the Adelaide Oval, but only with severe amendments. Hood has recommended increased funding to the coroners court.
Hood has advocated increased accountability of government
departments, describing the referral of SHine SA, a Government organization specializing in sexual health, of disabled clients to a list of prostitutes, was a "gross misuse of taxpayer money", with then opposition leader Iain Evans
concurring that a government-funded agency should never advocate what is technically an illegal
activity. He has also raised concerns about the AIDS Council, and questioned Gail Gago
on why the Government was funding an organization that demands job applicants use drugs
and participate in prostitution
as mandatory prerequisite for employment. Earlier, Hood attacked the AIDS Council for stating "children are a blessing [because] you never know when you'll need someone to go out and score [drugs] for you", and that "alcohol is fun, but take drugs instead and you will remember your night out", in what Christopher Pyne
concurred as "foolish and irresponsible". Hood also voted not to provide Auditor-General Ken McPherson
, who drafted the report
into corruption
and bullying at the Burnside Council, an extension of term, as he has already served 21 years. Equally, Hood has encouraged the injection of capital into Government units that look after vulnerable
people who are abused in state care.
Hood is perceived antagonistic to the Australian Greens
, in such policies as providing the right to remove dangerous
, sick
and dying trees, which the Greens strongly opposed. Hood has been the voice of pragmatism, endorsing weekly garbage collection, in a move the Greens disagreed with because it leads to increases in the amount of household rubbish going to landfill Hood has also been a strong proponent of euthanasia legislation introduced by Steph Key on the basis it fails to provide sufficient corroborative evidence
of the desire for suicide apart from the killer as the sole witness
, and that the elderly and dying could be pressured into suicide if they felt they became a burden on their family, essentially, that voluntary euthanasia, fortuitously, causes involuntary euthanasia. He also outlined an apparent irony that the Greens, who oppose capital punishment
, would endorse euthanasia
. Hood has criticized the high abortion
rate, in light of low fertility
rates, and has encouraged adoption in lieu. Hood has rejected the scrapping of parliamentary prayer
, saying the practice dates back to the establishment of the Westminster
system, and that the brief periods were useful for silent
reflection
. Hood has also rejected legislation to permit the cloning of human embryos, on the basis new technology could create embryonic stem cells without using human embryos and eggs, thereby making the argument moot
. Hood has opposed the decriminalization
of prostitution
. which is testament to his Christian
feminist position. Hood has also suggested plain-packaged DVD's for content that is restricted
by law. Despite being jestered by the Chaser's War on Everything that it is necessary to have sexual intercourse
to have families, Hood denies he has spoken with the Australian Sex Party
for a preference deal. Hood has rejected the Greens call to name and shame
religious schools which discriminate based on sexual orientation on their web site. Although sometimes failing to block Green legislation, Hood has nevertheless provided opposition rigor necessary to challenge status quo, including public consultation
. The Greens however, sometimes work cooperatively with Family First, for instance in Bob Brown
’s call for national changes to electoral legislation, following the issue of counterfeit
how-to-vote cards by the Australian Labor Party
that were passed off as Family First electoral material, in what was also called "unethical, if not illegal" by opposition leader Isobel Redmond
. The perceived antagony is thus undoubtedly questionable, for example in Hood's advocacy of the Adelaide Oval redevelopment as "terrific" for Adelaide, and Mark Parnell
concurrence that it would bring back football
to the city. In fact, Parnell has voted with Hood in several instances, against the majority government and opposition. Nevertheless, Hood has forayed that he will never make a preference deal with the Greens, as their core policies are irreconcilable with the position of Family First.
Hood has been the conservative voice of parenting
, with such policies as calling on the ban of nude beaches, on the basis that children could inadvertently be exposed. Hood has also rejected same-sex parenting on the basis that children of same-sex parents wouldn't gain the right to have heterosexual parents. Hood has advocated mandatory parental consent
for children getting a body piercing. Hood has advocated for the permission to administer non-sexual smacking of children by their parents Hood has recommended pragmatic child abuse checks by external agencies to address growing dismay relating to the Department of Community Services. Despite saying that his party was comfortable with modest
age
-appropriate sexual education programs, Hood has remained staunchly opposed to the sex education of primary school kids. In a similar manner, Hood has supported the call of independent MP Bob Such
, who has advocated the introduction of a religious education program focusing on compassion
, respect
and knowledge
of various religions. Hood has also recommended a review of the classification
system, and that some content classified general
should be upward classified, as evident in the comical but paradoxical newshed "G-rated g-string
" Hood has also been vocal about the failure of the Advertising Standards Board to properly screen out material of poor taste, including a liquor advertisement with the buttocks
of three adult males exposed nude, in what the RAA
concurred is a distraction to driving. Hood has worked with Attorney-General John Rau
on a number of Bills, including the outlawing of minors from practicing scarification.
