Political parties state their preferences on SA MP facing DV charges
Labor has revealed its plans against preference deals with an SA MP accused of assaulting his wife after an impassioned speech in State Parliament yesterday.
Former Liberal and now independent southeast MP Nick McBride is facing multiple counts of assaulting his wife, and in State Parliament on Tuesday, Liberal MP for Unley David Pisoni called on all parties to avoid preferencing him at next year’s state election.
Today, the SA Labor Party ruled out preferencing McBride, meaning he would be listed below the Liberal Party on Labor how-to-vote cards at the March 2026 state election.
Labor also ruled out having any discussions with McBride about a preference deal.
“South Australia will not preference former Liberal MP Nick McBride,” SA Labor Party state secretary Aemon Bourke said.
“The Liberal Party should also rule out preferencing convicted drug supplier and former Liberal Leader David Speirs.”
SA Labor has also ruled out preferencing convicted drug supplier David Speirs if he decides to run at the next state election.
Meanwhile, SA Liberal Party State Director Alex Hyde said: “Unless there is some other candidate with more or worse violence charges laid against them, we will be putting Mr McBride last.”
His comments come after Pisoni made an impassioned plea in parliament yesterday, calling on Premier Peter Malinauskas to state the Labor Party’s position.
“Allowing a candidate who is currently facing six charges of aggravated assault against his wife to receive Labor Party preference votes fundamentally negates any claim of standing against domestic violence,” Pisoni said.
“Aggravated assault is not minor assault. It is a category of offence that is extremely serious. A party leader cannot credibly stand against domestic violence while simultaneously not taking action when he can in order to deal with it.”
“Preferences are not a neutral administrative action; they are an endorsement and substantially increase the candidate’s chances of being elected, therefore placing them in a position of power. Supporting Nick McBride’s conduct is inconsistent with calling out domestic violence.”
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Today’s news comes as Vincent Tarzia stood firm about remaining Liberal leader following reports of leaked internal polling showing the party faced an election wipe-out in March 2026.
Asked if he was concerned about a potential leadership spill this morning on ABC radio, Tarzia said, “I’ve spoken to a broad range of colleagues yesterday, and I don’t think that’s the case at all”.
“At the moment, I’m really proud of our team – we’re working hard, we’re doing the work, and I think what people want us to do is to actually focus on the people,” he said.
It comes after an exclusive DemosAU/Ace Strategies poll published in InDaily in October showed Tarzia could lose his seat, with the SA Liberals facing a wipeout in all its metropolitan seats.
