Antic headlines with anti-abortionist amid claims SA Lib chief job ‘done deal’
The Liberal Women’s Council is being dubbed an “anti-women’s council”, as conservative backbencher Alex Antic prepares to headline an AGM with a controversial anti-abortionist.
Conservative federal backbencher and controversial One Nation admirer Alex Antic is expected to be a shoo-in for the SA party’s top job, after current state president Leah Blyth said “it has never been my intention to seek a third term”.
No other candidate has put their hand up to rival Antic at the upcoming August state Liberal Party annual general meeting, with Blyth distancing herself from being in the running on Monday morning.
It comes after a senior Liberal said Blyth’s “career would be totally finished” if she tried to go against Antic.
A senior Liberal party source said today that Antic’s presidency seemed like “a done deal” because the moderates “have a non-existent talent pipeline, which is their biggest problem”.
It comes as Antic is set to headline a Liberal Women’s Council event next Tuesday, with controversial anti-abortion lobbyist Joanna Howe, who has been banned from the SA Legislative Council chambers after allegedly putting pressure on state politicians, also speaking.
InDaily understands the women’s council – which gets 13 votes on picking the party’s next state president – will back Antic at the party’s August 29 Annual General Meeting.
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Antic has previously spoken out in support of One Nation and reportedly said he was open to a merger possibility, a move that was immediately ruled out by federal Liberal Leader Angus Taylor.
Next week, Antic will address supporters at the state’s Liberal Women’s Council Annual General Meeting – where Tea Tree Gully councillor Irena Zagladov will be elected the next SA Liberal Women’s Council President unopposed, succeeding Belinda Crawford-Marshall, a former Field of Dreams pastor.
The Liberal Women’s Council represents women within the party and hosts events, most recently a rally at Parliament House on Saturday to “fix the sex discrimination act” featuring Sal Grover, the founder of a social media app Giggle for Girls.
Grover’s app was recently featured in a high-profile Federal Court action brought by transgender woman Roxanne Tickle after she was removed from the app. The court ruled in favour of Tickle, awarding damages for discrimination.
Antic has been a long-time supporter of “restoring clear definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ to the Sex Discrimination Act”, introducing a private members’ bill to parliament in 2025 on the topic, which sources say has garnered his support from the women’s council.
But one moderate Liberal source told InDaily this was a “niche issue” and despite the women’s council’s leadership being stacked with Antic supporters, it did not reflect all women in the party.
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“The women’s council does not support women in the party; It’s the anti-women’s women’s council,” the source said.
“You have a female leader, why wouldn’t Ashton Hurn be invited to speak?”
Hurn told InDaily today that she was unsure if she could attend the women’s council AGM as it clashed with another parliamentary AGM.
When asked if she supported Antic as a candidate for the state presidency, Hurn said “I get along with all of my parliamentary colleagues, be that state or federal”.
“Yes, we do have an AGM that’s happening in just over a month’s time, where delegates from across the state will be electing not only a president but a policy committee, vice presidents, and the like,” Hurn said.
“So there’s still quite some time for all of the nominations to come through, and the membership will ultimately make their decision, and I’ll be working with whatever makeup with the state executive we have.”
Antic told InDaily he was “not interested in your story”.
The Liberal Women’s Council was contacted for comment.
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