Hood has established a reputation for being tough on crime
, in particular drugs, suggesting tougher controls on the growing and possession of cannabis
, on the basis that possession of commercial quantities ($40,000) would only attract a small (maximum of $500) fine, and provided insufficient disincentive. He has also requested on-the-spot fine for users of heroin, meth-amphetamines, cocaine
and ecstasy. He has opposed the use of drug driving and drugs in public, saying it is a threat to the welfare of residents and businesses, as well as to the individual themselves. He introduced law to increase police powers to seize a convicted pedophile's computer at any time without a court order to examine its contents, essentially shifting the burden of proof away to the police to show reasonable cause to suspect to the pedophile to show they have been acting in line with the law. Despite Labor has personified itself as "tough on drugs", Hood has stated figures show otherwise, and has instead established himself as the authority on crime. Apart from increased fines, Hood has also suggested pragmatic drug testing devices at hotels and nightclubs. Hood recommended and successfully passed laws to adopt this stance by setting minimum, as supposed to maximum sentences, which are never implemented by judges. Hood has rejected even the prescription of marijuana for medicinal purposes, backed by Vickie Chapman
, saying the harm outweighs the therapeutic benefits. Perhaps the most fancy recommendation is the introduction of an online
database
to record the details of the acquisition and sales of products containing pseudoephedrine
, which using data mining
technologies could help identify suspicious buyers, in a move which Commissioner of SAPOL, Mal Hyde, agreed with. Hood was also authority on reducing sexual assaults in taxis, his colleague Rob Brokenshire the chairman of the select committee.
At a Family First State Executive meeting on 1 February 2007, Dennis Hood replaced Andrew Evans as the Family First
parliamentary leader. Although failing to gain the reputation as a serial Freedom of Information Act user as colleague Robert Brokenshire
, Hood has been an active user of the FOI too, but has a better reputation for the publication of public
records. Nevertheless, Hood is established as the mathematical identity of Family First, involved with the compilation of econometric statistics.
Dennis Hood called for District Court
Judge Marie Shaw to be sacked as a result of failing to impose a sentence
upon a series of twelve sex offenders she had presided over. To prevent Shaw from taking him to the Supreme Court
for defamation over the his naming of her "South Australia's softest judge", in what Shaw described to cause her to become "distressed and humiliated", "subject to ridicule and contempt", Hood settled with her by pronouncing an apology. Chief Justice
John Doyle sided with Shaw, saying that judges shouldn't be held personally responsible
for their decisions, that much decisions were the inevitable result of precedence
, although Judge Shaw eventually resigned just four years after sitting on the bench, despite the principle of tenure
, that she could have sat on the bench until she turned 70. Hood's interest in the courts isn't singular, exhibiting particulate interest in the high judicial salaries and pensions that were "out of step with" community expectations, with salaries $540,000 a year, and retired pensions at $114,534 a year. Hood is also a fond judicial activist, in particular precedence
by way of ratio decidendi
to change "pathetic" sentences for "very serious crimes", ranging from rape to arson, and increase rights for the disabled, including the blind.
Following the 2010 election, although Hood's identity has been outweighed by colleague Robert Brokenshire, dubbed the "de facto
opposition leader", Hood has worked with independents Ann Bressington
(the Nick Xenophon
No Pokies
Party) and John Darley, to improve funding for mental health
, disability
, child protection and public housing
. His work with Bressington, whose 22-year-old daughter Shay-Louise Bressington died from heroin overdose, in the area of "tough on drugs" is landmark. Bressington however, is positioned as even tougher on drugs, or at least quintuply economically. Hood's proposal draft bill
that will allow parents to become better informed of their children's Facebook
activity, was accepted by John Rau
and Robert McClelland
.
as "one of the youngest pollies in State Parliament".. In 2006, Hood's wife Lisa Hood, gave birth to his daughter, Madeline Hood, and said his good experience with the Women's and Children's Hospital was "fantastic" and "outstanding", and that he couldn't comprehend why people "whinged" about the system. He has been a comical conservative voice in South Australia, with such descriptions of the banning of the words "ho ho ho" during Christmas
as "plain madness" as the word "ho" could be misconstrued as "whore", in what a UniSA communications senior lecturer concurred as being "nonsense".
