South Australian legislative election, 2006
Encyclopedia
The state election for the 51st Parliament of South Australia
was held in the Australian state
of South Australia
on 18 March 2006, and was conducted by the independent State Electoral Office.
Australian Labor Party
, elected in 2002 and led by Premier Mike Rann
, gained six Liberal-held seats and a 7.7 percent statewide two-party preferred swing
, resulting in a net gain of five seats and the first Labor majority government
since the 1985 election
with 28 of the 47 House of Assembly
(lower house) seats.
The centre-right
Liberal Party of Australia
, led by Leader of the Opposition
Rob Kerin
, regained a former independent seat while losing other seats — a net loss of five seats. The Liberal Party was left with only 15 of 47 seats, proportionally the worst result for the conservatives in South Australian electoral history.
Independent
members Bob Such
and Rory McEwen
were re-elected. Kris Hanna
, elected in 2002 representing Labor, was re-elected as an independent member. The sitting Nationals SA member Karlene Maywald
was also re-elected.
(upper house) standing for election, both major parties finished with a total of eight of the 22 seats, with Labor winning four of the 11 and the Liberals winning three. No Pokies
independent Nick Xenophon
polled 20.5 percent, an unprecedented result for an independent or minor party, which resulted in both Xenophon and his running mate, Ann Bressington
, being elected. Xenophon's third running mate, John Darley
, was later appointed to the vacancy created by Xenophon's resignation. Family First
had a second member elected. The Democrats
vote collapsed with no candidate elected, leaving them with one remaining member in the upper house. The SA Greens won a seat for the first time.
, Iain Evans
, replaced Rob Kerin as leader of the Liberal Party and thus as Leader of the Opposition
.
is Australia's oldest political party, founded in 1891. It is a centre-left
social democratic party which is formally linked to the trade union
labour movement
. At a state
level, Labor had been in government since the previous election in 2002, having been in opposition from 1993 to 2002. Since the 1970 election
ending decades of electoral malapportionment of the Playmander
, nine of the 12 elections since have been won by Labor. Labor's premiers in South Australia have included Thomas Price
in the 1900s, reformist Don Dunstan
in the 1970s, and since 2002, the factionally nonaligned and pragmatic Mike Rann
. The party's deputy leader, and therefore the Deputy Premier, was Kevin Foley
.
is a centre-right
conservative liberal
party, (see Liberalism in Australia
), with close links to business and advocating free markets. Whilst primarily a socially conservative
party, there exists a more socially liberal
wing, colloquially known as 'wet', 'moderate' or small-l liberals, highlighted by the short-lived Liberal Movement who first contested the 1975 election
as a separate party led by Steele Hall
. At state
level, in 1973 the Liberal Party of Australia
emerged from the Liberal and Country League
(LCL), which in turn had resulted from a merger between the Liberal Federation
and the then-Country Party in 1932. The state opposition leader at the 2006 election, Rob Kerin
, was seen as being largely aloof from factional disputes.
National Party of Australia
(formerly the Country Party). First contesting the 1965 election
, they have only held two seats: Flinders
(1973–1993) and Chaffey
(1997–2010). Former member Karlene Maywald
, representing the Riverland
district of Chaffey
, accepted a cabinet position in 2004 as part of the Rann Labor government, as Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Small Business, and later Minister for Water Security. This informal ALP-NAT coalition (the first since 1935) caused uproar, with federal Liberal member for the SA seat of Sturt, Christopher Pyne
, calling for Maywald's expulsion from the Nationals, and Patrick Secker
calling for a corruption enquiry in to the appointment. Neither eventuated. As the Liberal Party in South Australia is descended from a historical merger from an earlier Country Party, the SA Nationals are not as dominant in rural areas as their eastern state counterparts.
. They are based on green politics
and consider themselves a new politics party with strong beliefs in ecology
, democracy
and social justice
amongst other issues. Federally and locally they have seen a continued rise in primary votes, in part due to the demise of the Australian Democrats
. The 2007 federal election saw 77.28% of the Greens' preferences flow to Labor over the Liberal Party in SA. The party's Parliamentary leader is Mark Parnell
.
, founded immediately before the 2002 state election, has a political ideology based on Christian
-influenced conservatism
. Although officially a secular party, it has close links to the Pentecostal movement, and in particular the Assemblies of God
denomination. Its social policies generally mirror conservative Christian values
(but not necessarily politically conservative values). The 2007 federal election saw 57.10% of their preferences flow to the Liberals over the Labor Party in SA. The party's leader at the time of the election was Andrew Evans.
were originally a centrist party, with most current policies based on social liberalism
. Federally, the party was founded in 1977 from three different groups, all of which had split from the Liberal Party at different times: 1) the Liberal Movement, which had split from its parent over electoral reform; 2) the Australia Party
, which had rebelled against Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War
, and 3) initial leader Don Chipp
, who left the Liberal Party of Australia
, citing dissatisfaction with the increasing underrepresentation of small-l liberals within the party.
At the state level it is descended from the New Liberal Movement (New LM)
of Robin Millhouse
, who held the Democrats' only lower house seats, Mitcham
and its successor seat Waite
. The Democrats have suffered internal problems and leadership scuffles since 1997. The 2007 federal election saw 65.79% of Democrat preferences flow to Labor over the Liberal Party in SA. The party's leader at the election was Sandra Kanck
.
, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom. Legislative power rests with the Parliament of South Australia
, which consists of The Sovereign (represented by the Governor of South Australia), the House of Assembly
(lower house) which forms government, and the Legislative Council
(upper house) as a house of review. Forty-seven members of the lower house represent single-member electorates
and are elected under the full-preference
Instant-runoff voting
(IRV) system for fixed four-year terms. The independent State Electoral Office, which conducts elections, is responsible for a mandatory redistricting
of boundaries before each election to ensure one vote one value
. At each election, voters choose half of the 22 upper house members, each of whom serve eight-year terms in a single statewide electorate.
The Legislative Council is elected under the preferential
Single Transferable Vote
(STV) system through a means of Group voting ticket
s. Voters can choose to vote for a ticket by placing the number '1' in one of the ticket boxes "above the line" or can vote for individual candidates by numbering all the boxes "below the line" (54 in the 2006 election). In above the line voting, ticket votes are distributed according to the party or group voting ticket registered before the election with the election management body
. As more than 95% of ballot papers are above the line, this form of voting often leads to pre-election trading between parties on how each party will allocate later preferences to other parties and candidates.
Voting is compulsory once enrolled in South Australian elections, which results in turnout rates above 90 percent. Informal voting, which occurs when a voting slip is not valid, is at a rate of under five percent. Voting slips are informal when they are not filled out correctly, such examples are not numbering subsequent numbers, not filling out all the candidate boxes with numbers (except the last candidate), or in some other way that is verified by the State Electoral Office as illegible. South Australian elections have some features that are unique to the rest of Australia.
As elections have fixed four-year terms, the election date of 18 March 2006 was known well ahead of time. The Electoral Act stipulates that the election is to be held on the third Saturday in March every four years. The election campaign must run for a minimum of 25 days or a maximum of 55 days, therefore the Governor would have needed to issue writs for the election by 21 February 2006 at the latest. On 20 February, Premier Mike Rann invited Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson to issue writs for the election. In accordance with electoral regulations, the Electoral Commissioner then advertised key dates for the election of the House of Assembly and half of the Legislative Council — close of rolls on 27 February 2006 at noon, nominations to be received by 2 March 2006 at noon, polling day on 18 March 2006, and the return of writs on or before 28 April 2006.
, decided to support Labor in exchange for holding a constitutional convention
, making him speaker
of the House of Assembly
, and concessions for his electorate including the phasing out of commercial fishing
in the River Murray, prioritising the eradication of the branched broomrape
weed, changing water rates
for irrigation
, fast-tracking a feasibility study for a weir
and lock
at Wellington
, and improving rural roads. Lewis resigned as speaker in April 2005 after controversy over allegations of paedophilia he had made about a serving MP. However, by this time, Labor had already gained the support of independents Bob Such
and Rory McEwen
in 2002, as well as Nationals SA member Karlene Maywald
in 2004. Such was given the position of speaker for the remainder of the government's term.
the Sunday before the election, which had some similarities to the nomination conventions that the major parties hold in the United States.
Another facet of the Labor campaign was extensive negative campaigning
against Liberal leader Rob Kerin, including an advertisement featuring an excerpt of an interview that Kerin had with FIVEaa
presenter Keith Conlon, who asked Kerin why he wanted to be leader of the Liberal Party. Kerin stammered for a few seconds and gave the impression that he was uncertain. The advertisement concluded with the question, "Does Rob Want The Job?". Conlon complained that the advertisement gave the false impression that he was endorsing Labor, but Labor campaign director David Feeney
dismissed his concerns. Other negative advertisements run by Labor revolved around the actions of the previous Liberal government—one advertisement and leaflet reminded voters that while in power, the previous Liberal government closed 65 schools, closed hospital wards, and privatised the Electricity Trust of South Australia
.
Considered "strapped for cash", the Liberal Party ran a very limited television and radio campaign. Businessman Robert Gerard
was forced to resign from his Federal Liberal Party-appointed position on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia
due to the party appointing him to the position despite the known fact that he had outstanding tax avoidance issues being dealt with by the Australian Taxation Office
, and had thus subsequently pulled out of his traditional role of bankrolling the state division of the party, leaving the party with "only enough funds for the most basic campaign". Kerin indicated people would have to "wait and see" if there would be any campaign, even asking trade unions
for donations, no matter how small. The advertisements that did run argued that Labor was wasting record tax receipts from the GST
. A number of embarrassments for the Liberal Party surrounded their television advertisement—in an early version released to journalists, Labor was spelt "Labour" (Labor cabinet minister King O'Malley
dropped the 'u' in 1912 to "modernise" it as per American English
) and the advertisement alleged that South Australia's hospital waiting lists were the worst in the nation, which Labor successfully disputed to the Electoral Commissioner. During the election campaign, David Pisoni
, the Liberal candidate for Unley
, made allegations in his advertising that Labor and their candidate Michael Keenan
supported controversial urban infill programmes, which Labor flatly denied. Electoral Commissioner Kay Mousley
investigated and ordered that the advertisements be withdrawn and corrections be run at Pisoni's expense.
The Labor minority government
sought to win a majority in the House of Assembly. Opinion polls indicated that this was likely and ABC elections expert Antony Green
said that the "Labor government looks set to be returned with an increased majority". Centrebet
had Labor at odds of $1.01 and the Liberals at $12.00 for a majority government.
