26 Facts About Dennis Hood

In 2017, Family First merged into the Australian Conservatives and Hood joined the Liberal Party after the 2018 state election.

Dennis Hood was born in Woodside, South Australia, Australia and raised in Salisbury.

Dennis Hood holds a Bachelor of Economics with honours in politics and philosophy and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from the University of Adelaide.

Dennis Hood became the Federal Director for the Family First Party in 2005 and ran for the South Australian Legislative Council the following year as their primary candidate.

Dennis Hood was elected to the upper house in 2006 and, in February 2007, replaced Andrew Evans as the Family First Party's parliamentary leader.

Dennis Hood was reelected in 2014 still on the Family First ticket but followed Robert Brokenshire to the Australian Conservatives when the two parties merged in 2017.

Nine days after the 2018 state election, Dennis Hood defected to the Liberal Party following the Conservatives' extreme defeat, a move he was roundly criticised for.

Dennis Hood claimed that the Liberal Party's platform overlapped significantly with his, while the Conservatives were too focused on federal issues and were likely to have "no impact" at the state level.

In 2014, Dennis Hood argued that the government overregulates people and that, while it has its purposes, it has become too large.

Dennis Hood said that existing anti-bullying approaches were insufficient and needed to be stricter.

In 2008, Dennis Hood called for a review of the motion picture classification system, as he did not feel the Advertising Standards Board had properly screened out materials of "poor taste," including a liquor advertisement showing the exposed buttocks of three adult men.

Dennis Hood suggested DVDs of adult films and other restricted content be required to come in plain packaging.

Dennis Hood is highly supportive of increased penalties for drug use.

Dennis Hood opposed the use of drugs while driving and in public, saying it is a threat to the welfare of residents, businesses, and the individuals themselves.

Apart from increased fines, Dennis Hood suggested pragmatic drug testing devices at hotels and nightclubs.

In 2009, Dennis Hood proposed laws to adopt this stance by setting minimum, as opposed to maximum, sentences, which are rarely implemented by judges.

Dennis Hood felt that this would be an effective deterrent.

Dennis Hood rejected legislation permitting the cloning of human embryos on the grounds of technology already having the ability to create embryonic stem cells without using human embryos and eggs, thereby making the legislation unnecessary.

Dennis Hood reaffirmed both of these beliefs again in 2014 and in 2016 proposed an amendment allowing medical professionals to refuse reproductive assistance to same-sex couples and single people.

Relatedly, Dennis Hood encourages the practice of adoption for heterosexual parents and has criticised abortion rates, particularly when considering low fertility rates.

In 2008, Dennis Hood advocated for mandatory parental consent for children to get a body piercing and worked with John Rau to outlaw scarification for minors.

Dennis Hood is a supporter of parents doling out non-sexual corporal punishment, namely spanking, to their children.

In 2007, Dennis Hood rejected the scrapping of parliamentary prayer, pointing out that the practice dated back to the Westminster system.

Dennis Hood stated that these periods were useful for quiet introspection.

In 2007, Dennis Hood called for a ban of nudist beaches, citing his concern that children could be inadvertently exposed.

Dennis Hood supported the redevelopment of the Adelaide Oval with some amendments.