Dennis plays the acoustic
and electric guitar
, is a fan of the Adelaide Crows and loves sports cars, and has been dissent on Government policy to crush hoons on the basis of waste. Dennis Hood's parents were apathetic toward religion but he converted to Christianity at 19. He attends Rostrevor Baptist Church in Adelaide. When Sunday Mail
columnist Peter Goers
stated in a critical editorial that Hood was a young earth Creationist, Goers (a staunch atheist) and Hood have a comical relationship, the most famous accolade being Goers reporting Hood looks like he "walked out of a men's fashion magazine" sporting an expensive cotton pullover and suit, and Hood responding in his The Advertiser column that the "expensive" clothing was obtained from a Salvation Army
store. An avid philanthropist
, Hood rejected an automatic 6.7% pay rise, and gave it to charity.
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
, and the South Australian leader of the Family First Party
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
.
Early life and career
Hood was born to working class parents in SalisburySalisbury, South Australia
Salisbury is a northern suburb in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the seat of the City of Salisbury, and in the South Australian Legislative Assembly electoral district of Ramsay and the Australian House of Representatives divisions of Wakefield and Port Adelaide...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
; his father a Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
veteran and his mother legally blind. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Arts (Politics) and Economics from the University of Adelaide, and subsequently became an executive for Johnson & Johnson's pharmeceuticals
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....
.
Legislative career
Dennis Hood became the federal director of Family First in 2005, and was selected as its primary candidate for the South Australian Legislative CouncilSouth Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
in the 2006 state election
South Australian legislative election, 2006
The state election for the 51st Parliament of South Australia was held in the Australian state of South Australia on 18 March 2006, and was conducted by the independent State Electoral Office.-House of Assembly:...
. He was elected with the assistance of preferences on a primary vote of 5%, becoming the party's second representative in state parliament's upper house. Family First and the other minor parties, share the balance of power
Balance of power (parliament)
In parliamentary politics, the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor political party or other grouping whose guaranteed support may enable an otherwise minority government to obtain and hold office...
in the Legislative Council. Although Dennis Hood tends to hold party lines, as distinct from the mandatory requirements of the Australian Liberal Party and Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
, and more like the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
, party members exhibit a unique flavor of policy, as evident by Hood sometimes operating independently from his colleague Brokenshire, analogous to Bob Brown
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown is an Australian senator, the inaugural Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens and was the first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia...
who described his own party as having "as many factions as there were candidates". Hood has been vocal about factual
Factual
Factual, founded in October 2009, is an aggregator and provider of open data, which it provides access to through web service APIs and reusable, customisable web applications. It is described by its founder, Gil Elbaz as "a platform for anyone to share and mash open data". Factual has datasets...
errors
Error
The word error entails different meanings and usages relative to how it is conceptually applied. The concrete meaning of the Latin word "error" is "wandering" or "straying". Unlike an illusion, an error or a mistake can sometimes be dispelled through knowledge...
and false
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
assertions
Proof by assertion
Proof by assertion, sometimes informally referred to as proof by repeated assertion, is a logical fallacy in which a proposition is repeatedly restated regardless of contradiction. Sometimes this may be repeated until challenges dry up, at which point it is asserted as fact due to its not being...
in newspapers about Family First.
Dennis Hood has suggested the scrapping of compulsory voting
Compulsory voting
Compulsory voting is a system in which electors are obliged to vote in elections or attend a polling place on voting day. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as fines, community service, or perhaps imprisonment if fines are unpaid...
, on the basis it is undemocratic to force people to cast a vote. He also established a Parliamentary committee to evaluate the establishment of marine parks off the coast of South Australia, which involves the examiniation of the environment, economic and social impacts. Hood has advocated the creation of a task force to address the problem of increasing police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
warrants
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
. Dennis Hood supported the redevelopment of the Adelaide Oval, but only with severe amendments. Hood has recommended increased funding to the coroners court.