Most commentators agreed that the Liberal Party had little chance of winning government, and that Kerin would step down from the leadership after the election, a suspicion confirmed in Kerin's concession speech. Martin Hamilton-Smith
was considering mounting a leadership challenge, however, he withdrew on 14 October 2005 (probably for the sake of the impression of party unity) and subsequently resigned or was pushed from the opposition frontbench.
to the Adelaide Railway Station
which the Liberals, despite having proposed the idea in their previous transport plan, now opposed. Construction began in April 2007 and was operational as of October 2007. The Adelaide Airport
expansion suffered fuel delivery related delays that Labor was criticised for. A perrennial election issue, lack of safety improvement of the Britannia Roundabout
was focused on by the Norwood
Liberal candidate. Land
and payroll tax
cuts worth $1.5 billion were announced by Labor, the largest in the state's history. The tax cuts coincided with South Australia achieving an economic "Triple A" rating under the current Labor government. Business SA chief executive Peter Vaughan "praised" Labor's economic management.
The construction of two bridges over Port River
as part of the Port River Expressway
project had come under criticism, which the Government promised would be open-span to allow passage of tugboats and tall ships, thereby preserving the inner harbour's dwindling port functions. Despite criticism coming from the electorate, the media, federal Labor, and road organisations including the Royal Automobile Association
, The Advertiser revealed details of "the biggest project of its kind in South Australia's history", a $1.5 billion redevelopment on the western bank of the inner harbour. The development will include 2000 new homes on government-owned land and new buildings as high as 12 storeys. This followed the awarding of a $6 billion air warfare destroyer contract to the Australian Submarine Corporation
, based in the electorate at Osborne
.
The future of the River Murray has come under threat due to falling water levels, and in an unprecedented move, Nationals MP Karlene Maywald
was given a cabinet position as Minister for the River Murray in 2004. Possible nuclear waste dumps were of concern to many Adelaide residents; Premier Rann successfully lobbied against any federal government proposals.
Law and order was another key issue, with Labor promising extra police. Tough drink and drug driving
laws had also been introduced which included zero tolerance
roadside testing for Tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) and Methamphetamine
, and later MDMA
. Labor introduced speed limit reduction legislation which took effect in March 2003 which saw non-arterial non-main roads and most Adelaide CBD roads reduce from 60 km/h to 50 km/h. The Liberals proposed to increase the speed limit back to 60 km/h for several roads, concentrated mainly around the Adelaide Park Lands
.
Allegations were made over the condition of the state's health system and the capacity to deal with mental health issues. Labor pledged to buy back Modbury Hospital
located in the district of Florey
, privatised under the Liberal government to alleviate the effect of the State Bank
collapse.
The need for homosexual law reform was acknowledged by both major parties; however, there was disquiet within the Labor Party over delays. December 2006 saw the Domestic Partners bill pass which provides greater recognition to same sex relationships on a range of issues such as superannuation. The bill was supported by all parties after much negotiation, but in the end was voted against by both members of Family First
, as well as Liberal Terry Stephens
.
Electoral reform
policies received little attention, as did the eventually shelved referendum proposal by the Rann Government to abolish or reform the Legislative Council
. WorkCover
underfunded liability increases have also received little attention, despite the fact that the liability has climbed from a disputed $67 to $85 million to $700 million since Labor came in to government in 2002 due to a more generous compensation scheme. Labor have since looked in to reform for the scheme including cutting payments to injured workers.
There were claims that federal industrial relations
reform, WorkChoices
, was an influential issue in the election. The Liberals announced 4,000 public service
job cuts to pay for election promises.
polling is conducted via random telephone number selection in city and country areas. Roy Morgan
polling is conducted face-to-face Australia-wide. Sampling sizes consist of 500–1000 electors, Roy Morgan has a sampling tolerance (the Margin of error
) of ±3.2 percent for a 40 to 60 percent rating in a sample size of 1000 electors, and ±4.5 for 500 electors. The sampling tolerance rate is lower for high and low percentages.
The final results for the House of Assembly seats were 28 Labor, 15 Liberal, three independents and one National. First preference and two party preferred statistics for each district are available through the South Australian House of Assembly electoral districts
article.
Labor won six of eight key seats, the Liberals one of three. Labor's wins included the previously marginal Liberal seats of Hartley
, Light
, Morialta
, Mawson
, Bright
and Newland
. The Liberals regained Peter Lewis' seat of Hammond
.
National Karlene Maywald
and Independents Bob Such
, Rory McEwen
and Kris Hanna
were all re-elected. Hanna was elected at the 2002 election as a Labor candidate; this counted as a loss for Labor, giving Labor a net gain of five seats.
Labor, the Liberals and the Greens ran in all 47 seats, the Democrats ran in all but Giles
which resulted in a contested seat vote of three percent, Family First ran in all but Ramsay
and Croydon with a contested seat vote of 6.1 percent. The Nationals ran in Chaffey
, Flinders
, Finniss
, and MacKillop
, averaging 24.8 percent in those seats. Dignity for Disabled, No Rodeo and One Nation ran in 10, 7 and 6 six seats respectively.
Jack Snelling
became speaker of the House of Assembly
.
was first won by former Liberal Police Minister Robert Brokenshire
in the 1993 state election. He was defeated by former radio presenter Leon Bignell
, who gained a 5.7 percent two party preferred swing for Labor.
The other outer suburbs district that fell to Labor was Bright
, which had been held since 1989 by former Liberal energy minister Wayne Matthew
, who decided to retire at this election. The seat was contested for the Liberals by Legislative Council member Angus Redford
, who faced a tougher fight than expected. He was defeated by Labor's Chloe Fox
, who received a 14.4 percent swing on a two party preferred basis, the largest in the state.
