Over in a Flash: the SA State Election at a Glance

The South Australian state election (19th of March) was expected to take days to produce a result. The ABC’s Election Analyst Antony Green called it in a mere two hours. Steven Marshall conceded by 9 pm. Labor had won by a landslide.

Election analysts spent the weeks leading up to the state election predicting a lengthy count. A record number of South Australians voted in advance via post, primarily due to the pandemic. Postal votes can be sent right up till election day, so many are not received until the next week. Even those received were not set to be counted until the Monday following the election.

Labor was expected to win based on opinion-polling (surveys conducted to determine voter intent) but still faced the possibility of a hung parliament. A hung parliament occurs when the party forming government does not have a clear majority. It normally involves a lot of compromise with independents. So why was it called so quickly? Politics is unpredictable! There’s not a clear answer either. Labor turned over far more seats than predicted. Seven seats on the Legislative Assembly (the Lower House of state parliament) were gained by Labor. In comparison, the Liberal Party did not win any new seats, only retaining seats previously held. Even safe Liberal seats (seats that are traditionally guaranteed wins for a party) became marginal, with huge swings to the Labor Party.

It was an election won on health policy. Six months ago, Marshall and the SA Liberals were practically guaranteed a second term in government. The Omicron variant, reopening of the South Australian border, and ramping crisis changed that. The SA Liberal’s popularity went down as cases arose and the highly effective protesting undertaken by paramedics shed new light on the Marshall government’s failure to improve ramping. The new premier, Peter Malinauskas, ran a campaign based on fixing ramping.

Words by Louise Jackson

The SA Liberals have also experienced significant internal problems in recent months. Three members of the Lower House began their terms as Liberals and ended them as independents. Sam Duluk and Frasier Ellis were facing criminal charges (Duluk has been acquitted and Ellis is still awaiting trial) and Dan Cregan jumped ship, dissatisfied with the Party, to then become Speaker of the House. In November, Former Deputy Premier Vickie Chapman resigned her portfolios (though remained in her seat) to face investigation over a possible conflict of interest in her time as Planning Minister.

The Big Changes

The SA Liberals have lost a substantial number of high-profile party members. Education Minister Rachel Sanderson in the seat of Adelaide and Transport Minister Corey Wingard in the seat of Gibson lost to Labor candidates. Deputy Premier Dan van Holst Pellekaan lost his seat of Stuart to independent Geoff Brock in one of the more shocking election night calls. Steven Marshall has resigned from the leadership of the SA Liberals.

The big winners of the evening were women. All the seats Labor gained were won by women and the SA Liberals also welcome two new female MPs. Labor will enter government with a 50/50 gender split. Malinauskas has hailed ‘a modern Labor Party that reflects our society’.

It’s safe to say the election did not play out the way that the SA Liberals hoped. As we mark the first defeat of a state government during the pandemic, we enter a new era of politics – one where nothing is guaranteed.

References

Boisvert, E 2022, ‘Labor Premier-elect Peter Malinauskas joined by several new women MPs in SA government ranks’, ABC News, 20 March, viewed 23 March 2022, <https://www. abc.net.au/news/2022-03-20/five-new-laborwomen-in-new-sa-government/100924724>

Keane, D 2022, ‘SA election 2022: The Playmander, the Rannslide and the roots of Liberal implosion’, ABC News, 23 March, viewed 23 March 2022, <https://www.abc. net.au/news/2022-03-23/sa-election-theplaymander-and-liberal-defeat/100925228>

Keane, D & Puddy, R 2022, ‘SA election 2022 results: Labor secures victory over Liberal government — as it happened’, ABC News, 19 March, viewed 23 March 2022, <https:// www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-19/sa-votessouth-australia-state-election-2022-liveblog/100917538>

Shepherd, T 2022, ‘‘Hard to read’: Labor is clear favourite in South Australia’s election – but local issues muddy the waters’, The Guardian, 19 March, viewed 23 March 2022, <https:// www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/ mar/19/hard-to-read-labor-is-clear-favouritein-south-australias-election-but-local-issuesmuddy-the-waters>