Hood has advocated increased accountability of government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
departments, describing the referral of SHine SA, a Government organization specializing in sexual health, of disabled clients to a list of prostitutes, was a "gross misuse of taxpayer money", with then opposition leader Iain Evans
Iain Evans
Iain Frederick Evans is a South Australian Liberal Party politician. He studied at Heathfield High School and gained a Bachelor Degree for Building Technology from the SA Institute of Technology . Prior to entering politics he managed a family-owned building and retailing business...
concurring that a government-funded agency should never advocate what is technically an illegal
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
activity. He has also raised concerns about the AIDS Council, and questioned Gail Gago
Gail Gago
Gail Elizabeth Gago is an Australian politician, and an Australian Labor Party member of the South Australian Legislative Council since being elected in 2002...
on why the Government was funding an organization that demands job applicants use drugs
DRUGS
Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows are an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011.- Formation :...
and participate in prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
as mandatory prerequisite for employment. Earlier, Hood attacked the AIDS Council for stating "children are a blessing [because] you never know when you'll need someone to go out and score [drugs] for you", and that "alcohol is fun, but take drugs instead and you will remember your night out", in what Christopher Pyne
Christopher Pyne
Christopher Maurice Pyne, MP , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since 13 March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia.-Early years:...
concurred as "foolish and irresponsible". Hood also voted not to provide Auditor-General Ken McPherson
Ken McPherson
Ken McPherson is an English former professional footballer. A centre-forward, he began his career with Notts county in 1950 before moving on to Middlesbrough in 1957 and Coventry City in 1955....
, who drafted the report
Report
A report is a textual work made with the specific intention of relaying information or recounting certain events in a widely presentable form....
into corruption
Corruption
Corruption usually refers to spiritual or moral impurity.Corruption may also refer to:* Corruption , an American crime film* Corruption , a British horror film...
and bullying at the Burnside Council, an extension of term, as he has already served 21 years. Equally, Hood has encouraged the injection of capital into Government units that look after vulnerable
Vulnerability
Vulnerability refer to the susceptibility of a person, group, society, sex or system to physical or emotional injury or attack. The term can also refer to a person who lets their guard down, leaving themselves open to censure or criticism...
people who are abused in state care.
Hood is perceived antagonistic to the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
, in such policies as providing the right to remove dangerous
Risk
Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...
, sick
Illness
Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist...
and dying trees, which the Greens strongly opposed. Hood has been the voice of pragmatism, endorsing weekly garbage collection, in a move the Greens disagreed with because it leads to increases in the amount of household rubbish going to landfill Hood has also been a strong proponent of euthanasia legislation introduced by Steph Key on the basis it fails to provide sufficient corroborative evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
of the desire for suicide apart from the killer as the sole witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
, and that the elderly and dying could be pressured into suicide if they felt they became a burden on their family, essentially, that voluntary euthanasia, fortuitously, causes involuntary euthanasia. He also outlined an apparent irony that the Greens, who oppose capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
, would endorse euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
. Hood has criticized the high abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
rate, in light of low fertility
Fertility
Fertility is the natural capability of producing offsprings. As a measure, "fertility rate" is the number of children born per couple, person or population. Fertility differs from fecundity, which is defined as the potential for reproduction...
rates, and has encouraged adoption in lieu. Hood has rejected the scrapping of parliamentary prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
, saying the practice dates back to the establishment of the Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
system, and that the brief periods were useful for silent
Silence
Silence is the relative or total lack of audible sound. By analogy, the word silence may also refer to any absence of communication, even in media other than speech....
reflection
Introspection
Introspection is the self-observation and reporting of conscious inner thoughts, desires and sensations. It is a conscious and purposive process relying on thinking, reasoning, and examining one's own thoughts, feelings, and, in more spiritual cases, one's soul...
. Hood has also rejected legislation to permit the cloning of human embryos, on the basis new technology could create embryonic stem cells without using human embryos and eggs, thereby making the argument moot
Mootness
In American law, a matter is moot if further legal proceedings with regard to it can have no effect, or events have placed it beyond the reach of the law...