The inner southern suburbs district of Unley
was won in 2002 by outspoken Liberal Mark Brindal
who failed to win preselection for the seat and moved to contest the marginal Labor seat of Adelaide, but was shrouded in a controversy concerning a sexual relationship that Brindal had with a mentally ill man, forcing him to withdraw. The Liberal candidate was businessman David Pisoni
, while Labor fielded Unley Mayor Michael Keenan
. Despite a 7.9 percent two party preferred swing against him, Pisoni hung onto the seat by 1.1 percent.
The inner north eastern suburbs district of Hartley
had been won by Joe Scalzi
in 1993 and held by a very narrow margin in each subsequent election. The district has a very high proportion of Italian migrants
and the ability to speak the language
is considered by many commentators as being vital for a candidate to win the seat. This was a factor in Labor's preselection of political staffer Grace Portolesi
, who defeated Scalzi with a 5.9 percent two party preferred swing.
The neighbouring district of Morialta
had been held by former Liberal Tourism Minister Joan Hall
since 1993. She was defeated by Labor's Lindsay Simmons
, who received a 12 percent two party preferred swing, reclaiming the seat for Labor for the first time since 1975.
In the outer north-east, the district of Newland
had been won by Liberal Dorothy Kotz
since 1989. After her decision to retire, the Liberals preselected police officer and local councillor Mark Osterstock. He was defeated by Labor's Tom Kenyon
, who recorded a 12.5 percent two party preferred swing.
Light
, which contains Gawler
and the outer northern suburbs, was recontested by sitting Liberal member and former Education Minister Malcolm Buckby
. He was defeated by Labor candidate and Gawler Mayor Tony Piccolo
, who received a 4.9 percent two party preferred swing. This was the first time since 1944 that Labor had won the seat.
The rural and outback district of Stuart
was first won in 1997 by Liberal Graham Gunn
, a 40-year member of parliament and former Speaker. As in 2002, he was challenged by Labor ministerial adviser Justin Jarvis. Unlike the Adelaide metropolitan area and the neighbouring seat of Giles
, there was only a small swing of 0.7 percent to Labor, so Gunn managed to hang on with a margin of 0.6 percent.
, held for Labor by former Norwood mayor Vini Ciccarello
, was expected to be a tough contest, particularly after the Liberal preselection of former Adelaide Crows
footballer Nigel Smart
. Ciccarello retained the seat picking up a 3.7 percent swing on the two party preferred vote.
The other Labor seat considered vulnerable was the neighbouring inner city district of Adelaide
where high profile Education Minister and former Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith
was challenged by Liberal Diana Carroll. Lomax-Smith comprehensively defeated Carroll with a 9.2 percent swing to Labor on the two-party preferred vote.
was won at the 2002 election by Labor's Kris Hanna
. After the election, Hanna defected to the Greens
and subsequently left and became an independent on 8 February 2006. Hanna faced a tough contest against by Labor's Rosemary Clancy. Despite pre-election expectations of a safe Labor win, Hanna defeated Clancy by 0.6 percent with the aid of Liberal preferences.
The district of Fisher
, located in Adelaide's south, was held by independent MP Dr Bob Such
. Late in the campaign, there was some speculation that Fisher may have been a closer contest than commentators initially expected, but Such comfortably defeated Labor's Amanda Rishworth
and the Liberals' Andy Minnis with an independent candidate election best 45.2 percent of the primary vote, picking up a 4.6 percent two candidate preferred swing. The election outcome saw Such facing the Labor candidate on the two party preferred vote as opposed to the Liberal candidate in 2002.
The Riverland based district of Chaffey
is the only seat held by Nationals SA. River Murray Minister Karlene Maywald
easily defeated Liberal Anna Baric. Maywald received a 3.2 percent swing on the two party preferred vote.
The Murray Bridge
based district of Hammond
was won in 2002 by independent MP Peter Lewis
who then cut a deal to deliver government to Labor. Facing almost certain defeat, he declined to recontest the district and his attempt to win a seat in the Legislative Council failed. Hammond was won comfortably by Liberal Adrian Pederick
.
The district of Mount Gambier
(which also includes much of South Australia's south east) was a close contest between independent and Agriculture Minister Rory McEwen
and Liberal Peter Gandolfi. McEwen prevailed despite a 20.4 percent swing against him on the two party preferred vote.
after its inventor, the psephologist
Malcolm Mackerras
. The pendulum works by lining up all of the seats held in the House of Assembly
according to the percentage point
margin they are held by on a two party preferred basis. This is also known as the swing
required for the seat to change hands. Given a uniform swing to the opposition or government parties, the number of seats that change hands can be predicted. The seats are classified as follows: marginal 0–5.99 percent, fairly safe 6–10 percent, safe 10–20 percent, very safe > 20 percent.
In the South Australian Legislative Council
, Labor won 4 seats, the Liberals won 3 seats, both No Pokies
member Nick Xenophon
and his running mate Ann Bressington
were elected and Family First
and the Greens
won a seat each. Almost 40 percent of voters deserted the major parties for Nick Xenophon
and the minor parties; this percentage had been steadily increasing over time.
Labor received a 3.7 percent swing, electing four councillors as in the previous election. Carmel Zollo
, Bob Sneath
, Russell Wortley
and Ian Hunter
were all elected, with 4.39 quotas Bob Sneath
was elected president of the Legislative Council
.
