Upper house pollies locked in… one day before parliament resumes
The Electoral Commission has announced the final state election winners in the nick of time. Read the surprise leaders on the winners’ board and the first battles pitched for the sitting week.
One Nation SA leader Cory Bernardi has taken the surprise second spot of all candidates elected to the state’s upper house ahead of the Liberal Party.
The Electoral Commission announcement at UCity this morning showed he was only beaten by the Labor Party’s Emily Bourke, who was number one on the Labor ballot paper, and was trailed by the Liberal’s Ben Hood and Greens member Melanie Selwood.
After tense weeks to find out who would take the final, eleventh upper house spot, Labor’s Clare Scriven discovered her place in parliament was certain despite the fact the Premier had already named her Primary Industries Minister.
The declaration comes after controversial delays from the Electoral Commission, which the Premier called “deeply worrying” last week, with parliamentarians unable to start training or be paid wages until the declaration.
Upper house members serve eight-year terms, and today’s result means the final makeup of the chamber will have 10 Labor MLCs, six Liberals, three from One Nation, two Greens and independent Sarah Game.
With three members confirmed in the state’s upper house and four in the lower house, One Nation is in line to receive $6 million in taxpayer funding under the state’s election laws, according to figures from the Australia Institute exclusively revealed by InDaily.
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Fuel rations, public transport fee freeze and scrapping Voice to Parliament
Meanwhile, fuel ration rules, a free public transport bid and scrapping the Voice are all front of mind for pollies as parliament returns tomorrow.
Bringing fuel ration laws in line with the rest of the country, including on-the-spot fines and jail time for harassing workers, is the government’s priority this week.
The government will update the Petroleum Products Regulation (Emergencies and Other Matters) laws so the Governor can declare a fuel rationing period of 90 days if needed.
Currently, fuel rationing can only be set for seven days at a time, and both houses of parliament would need to vote to extend it beyond 28 days.
“To be clear, this is not a signal that we expect fuel rationing will occur,” Premier Peter Malinauskas said.
“It is simply ensuring that should the Commonwealth Government take action, the state is in the best position to respond nimbly.”
The government says the change will align SA with the rest of the country, and petrol, diesel and jet fuel was continuing to arrive in the state.
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Greens leader Robert Simms will also put forward a fuel-related bid on Tuesday, hoping to garner support for a six-month public transport fee freeze.
Simms announced his plan at a rally for free public transport and better bikeways on Sunday.
The SA Liberals Party has its own plan, called the state fuel security and resilience framework, which includes appointing a fuel security coordinator and implementing a diesel reserve.
“Everything from the meat on your dinner plate to your takeaway coffee is being impacted by the fuel crisis, making it vital that we support our farmers to weather this international storm,” Liberal leader Ashton Hurn said.
“It makes sense to have a strategic reserve – other states are planning ahead and it would be smart for South Australia to do the same.”
Meanwhile, following through on Hurn’s first commitment as leader, the Liberals will introduce legislation to repeal SA’s First Nations Voice to Parliament this week.
The party wants the First Nations Voice Repeal Bill to see the Voice replaced with an Aboriginal Lands Committee saying it would redirect funding to “close gaps in health, education and employment”.
Tomorrow, announcement of who will win the upper house presidency will have a huge impact on the year ahead with the political rumour mill suggesting the government was courting a member from another party.
The government of the day usually holds the role but the last presidency was held by Liberal Terry Stephens.
Newly elected Greens member Melanie Selwood said it would be a “betrayal of Labor voters” to put a member of another party in the seat.
If one of the 10 Labor members takes the presidency it means the government would need the support of two members from other parties to pass legislation in the upper house.
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