. Hood has opposed the decriminalization
Decriminalization
Decriminalization or Decriminalisation is the abolition of criminal penalties in relation to certain acts, perhaps retroactively, though perhaps regulated permits or fines might still apply . The reverse process is criminalization.Decriminalization reflects changing social and moral views...
of prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. which is testament to his Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
feminist position. Hood has also suggested plain-packaged DVD's for content that is restricted
Motion picture rating system
A motion picture rating system is designated to classify films with regard to suitability for audiences in terms of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, impudence or other types of mature content...
by law. Despite being jestered by the Chaser's War on Everything that it is necessary to have sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
to have families, Hood denies he has spoken with the Australian Sex Party
Australian Sex Party
The Australian Sex Party is a Australian political party founded in 2009 in response to concerns over the influence of religion in politics. The party was born out of adult-industry lobby group, the Eros Association. Party leader, Fiona Patten, is CEO of Eros and the party's Registered Officer,...
for a preference deal. Hood has rejected the Greens call to name and shame
Name and Shame
To name and shame is to "publicly say that a person, group or business has done something wrong". It is used to discourage some kinds of activity by publishing the names of those involved.-Anti-social and criminal:...
religious schools which discriminate based on sexual orientation on their web site. Although sometimes failing to block Green legislation, Hood has nevertheless provided opposition rigor necessary to challenge status quo, including public consultation
Public consultation
Public consultation, or simply consultation, is a regulatory process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought. Its main goals are in improving the efficiency, transparency and public involvement in large-scale projects or laws and policies...
. The Greens however, sometimes work cooperatively with Family First, for instance in Bob Brown
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown is an Australian senator, the inaugural Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens and was the first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia...
’s call for national changes to electoral legislation, following the issue of counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
how-to-vote cards by the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
that were passed off as Family First electoral material, in what was also called "unethical, if not illegal" by opposition leader Isobel Redmond
Isobel Redmond
Isobel Mary Redmond is the current parliamentary leader of the South Australian division of the Liberal Party of Australia and the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of South Australia since 2009. The Redmond Liberals won 18 of 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly at the 2010...
. The perceived antagony is thus undoubtedly questionable, for example in Hood's advocacy of the Adelaide Oval redevelopment as "terrific" for Adelaide, and Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell is an Australian politician and the first SA Greens representative in the South Australian Legislative Council, having won a seat in the 2006 state election. His term will expire in March 2014. Since his election, the Greens position in state political opinion polls has approximately...
concurrence that it would bring back football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
to the city. In fact, Parnell has voted with Hood in several instances, against the majority government and opposition. Nevertheless, Hood has forayed that he will never make a preference deal with the Greens, as their core policies are irreconcilable with the position of Family First.
Hood has been the conservative voice of parenting
Parenting
Parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...
, with such policies as calling on the ban of nude beaches, on the basis that children could inadvertently be exposed. Hood has also rejected same-sex parenting on the basis that children of same-sex parents wouldn't gain the right to have heterosexual parents. Hood has advocated mandatory parental consent
Consent
Consent refers to the provision of approval or agreement, particularly and especially after thoughtful consideration.- Types of consent :*Implied consent is a controversial form of consent which is not expressly granted by a person, but rather inferred from a person's actions and the facts and...
for children getting a body piercing. Hood has advocated for the permission to administer non-sexual smacking of children by their parents Hood has recommended pragmatic child abuse checks by external agencies to address growing dismay relating to the Department of Community Services. Despite saying that his party was comfortable with modest
Modesty
Standards of modesty are aspects of the culture of a country or people, at a given point in time, and is a measure against which an individual in society may be judged....
age
Ageing
Ageing or aging is the accumulation of changes in a person over time. Ageing in humans refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological, and social change. Some dimensions of ageing grow and expand over time, while others decline...
-appropriate sexual education programs, Hood has remained staunchly opposed to the sex education of primary school kids. In a similar manner, Hood has supported the call of independent MP Bob Such
Bob Such
Robert Bruce "Bob" Such , Australian politician, is the member for the seat of Fisher in the South Australian House of Assembly, as an independent since 2000, and as member of the Liberal Party member from the 1989 election to 2000....
, who has advocated the introduction of a religious education program focusing on compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
, respect
Respect
Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...
and knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
of various religions. Hood has also recommended a review of the classification
Motion picture rating system
A motion picture rating system is designated to classify films with regard to suitability for audiences in terms of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, impudence or other types of mature content...
system, and that some content classified general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
should be upward classified, as evident in the comical but paradoxical newshed "G-rated g-string
G-string
A G-string is a type of thong underwear or swimsuit, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic, that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by women and men...