On the other hand, the Liberal vote collapsed with a 14.1 percent swing against the Liberal Party. Having received five councillors in 2002, at this election the Liberal Party had just three councillors elected. Rob Lucas
, John Dawkins
and Michelle Lensink
were elected on 3.12 quotas.
Before the election, No Pokies
member Nick Xenophon
was popular with the media and in opinion polls, but he faced a tough campaign as a result of both major parties preferencing in favour of other independents and the minor parties. No Pokies received 20.5 percent of the vote, yielding 2.46 quotas and thus seats for both Xenophon and his running mate Ann Bressington
. Having been elected at the 1997 election with 2.9 percent of the vote and other independent candidates at the 2002 election on 1.3 percent of the vote (Xenophon being a sitting member at that election), the No Pokies ticket received a swing of 19.2 percent.
The Family First Party
's first member, Andrew Evans MLC, was elected in 2002. Family First won 5 percent of vote with only a small swing of 0.98 percent, allowing candidate Dennis Hood
to be elected on preferences.
The SA Greens won 4.3 percent of the upper house vote meaning a swing of 1.5 percent, narrowly securing Mark Parnell
for the last upper house seat on preferences. This is the first time The Greens have won a seat in South Australia. Having secured second spot on the ticket at this election, Sarah Hanson-Young
was successful in gaining the first spot on the ticket at the 2007 federal election, which saw the Greens secure their first federal upper house seat in South Australia.
The Australian Democrats
fell to just one seat in the Legislative Council held by Sandra Kanck
, after Kate Reynolds
was defeated in her bid for re-election after being appointed in 2003. The Democrats gained only 1.8 percent after a 5.5 percent swing against them. Kanck has since announced that she would not recontest her seat at the next election, placing serious clouds over the future of the party in the state.
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party
gained 0.8 percent of the upper house vote and won none of the six lower house seats they contested. Their highest vote was 4.1 percent in the district of Hammond
, followed by 2.7 percent in Goyder
, and the other four hovering around 1 percent.
Dignity for Disabled
ran for the first time and won 0.6 percent of the upper house vote; they won none of the 10 lower house seats they contested. Their best results were in Wright
and Bright
, with 2.4 percent in each (506 and 492 votes respectively).
Labor-turned-independent Terry Cameron
and Liberal-turned-independent Peter Lewis
both failed in their bids for re-election.
(son of former politician Stan Evans
) for the role, with moderate Vickie Chapman
(daughter of former politician Ted Chapman
) as deputy leader. The only other contestant had been Isobel Redmond
, who ran because she was concerned by some speculation that the Evans deal may have been stitched up by federal Liberal counterparts Christopher Pyne
and Nick Minchin
. Preferred premier ratings in July 2006 showed Rann on 71 percent with Evans on 15 percent. Only 27 percent of Liberal Party supporters saw Evans as the preferred premier. Continuing low support for the new Liberal leadership saw Martin Hamilton-Smith
replace Evans in April 2007, however this move saw Liberal support decline further to a three-year low according to an Advertiser poll conducted a month after the leadership change. Over half of polling respondents were unable to name the leader of the Liberal Party. This contradicted Newspoll
s quarterly polling indicating the Rann Labor government slipping to a two-party preferred figure of 57 percent down four percent, with a preferred premier rating of 52 percent down 14 percent for Rann and a first-time rating of 21 percent for Martin Hamilton-Smith
. Poll results also show Rann's satisfaction rating was below 60 percent for the first time since coming to office at 58 percent, with Hamilton-Smith receiving a 33 percent satisfaction rate.
Previously unknown quantity Ann Bressington
, elected on the back of Nick Xenophon
's No Pokies
popularity, has proposed mainly conservative social policies such as raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21, zero tolerance of illicit drugs, mandatory twice-annual drug tests of every school student over the age of 14 regardless of whether parents give their consent, and making the sale of "drug-taking equipment" illegal. However, she remains undecided on voluntary euthanasia, calling it "a personal struggle".
Setting a precedent, Sandra Kanck
's pro-euthanasia
speech which contained suicide methods was censored from the internet version of Hansard
in August 2006 as a result of an upper house motion, with Labor
, Family First
, Nick Xenophon
and Ann Bressington
voting for, and the Liberals
and SA Greens member Mark Parnell
voting against. Despite this, the speech was published on a non-Australian website.
The state's budget was released on 21 September 2006. It included 1,600 public service job axings despite an election pledge of only 400, however none of the redundancies will be forced. It also included increases in some fees and charges such as victims of crime levies and Technical and Further Education
(TAFE) charges. There were increases in funding for health, schools, police and prisons, and the Department of Public Prosecutions. The 2007–2008 budget released on 13 June 2007 saw additional spending on Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, Health, Families and Communities, and Justice portfolios such as transport initiatives including revitalisation of the rail network, commencement of the $1.7 billion Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Hospital to replace the Royal Adelaide Hospital
, funding for mental health reform including the delivery of health services, and funding for new commitments to law and order policies.
No Pokies
MP Nick Xenophon
resigned from parliament in early October 2007 in a successful attempt to win a seat in the Australian Senate
at the 2007 federal election, which according to the South Australian result, he retained 72 percent of his 2006 vote, on 14.78 percent. His replacement is his third candidate on the 2006 ticket, former Valuer-General John Darley
, and was appointed by a joint sitting on 21 November 2007, where second candidate and upper house MP Ann Bressington
also took the opportunity to accuse Xenophon of lacking integrity and suitability for federal parliament.
