Custom plates and cost-of-living ‘doughnuts’: Key election promises
From offering custom license plates to doughnut tasting, leaders are pulling out all the stops to catch attention in the last week of the campaign. See the promises the major parties have committed to.
Liberal leader Ashton Hurn and shadow treasurer Ben Hood took a bite into the Labor government, saying they had given small business “doughnuts” at a press conference at Brown’s Donuts in Tanunda this morning to promote the party’s cost-of-living package.
Liberal policy announcements – from no stamp duty for first home buyers to baby seat installation rebates – total $1.3 billion in relief for South Australians, Shadow Treasurer Ben Hood said yesterday.
Cost of living, housing affordability and healthcare were the top issues that mattered to South Australians, according to exclusive polling from DemosAU/Ace Strategies conducted in February.
The Labor party has so far focused on relief for families throughout the campaign, announcing policies like free public schools and IVF rebates, but made housing its biggest financial battleground, with a billion-dollar plan to act as a financial guarantor to increase supply and ease the housing crisis.
Meanwhile, Premier Peter Malinauskas was at Africola restaurant today, announcing that the first MotoGP ticket registrations have opened for South Australians.
And in a quirkier promise, the Premier announced a limited edition release of 500 MotoGP Grand Prix commemorative number plates to mark the 2027 race. The plates will be a nod to the original 1985 black Adelaide Grand Prix plates, which have since been auctioned off for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What do the major parties promise for healthcare?
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Throughout the campaign, neither has committed to “fixing ramping” – the pillar pledge of Malinauskas’ 2022 election bid.
Malinauskas has admitted that was a failure of his government but pointed to shorter wait times for ambulances under his watch.
Hurn has pledged more beds and a new regional hospital for the Barossa, which will take care of voters in her electorate of Schubert.
The Liberals pledged their Barossa hospital earlier in the campaign, but Labor’s plan had a specific nine-hectare site in mind, while the Liberals did not have a specific location for it.
What do the major parties promise for housing?
Housing formed much of Labor’s plan early in the campaign, kicking off with hundreds of millions to change Adelaide’s skyline in October.
While the Liberal party focused on expanding stamp duty waivers currently in place for first homebuyers to include established homes, and not be limited to new builds.
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What do the major parties promise for education?
Waiving emergency service levies and other party pledges
Today, Greens Leader Robert Simms has called on the government to waive the Emergency Service Levy for 15,000 volunteers across the Country Fire Service, State Emergency Service and Volunteer Marine Rescue to “recognise the countless hours they give back to their communities”.
Simms said in 2025-26, metropolitan property owners are set to pay $164.55 for the emergency services levy, while regional property owners will pay about $99.
He said waiving the fees for the 15,000 volunteers would cost up to $1.9 million per year, while the community emergency services fund carried over $3.5 million from 2024-25 to 2025-26.
Meanwhile, the Greens’ heavyhitters this campaign was their push on transport options in the Adelaide Hills, given their focus on picking up the seat of Heysen from Liberal deputy leader Josh Teague. They’ve also promised to push the next government to state heritage list the park lands – a move that’s languished for years – and implement an arts policy that would pay artists a living wage.
One Nation says it would reduce housing demand by lowering immigration and banning foreign ownership. Immigration rates are a federal government responsibility.
The conservative party also said it would cap council rates in line with CPI and amend the Local Government Act to “enshrine the right to enshrine the right of elected councillors to speak freely in opposition to council directions, decisions and policies; and to publicly criticise their council administrations and other elected members’ votes and positions without fear of sanction or penalty”.
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