" Hood has also been vocal about the failure of the Advertising Standards Board to properly screen out material of poor taste, including a liquor advertisement with the buttocks
Buttocks
The buttocks are two rounded portions of the anatomy, located on the posterior of the pelvic region of apes and humans, and many other bipeds or quadrupeds, and comprise a layer of fat superimposed on the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles. Physiologically, the buttocks enable weight to...
of three adult males exposed nude, in what the RAA
Royal Automobile Association
The Royal Automobile Association of South Australia, also known simply as RAA, is a South Australian automobile club providing a range of member services including: 24-hour emergency breakdown, vehicle inspection, motoring advocacy, road safety, legal services, technical advice, travel services,...
concurred is a distraction to driving. Hood has worked with Attorney-General John Rau
John Rau
John Robert Rau , Australian politician, is the current South Australian Deputy Premier and Attorney-General. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the House of Assembly seat of Enfield since 2002.-Legal career:...
on a number of Bills, including the outlawing of minors from practicing scarification.
Hood has established a reputation for being tough on crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
, in particular drugs, suggesting tougher controls on the growing and possession of cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
, on the basis that possession of commercial quantities ($40,000) would only attract a small (maximum of $500) fine, and provided insufficient disincentive. He has also requested on-the-spot fine for users of heroin, meth-amphetamines, cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and ecstasy. He has opposed the use of drug driving and drugs in public, saying it is a threat to the welfare of residents and businesses, as well as to the individual themselves. He introduced law to increase police powers to seize a convicted pedophile's computer at any time without a court order to examine its contents, essentially shifting the burden of proof away to the police to show reasonable cause to suspect to the pedophile to show they have been acting in line with the law. Despite Labor has personified itself as "tough on drugs", Hood has stated figures show otherwise, and has instead established himself as the authority on crime. Apart from increased fines, Hood has also suggested pragmatic drug testing devices at hotels and nightclubs. Hood recommended and successfully passed laws to adopt this stance by setting minimum, as supposed to maximum sentences, which are never implemented by judges. Hood has rejected even the prescription of marijuana for medicinal purposes, backed by Vickie Chapman
Vickie Chapman
Vickie Ann Chapman is an Australian politician, representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Bragg for the Liberal Party since 2002. She was Deputy Leader of the South Australian Opposition from 30 March 2006 until 4 July 2009.-Early life:Chapman was born in Kangaroo Island...
, saying the harm outweighs the therapeutic benefits. Perhaps the most fancy recommendation is the introduction of an online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
to record the details of the acquisition and sales of products containing pseudoephedrine
Pseudoephedrine
Pseudoephedrine is a sympathomimetic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes. It is used as a nasal/sinus decongestant and stimulant, or as a wakefulness-promoting agent....
, which using data mining
Data mining
Data mining , a relatively young and interdisciplinary field of computer science is the process of discovering new patterns from large data sets involving methods at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and database systems...
technologies could help identify suspicious buyers, in a move which Commissioner of SAPOL, Mal Hyde, agreed with. Hood was also authority on reducing sexual assaults in taxis, his colleague Rob Brokenshire the chairman of the select committee.
At a Family First State Executive meeting on 1 February 2007, Dennis Hood replaced Andrew Evans as the Family First
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
parliamentary leader. Although failing to gain the reputation as a serial Freedom of Information Act user as colleague Robert Brokenshire
Robert Brokenshire
Robert "Rob" Lawrence Brokenshire is a South Australian dairy farmer and Member of the 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd and current South Australian Parliament. Formerly a real estate broker, Brokenshire was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1993 and...
, Hood has been an active user of the FOI too, but has a better reputation for the publication of public
Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...
records. Nevertheless, Hood is established as the mathematical identity of Family First, involved with the compilation of econometric statistics.
Dennis Hood called for District Court
District Court of South Australia
The District Court of South Australia is South Australia's principal trial court. It was established as a court of record by the District Court Act 1991...