A record-breaking 13-hour Parnell-Bressington filibuster
occurred in May 2008 in crossbench opposition to WorkCover
cuts being passed by the major parties due to the increasing underfunded liability in the workers' compensation
scheme.
Parliament of South Australia
The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government....
was held in the Australian state
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
on 18 March 2006, and was conducted by the independent State Electoral Office.
House of Assembly
The centre-leftCentre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
, elected in 2002 and led by Premier Mike Rann
Mike Rann
Michael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...
, gained six Liberal-held seats and a 7.7 percent statewide two-party preferred swing
Swing (Australian politics)
The term swing is used in Australia in a different sense from the one employed in the UK. For the Australian House of Representatives and the lower houses of the parliaments of all the Australian states and territories except Tasmania and the ACT), Australia employs preferential voting in...
, resulting in a net gain of five seats and the first Labor majority government
Majority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
since the 1985 election
South Australian state election, 1985
State elections were held in Australia on December 7, 1985. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Premier of South Australia John Bannon defeated the Liberal Party of Australia led by Leader of the Opposition John...
with 28 of the 47 House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
(lower house) seats.
The centre-right
Centre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...
Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
, led by Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (South Australia)
The Leader of the Opposition in South Australia is the leader of the largest minority political party or coalition of parties, known as the Opposition, in the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia. By convention, he or she is generally a member of the House of Assembly...
Rob Kerin
Rob Kerin
Robert Gerard Kerin was the Liberal Premier of South Australia from 22 October 2001 to 5 March 2002. He also served as Deputy Premier of South Australia to John Olsen from 7 July 1998 until he became premier upon Olsen's resignation....
, regained a former independent seat while losing other seats — a net loss of five seats. The Liberal Party was left with only 15 of 47 seats, proportionally the worst result for the conservatives in South Australian electoral history.
Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
members Bob Such
Bob Such
Robert Bruce "Bob" Such , Australian politician, is the member for the seat of Fisher in the South Australian House of Assembly, as an independent since 2000, and as member of the Liberal Party member from the 1989 election to 2000....
and Rory McEwen
Rory McEwen
Rory McEwen , Australian politician, was the independent member for the seats of Gordon and Mount Gambier in the South Australian House of Assembly....
were re-elected. Kris Hanna
Kris Hanna
Kris Hanna was an Australian politician, and member for Mitchell in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1997 until 2010. Originally elected as a Labor member, Hanna defected to the SA Greens in 2003 before becoming an independent in 2006....
, elected in 2002 representing Labor, was re-elected as an independent member. The sitting Nationals SA member Karlene Maywald
Karlene Maywald
Karlene Ann Maywald is an Australian National Party politician who represented the seat of Chaffey in the South Australian House of Assembly from October 1997 until March 2010...
was also re-elected.
Legislative Council
With 11 of the 22-member Legislative CouncilSouth Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
(upper house) standing for election, both major parties finished with a total of eight of the 22 seats, with Labor winning four of the 11 and the Liberals winning three. No Pokies
No Pokies
No Pokies is an independent South Australian Legislative Council ticket that contested the 1997, 2002, and 2006 statewide legislative council elections...
independent Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
polled 20.5 percent, an unprecedented result for an independent or minor party, which resulted in both Xenophon and his running mate, Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington is an Australian politician. She was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2006 South Australian election as Nick Xenophon's running mate on his independent No Pokies ticket...
, being elected. Xenophon's third running mate, John Darley
John Darley (Australian politician)
John Andrew Darley , a former valuer-general, was appointed to the South Australian Legislative Council by a joint sitting of the Parliament of South Australia on 21 November 2007 to replace outgoing No Pokies MP Nick Xenophon. Darley was the third of three candidates on the independent No Pokies...
, was later appointed to the vacancy created by Xenophon's resignation. Family First
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
had a second member elected. The Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
vote collapsed with no candidate elected, leaving them with one remaining member in the upper house. The SA Greens won a seat for the first time.
Leadership changes
Following the outcome of the election, the member for DavenportElectoral district of Davenport
Davenport is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after nineteenth-century pioneer and politician Sir Samuel Davenport. Davenport is a 37.4 km² electorate covering part of outer suburban Adelaide and the southern foothills of...
, Iain Evans
Iain Evans
Iain Frederick Evans is a South Australian Liberal Party politician. He studied at Heathfield High School and gained a Bachelor Degree for Building Technology from the SA Institute of Technology . Prior to entering politics he managed a family-owned building and retailing business...
, replaced Rob Kerin as leader of the Liberal Party and thus as Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (South Australia)
The Leader of the Opposition in South Australia is the leader of the largest minority political party or coalition of parties, known as the Opposition, in the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia. By convention, he or she is generally a member of the House of Assembly...
.
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
is Australia's oldest political party, founded in 1891. It is a centre-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
social democratic party which is formally linked to the trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
labour movement
Australian labour movement
The Australian labour movement has its origins in the early 19th century and includes both trade unions and political activity. At its broadest, the movement can be defined as encompassing the industrial wing, the unions in Australia, and the political wing, the Australian Labor Party and minor...
. At a state
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
level, Labor had been in government since the previous election in 2002, having been in opposition from 1993 to 2002. Since the 1970 election
South Australian state election, 1970
State elections were held in Australia on 30 May 1970. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal and Country League led by Premier of South Australia Steele Hall was defeated by the Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the Opposition Don...
ending decades of electoral malapportionment of the Playmander
Playmander
The Playmander was a form of electoral malapportionment in the Australian state of South Australia, in place from 1936 to 1968. It consisted of rural districts enjoying a 2-to-1 advantage in the state parliament, even though they contained less than half of the population, as well as a change from...
