Former football star hits top of ladder in election campaign
A South Australian Hall of Fame footballer is being handballed the top billing for ‘Fair Go’ – as Labor picks its replacement for Arts Minister in the seat of Enfield.
Sarah Game fronted the media outside Parliament House this morning to announce Chris McDermott would be placed number one on the Upper House ticket in the Legislative Council for her party with 18 candidates now in play.
“I’ve had an overwhelming response to having Chris McDermott join the Fair Go party,” Game said.
“We’ve been contacted from people all around the state saying it’s great to hear Chris has joined but we want to vote for him, and so we’re having a reshuffle.”
Game started Fair Go in August 2025 after leaving the One Nation party in May 2025 and despite a rise in polling support for One Nation, Game said she did not regret leaving the party.
Today she said her views “don’t necessarily differ” to One Nation policy, however, Game doesn’t “like their delivery style, I think it’s quite divisive.”
The reshuffle follows the announcement in January that McDermott would run for the seat of Dunstan in the upcoming state election.
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McDermott would be subbed in for the candidate recently announced as top of the ticket, Jake Hall-Evans, with Hall-Evans to now run as a candidate for the lower house in Colton.
Game said she hoped South Australians would get behind McDermott at the March election.
“What Chris brings and what we’re selling that’s different I think is integrity, accountability and transparency,” she said
“This is somebody who’s more interested in doing the right thing than necessarily the brand or image.”
McDermott said he was “really looking forward to representing Dunstan”, but was more excited to be representing all South Australians.
He was said he was committed to broadening his understanding of issues affecting South Australians which included men’s mental health.
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“I don’t come from the political world, I come from the everyday world that everybody’s experiencing, and I think I know what they’re feeling.”
Currently, the Fair Go party has 18 candidates, with Game “hoping for 20 candidates”.
Meanwhile, one of the Premier’s key advisors has been picked as Labor’s candidate to replace outgoing Arts Minister Andrea Michaels in her inner-northern suburbs electorate of Enfield.
Lawrence Ben, who lives in Enfield, has previously represented injured workers, small businesses and contractors as a lawyer, and is Economic Adviser to Premier Peter Malinauskas.
“As a lawyer and economic adviser, Lawrence has been at the centre of efforts to protect jobs, support industry and ease cost of living pressures, including playing a key role in saving the Whyalla steelworks,” Premier Peter Malinauskas said.
The electorate of Enfield covers suburbs including Enfield, Blair Athol, Sefton Park, Broadview, Clearview, Gepps Cross, Northfield, Northgate, Lightsview, Walkley Heights and part of Prospect and Nailsworth.