Judge Marie Shaw to be sacked as a result of failing to impose a sentence
Sentence (law)
In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
upon a series of twelve sex offenders she had presided over. To prevent Shaw from taking him to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of South Australia
The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court for the Australian State of South Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court...
for defamation over the his naming of her "South Australia's softest judge", in what Shaw described to cause her to become "distressed and humiliated", "subject to ridicule and contempt", Hood settled with her by pronouncing an apology. Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
John Doyle sided with Shaw, saying that judges shouldn't be held personally responsible
Moral responsibility
Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...
for their decisions, that much decisions were the inevitable result of precedence
Precedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
, although Judge Shaw eventually resigned just four years after sitting on the bench, despite the principle of tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
, that she could have sat on the bench until she turned 70. Hood's interest in the courts isn't singular, exhibiting particulate interest in the high judicial salaries and pensions that were "out of step with" community expectations, with salaries $540,000 a year, and retired pensions at $114,534 a year. Hood is also a fond judicial activist, in particular precedence
Precedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
by way of ratio decidendi
Ratio decidendi
Ratio decidendi is a Latin phrase meaning "the reason" or "the rationale for the decision." The ratio decidendi is "[t]he point in a case which determines the judgment" or "the principle which the case establishes."...
to change "pathetic" sentences for "very serious crimes", ranging from rape to arson, and increase rights for the disabled, including the blind.
Following the 2010 election, although Hood's identity has been outweighed by colleague Robert Brokenshire, dubbed the "de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
opposition leader", Hood has worked with independents Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington is an Australian politician. She was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2006 South Australian election as Nick Xenophon's running mate on his independent No Pokies ticket...
(the Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
No Pokies
No Pokies
No Pokies is an independent South Australian Legislative Council ticket that contested the 1997, 2002, and 2006 statewide legislative council elections...
Party) and John Darley, to improve funding for mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
, disability
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
, child protection and public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
. His work with Bressington, whose 22-year-old daughter Shay-Louise Bressington died from heroin overdose, in the area of "tough on drugs" is landmark. Bressington however, is positioned as even tougher on drugs, or at least quintuply economically. Hood's proposal draft bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
that will allow parents to become better informed of their children's Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
activity, was accepted by John Rau
John Rau
John Robert Rau , Australian politician, is the current South Australian Deputy Premier and Attorney-General. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the House of Assembly seat of Enfield since 2002.-Legal career:...
and Robert McClelland
Robert McClelland (Australian politician)
Robert Bruce McClelland is the Attorney-General of Australia. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of theAustralian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Barton, New South Wales...
.
Family and personal life
Dennis Hood was elected to the South Australian Parliament at the age of 34, and was described by Peter GoersPeter Goers
Peter Goers is an actor, director, reviewer, former academic and current host of the radio program The Evening Show on 891 ABC Adelaide, which broadcasts throughout South Australia and to the city of Broken Hill...
as "one of the youngest pollies in State Parliament".. In 2006, Hood's wife Lisa Hood, gave birth to his daughter, Madeline Hood, and said his good experience with the Women's and Children's Hospital was "fantastic" and "outstanding", and that he couldn't comprehend why people "whinged" about the system. He has been a comical conservative voice in South Australia, with such descriptions of the banning of the words "ho ho ho" during Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
as "plain madness" as the word "ho" could be misconstrued as "whore", in what a UniSA communications senior lecturer concurred as being "nonsense".
Dennis plays the acoustic
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
and electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, is a fan of the Adelaide Crows and loves sports cars, and has been dissent on Government policy to crush hoons on the basis of waste. Dennis Hood's parents were apathetic toward religion but he converted to Christianity at 19. He attends Rostrevor Baptist Church in Adelaide. When Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail (Adelaide)
The Sunday mail was founded in 1912 by Clarence Moody. Moody initially set up three newspapers - the Sporting mail, Saturday mail and the Mail. The first two titles lasted only two years and five years respectively...
columnist Peter Goers
Peter Goers
Peter Goers is an actor, director, reviewer, former academic and current host of the radio program The Evening Show on 891 ABC Adelaide, which broadcasts throughout South Australia and to the city of Broken Hill...
stated in a critical editorial that Hood was a young earth Creationist, Goers (a staunch atheist) and Hood have a comical relationship, the most famous accolade being Goers reporting Hood looks like he "walked out of a men's fashion magazine" sporting an expensive cotton pullover and suit, and Hood responding in his The Advertiser column that the "expensive" clothing was obtained from a Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
store. An avid philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, Hood rejected an automatic 6.7% pay rise, and gave it to charity.