, nine of the 12 elections since have been won by Labor. Labor's premiers in South Australia have included Thomas Price
Thomas Price
Thomas Price was a stonecutter, teacher, lay preacher, businessman, stonemason, clerk-of-works, union secretary, union president and politician...
in the 1900s, reformist Don Dunstan
Don Dunstan
Donald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...
in the 1970s, and since 2002, the factionally nonaligned and pragmatic Mike Rann
Mike Rann
Michael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...
. The party's deputy leader, and therefore the Deputy Premier, was Kevin Foley
Kevin Foley
Kevin Owen Foley , Australian politician, is the current Minister for Industry and Trade and Minister for Federal/State Relations in the Rann Labor government. He previously served as Treasurer of South Australia and Deputy Premier of South Australia from 2002 until his resignation in 2011...
.
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of AustraliaLiberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
is a centre-right
Centre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...
conservative liberal
Conservative liberalism
Conservative liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or, more simply, representing the right-wing of the liberal movement....
party, (see Liberalism in Australia
Liberalism in Australia
Liberalism in Australia dates back to the earliest pioneers of the area, and has maintained a strong foothold to this day.-Introduction:The earliest pioneers of the federation movement, men such as Alfred Deakin and Samuel Griffith, were generally self-described "liberals"...
), with close links to business and advocating free markets. Whilst primarily a socially conservative
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
party, there exists a more socially liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
wing, colloquially known as 'wet', 'moderate' or small-l liberals, highlighted by the short-lived Liberal Movement who first contested the 1975 election
South Australian state election, 1975
State elections were held in Australia on 12 July 1975. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Premier of South Australia Don Dunstan defeated the Liberal Party of Australia led by Leader of the Opposition Bruce...
as a separate party led by Steele Hall
Steele Hall
Raymond Steele Hall was the 36th Premier of South Australia 1968-70, a senator for South Australia 1974-77, and federal member for the Division of Boothby 1981-96.-Biography:...
. At state
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
level, in 1973 the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
emerged from the Liberal and Country League
Liberal and Country League
The Liberal and Country League was a major political party in South Australia throughout its forty year existence. Thirty-four years were spent in government, in part due to the electoral malapportionment known as the Playmander, introduced after coming to power.Created on 9 June 1932 as the...
(LCL), which in turn had resulted from a merger between the Liberal Federation
Liberal Federation
The Liberal Federation was a liberal conservative South Australian political party from 1922 to 1932. It stemmed from the Liberal Union's Henry Barwell. Richard Layton Butler was also premier during the party's time. It was a predecessor to the Liberal and Country League....
and the then-Country Party in 1932. The state opposition leader at the 2006 election, Rob Kerin
Rob Kerin
Robert Gerard Kerin was the Liberal Premier of South Australia from 22 October 2001 to 5 March 2002. He also served as Deputy Premier of South Australia to John Olsen from 7 July 1998 until he became premier upon Olsen's resignation....
, was seen as being largely aloof from factional disputes.
Nationals SA
The Nationals SA are a sub-division of the conservativeConservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
National Party of Australia
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
(formerly the Country Party). First contesting the 1965 election
South Australian state election, 1965
State elections were held in Australia on 6 March 1965. All 39 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal and Country League led by Premier of South Australia Thomas Playford IV, in power since 1938, was defeated by the Australian Labor Party led by...
, they have only held two seats: Flinders
Electoral district of Flinders
Flinders is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after explorer Matthew Flinders, who was responsible for charting most of the state's coastline. It is a 55,260.6 km² coastal rural electorate encompassing the Eyre Peninsula and...
(1973–1993) and Chaffey
Electoral district of Chaffey
Chaffey, created in 1936, is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the Riverland region of South Australia and is named after brothers George and William Chaffey who established the irrigation area along the Murray River from 1886...
(1997–2010). Former member Karlene Maywald
Karlene Maywald
Karlene Ann Maywald is an Australian National Party politician who represented the seat of Chaffey in the South Australian House of Assembly from October 1997 until March 2010...
, representing the Riverland
Riverland
The Riverland, is a region of South Australia. It covers the area near the Murray River from where it flows into South Australia downstream to Blanchetown.The major town centres are Renmark, Berri, Loxton, Waikerie and Barmera...
district of Chaffey
Electoral district of Chaffey
Chaffey, created in 1936, is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the Riverland region of South Australia and is named after brothers George and William Chaffey who established the irrigation area along the Murray River from 1886...
, accepted a cabinet position in 2004 as part of the Rann Labor government, as Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Small Business, and later Minister for Water Security. This informal ALP-NAT coalition (the first since 1935) caused uproar, with federal Liberal member for the SA seat of Sturt, Christopher Pyne
Christopher Pyne
Christopher Maurice Pyne, MP , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since 13 March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia.-Early years:...
, calling for Maywald's expulsion from the Nationals, and Patrick Secker
Patrick Secker
Patrick Damien Secker , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 1998, representing the Division of Barker, South Australia....
calling for a corruption enquiry in to the appointment. Neither eventuated. As the Liberal Party in South Australia is descended from a historical merger from an earlier Country Party, the SA Nationals are not as dominant in rural areas as their eastern state counterparts.
