Premier’s opening swing in election campaign derides Libs women numbers
As the Labor Party officially launches its state election campaign, the Premier is criticising the number of women in the Liberals’ ranks. InDaily explores whether 2026 will see women dominate parliament and reveals who is fighting for retiring speaker Leon Bignell’s old seat.
Premier Peter Malinauskas rallied the SA Labor Party in a sea of salmon pink and red in Pennington Gardens on Sunday to officially kick off the election year.
Of the party’s candidate lineup announced so far, its listed candidates includes 24 women and 19 men in the upcoming March election.
The numbers bolster its showing in the House of Assembly where the Labor Party has 15 women among its 29 Labor MPs and a record number of women ministers after September’s shuffle that followed former Deputy Premier Susan Close and Treasurer Stephen Mullighan’s retirement announcement.
In contrast, the Liberal Party currently has two women – leader Ashton Hurn and Penny Pratt – among its 13 members of the House of Assembly. In the Upper House, four of their seven legislative councillors are women.
Premier Peter Malinauskas told InDaily he was proud to lead a record-setting cabinet, and took his first swing of the state election season at the Liberals’ lack of gender balance.
“The contrast with our opponents could not be more stark,” he said.
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“I’m proud to lead a talented, dedicated and united team which includes a majority of women MPs and for the first time in history, more women than men in cabinet.”
The Premier went on to compare the number of Liberal women in the House of Assembly with the number of former Liberals who have faced criminal charges.
South East Independent Member Nick McBride, a former Liberal Party member, was remanded in custody over Christmas after being accused of assaulting a woman.
Independent MP Troy Bell, also a former Liberal, stepped down from his seat of Mount Gambier in September and was sent to jail for ripping off a scheme aimed at helping disadvantaged students.
Bell was an independent, not a member of the Liberal Party, when he was convicted.
Among their 2026 key election candidates, the Liberal Party have 10 women and 11 men – including two women in the seats of MacKillop and Mount Gambier, those held by McBride and Bell.
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A Liberal spokeswoman said that “Labor think they’ve got this election in the bag, but we are committed to presenting South Australians with a clear choice in March and we have the right candidates to do just that”.
The number of women now vying for jobs representing the state is in stark contrast to figures from almost a decade ago.
In 2017, the Liberals had 20 members in the House of Assembly, three of whom were women. In the Upper House at the time, two of the party’s eight members were women.
While in the same year, the Labor Party had nine women amongst its 23 ALP members in the Lower House and just one woman MLC in the Upper House.
The battle for Bignell’s Mawson
Today, the Liberal party unveiled their candidate for Mawson – retiring speaker Leon Bignell’s seat.
The party will have 41-year-old Kangaroo Island business owner Michael Holden fighting for the seat against Labor’s Maslin Beach local Jenni Mitton.
“With the retirement of the current member, our region will see a contest, and I’m looking forward to being a strong voice for our region, both metro and country,” Holden said.
Bignell helped steer the Labor Party back into government by retaining Mawson, despite an unhelpful boundary redistribution.
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