Labor landslide sees Mali back in power as Libs crushed
Labor has won the State Election with an historic result crushing the Liberal Party and challenging the traditional two-party vote into the future. Amid the carnage, two former Liberal leaders lost their fight to win seats.
Peter Malinauskas and his Labor team have won the state election, with results to date showing an expected whitewash of the Liberal Party and its members now looking likely to be clinging to only one metropolitan seat.
Last night, it was looking likely that Labor would win 30 of the 47 lower house seats, the Liberal Party four seats while other seats were in doubt and the upper house make up was likely to take longer to decide.
“I’m truly humbled; it’s honestly the privilege of my life outside of my family,” Malinauskas said about the massive win as he arrived at a Labor celebration at Memorial Drive.
He told a revved-up crowd of supporters that he was “overwhelmed with gratitude”.
“I received a couple of phone calls and I do want to take this opportunity to first and foremost pass on my thanks to Ashton Hurn for the gracious way she conceded defeat,” he said about the Liberal Party Leader.
Malinauskas said he also received a call from One Nation’s Cory Bernardi, who also deserved recognition for his party receiving a “significant result at the ballot box that deserves recognition and credit”.
He also wanted to thank “my beautiful, ever-patient family and the most incredible woman I know… my beautiful wife, the love of my life Annabel” West.
“To my colleagues, although this is an historic result, although this is the best result our party has ever achieved… we should see it as an invitation to work our guts out for the next four years,” he said.
And Malinauskas delivered a message of unity by citing a poem from Henry Lawson that included “’tis the duty of Australians in the bush and in the town to forever praise their country but to run no other down”, saying he looked “forward to the temperature coming down a little bit” and that “when we work together diversity has always been our greatest strength”.
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Liberal leader Ashton Hurn addressed a party gathering at Morphettville Racecourse, saying “it’s a tough night for the Liberals” but that, like living on a farm, not “every season goes your way” but you stay on to work hard to improve the result.
“There is still hope for the Liberal future here in South Australia. I am a proud Liberal, I love this party, I love what we stand for,” she said, adding that “there is still so much to fight for”.
Amongst the election carnage, former Liberal Leader Vincent Tarzia lost his seat of Hartley to Labor with Hurn acknowledging his commitment to the party, saying “he has gone down fighting”.
Another former Liberal Leader David Speirs’ bid to reclaim Black was dashed as Labor’s Alex Dighton looked set to retain the once safe Liberal seat.
Another Liberal Sam Telfer – who was at risk of losing Flinders to One Nation – has held onto the seat he first won in 2022.
Hurn “sincerely congratulated” Malinauskas and committed to leading the Liberal Party for the next four years, saying “we ultimately believe we have the best vision for the people of South Australia and while the voters didn’t give us the nod this time” the party would look forward with “a true sense of optimism”.
Labor’s Deputy Premier Kyam Maher said he was excited about the win and that with some former members retiring “we will have new people in”.
“Now these are people that I spent a lot of time with over the last few months that I am so excited to hopefully have as part of the Labor team,” he said.
Federal One Nation leader Pauline Hanson arrived at her party’s celebration in Kent Town, swamped by supporters.
A surge in the One Nation vote has smashed the Liberal Party, with concerns raised that the results had destroyed the traditional two-party vote, and this would likely have national repercussions.
Among the Liberal losses were Tarzia losing his seat of Hartley to Labor’s Jenn Roberts and Labor has won the seat of Unley for the first time in 32 years, with Alice Rolls claiming the win.
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MacKillop independent Nick McBride, who campaigned wearing an ankle bracelet after being charged for assaulting his wife, a charge he denies, looked likely to lose his seat with the One Nation vote rising but the winning candidate not yet clear.
Labor sitting member Erin Thompson retained Davenport as the seat’s formerly traditional Liberal vote continued to slide.
The Liberal Party’s hope in Waite, Frank Pangallo, was also unlikely to win the seat, with Labor’s Catherine Hutchisson holding the lead last night.
At this stage, Bragg looks likely to be the only metropolitan seat held by the Liberal Party, with Jack Batty managing to win over his electorate.
Liberal shadow treasurer MLC Ben Hood responded to the rise in the One Nation vote, saying “people have been talking about this for a long time and I think we’re now starting to see it reflected”.
“But it’s not just happening in regional states – we’re also seeing it in the north, we’re also seeing it in the south,” he said.
“And again, it is not just reflected in the Liberal vote but in the Labor vote as well, which I think shows that there are a great many people who feel disaffected, not just from centre-right parties, but also the centre left as well.”
New talent Aria Bolkus – daughter of federal senator Nick Bolkus – was set to win the coastal seat of Colton, which had been held by retiring Liberal MP Matt Cowdrey since 2018.
“It’s been a long campaign,” Bolkus said, adding that she had been well supported by several party stalwarts including federal Health Minister Mark Butler.
When asked about how she felt her father, who died on Christmas Day, would have felt about the win, she said: “I would have loved him to be here”.
Succeeding Andrea Michaels in the safe Labor seat of Enfield, Malinauskas’ former economic advisor, Lawrence Ben, who is also the son-in-law of federal Senator and Trade Minister Don Farrell, was looking to win.
While Cheyne Rich – who was Malinauskas’ deputy chief of staff since 2022 – is ahead of his rival in former Labor Deputy Premier Susan Close’s former seat of Port Adelaide.
The night’s results reflected polling that had not been favourable for the SA Liberals, as it consistently showed the party facing an election wipeout.
Latest DemosAU polling published exclusively by InDaily showed the Liberals winning 17 per cent of lower house votes compared to Labor’s 37 per cent and One Nation’s 23 per cent. In the upper house, the polling showed the Liberals were set to gain just one seat, with the party relying on preferences for a second.
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