Nationals vow to push back against gun laws in state election
As turmoil continues amongst their federal team, The Nationals in SA are pushing on to reveal candidates for the state election. Among them a farmer and a Port Lincoln councillor, one vowing to push back against stronger gun laws.
The Nationals have announced their lineup for the 2026 state election, with lead candidate for the Legislative Council Rikki Lambert holding a press conference at Parliament House this morning to list slashing pokies amongst the party’s major policies.
Alongside him was current Nationals’ state president Jonathan Pietzsch, who will run in the southeast seat of Mackillop. The Nationals currently have no representatives in state parliament.
Young Nationals policy officer Perrin Rennie will run second on the Legislative Council ticket, and Port Lincoln Councillor Dylan Cowley has been campaigning in Flinders since being announced in November.
Lambert is a former radio presenter and lawyer from the Barossa Valley. He previously ran for the House of Assembly and the Australian Senate, and is the former chief of staff to the Nationals’ federal member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster, who was, until Thursday, the Shadow Minister for Regional Development.
Lambert said that the party’s key policies will focus on preserving gun laws, increasing housing supply, and putting an end to poker machines in pubs and clubs.
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Pietzsch, who is a registered firearm owner and farmer, said that the Nationals will oppose any move by the Premier to act upon the Prime Minister’s wishes for increased gun controls after the Bondi terrorist attacks.
“It’s not a situation or an opportunity to demonise licensed firearm owners who have done the right thing, who store their firearms safely… who follow the law,” Pietzsch said.
He said that the firearms licensing department is “underfunded” and “under resourced,” calling it “a situation that needs to change”.
“The Nationals support our farmers, sporting shooters and recreational enthusiasts who abide by the law and are already some of the most regulated gun owners on the planet”.
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The Nationals are also zeroing in on housing affordability, proposing to remove restrictions that prevent three-story developments in the Adelaide metropolitan area.
Regionally, Lambert said that the Nationals will fund housing infrastructure through a Royalties for Regions programs that, for its first 10 years, would take 30 per cent of mining royalties to provide infrastructure for regional towns to grow.
“Regional voters need to look very closely at the candidates and what they offer the regions, because the Legislative Council has traditionally been the place regional voices are heard, with Labor and metropolitan seats dominating the House of Assembly,” Lambert said.
He also said that the Nationals will ban pokies everywhere except the Adelaide Casino, by phasing out 20 per cent of community pokies per year through a mandatory gaming entitlement buyback scheme.
“We want to to finish getting rid of pokies machines in South Australia,” Lambert said, adding that they account for “$1 billion in annual losses for South Australians”.
“And then there’s the personal harm, the social harm that comes on top of that, that needs to be resolved, and the nationals are committed to that”.
Last week, three senior Nationals quit the front bench after opposing the Coalition’s position on hate speech laws – but Lambert said that “it’s been an example of what we are, who we are, and what we stand for”.
“We are a seperate party, and the events of the last few weeks have certainly demonstrated that”.
“I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t think there was a chance that we could win a seat in the Legislative Council,” he said.
“I’m urging all South Australians to think very carefully about their vote this election and look at who’s going to stand up for regional South Australia in particular”.