SA Greens
The SA Greens, founded in 1995, are a sub-division of the left-wing Australian GreensAustralian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
. They are based on green politics
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
and consider themselves a new politics party with strong beliefs in ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
amongst other issues. Federally and locally they have seen a continued rise in primary votes, in part due to the demise of the Australian Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
. The 2007 federal election saw 77.28% of the Greens' preferences flow to Labor over the Liberal Party in SA. The party's Parliamentary leader is Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell is an Australian politician and the first SA Greens representative in the South Australian Legislative Council, having won a seat in the 2006 state election. His term will expire in March 2014. Since his election, the Greens position in state political opinion polls has approximately...
.
Family First Party
The Family First PartyFamily First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
, founded immediately before the 2002 state election, has a political ideology based on Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
-influenced conservatism
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
. Although officially a secular party, it has close links to the Pentecostal movement, and in particular the Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God in Australia
Australian Christian Churches , also known as Assemblies of God in Australia , is a Pentecostal Christian denomination and the Australian branch of the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world...
denomination. Its social policies generally mirror conservative Christian values
Conservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
(but not necessarily politically conservative values). The 2007 federal election saw 57.10% of their preferences flow to the Liberals over the Labor Party in SA. The party's leader at the time of the election was Andrew Evans.
Australian Democrats
The Australian DemocratsAustralian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
were originally a centrist party, with most current policies based on social liberalism
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
. Federally, the party was founded in 1977 from three different groups, all of which had split from the Liberal Party at different times: 1) the Liberal Movement, which had split from its parent over electoral reform; 2) the Australia Party
Australia Party
The Australia Party was the name of a minor political party in Australia ....
, which had rebelled against Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, and 3) initial leader Don Chipp
Don Chipp
Donald Leslie Chipp, AO was an Australian politician, and the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats.-Early life:...
, who left the Liberal Party of Australia
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
, citing dissatisfaction with the increasing underrepresentation of small-l liberals within the party.
At the state level it is descended from the New Liberal Movement (New LM)
New LM
The New Liberal Movement was a South Australian political party that had parliamentary representation during the mid-1970s.Formed by Robin Millhouse on 6 May 1976 following the dissolution of the Liberal Movement, the New LM sought to be the true liberal party in South Australia, arguing that the...
of Robin Millhouse
Robin Millhouse
Robin Rhodes Millhouse QC has been, at various times, the South Australian Attorney-General, the first Australian Democrats parliamentarian, and the Chief Justice of both Kiribati and Nauru....
, who held the Democrats' only lower house seats, Mitcham
Electoral district of Waite
Waite is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after Peter Waite, a 19th entrepreneur and philanthropist in the current area of the electorate, it is a 30.6km² urban electorate in Adelaide's inner south-eastern suburbs, taking in the...
and its successor seat Waite
Electoral district of Waite
Waite is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after Peter Waite, a 19th entrepreneur and philanthropist in the current area of the electorate, it is a 30.6km² urban electorate in Adelaide's inner south-eastern suburbs, taking in the...
. The Democrats have suffered internal problems and leadership scuffles since 1997. The 2007 federal election saw 65.79% of Democrat preferences flow to Labor over the Liberal Party in SA. The party's leader at the election was Sandra Kanck
Sandra Kanck
Sandra Myrtho Kanck is a South Australian politician. She was an Australian Democrats member of the South Australian Legislative Council 1993-2009, and at the time of the announcement of her resignation in November 2008, her party's sole remaining member of any Australian parliament...
.
Electoral system
South Australia is governed according to the principles of the Westminster systemWestminster System
The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
, a form of parliamentary government based on the model of the United Kingdom. Legislative power rests with the Parliament of South Australia
Parliament of South Australia
The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government....
, which consists of The Sovereign (represented by the Governor of South Australia), the House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
(lower house) which forms government, and the Legislative Council
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
(upper house) as a house of review. Forty-seven members of the lower house represent single-member electorates
South Australian House of Assembly electoral districts
Since 1970, the South Australian House of Assembly has consisted of 47 single-member electoral districts consisting of approximately the same number of enrolled voters...
and are elected under the full-preference
Preferential voting
Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...
Instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a...
(IRV) system for fixed four-year terms. The independent State Electoral Office, which conducts elections, is responsible for a mandatory redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
of boundaries before each election to ensure one vote one value
One vote one value
In Australia, one vote one value is a legislative principle of democracy whereby each electorate has the same population within a specified percentage of variance. In the case of the Commonwealth, the maximum variance for the House of Representatives is 10% above or below the mean...
. At each election, voters choose half of the 22 upper house members, each of whom serve eight-year terms in a single statewide electorate.
The Legislative Council is elected under the preferential
Preferential voting
Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...
Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
(STV) system through a means of Group voting ticket
Group voting ticket
Group voting tickets are a way to simplify preferential voting, usually in an election held under the single transferable vote or the alternative vote system....
s. Voters can choose to vote for a ticket by placing the number '1' in one of the ticket boxes "above the line" or can vote for individual candidates by numbering all the boxes "below the line" (54 in the 2006 election). In above the line voting, ticket votes are distributed according to the party or group voting ticket registered before the election with the election management body
Election management body
An election management body or EMB is the authority in a nation charged with administering the electoral process. EMBs can be independent, mixed, judicial or governmental. The EMB may also be responsible for electoral boundary delimitation...
. As more than 95% of ballot papers are above the line, this form of voting often leads to pre-election trading between parties on how each party will allocate later preferences to other parties and candidates.
Voting is compulsory once enrolled in South Australian elections, which results in turnout rates above 90 percent. Informal voting, which occurs when a voting slip is not valid, is at a rate of under five percent. Voting slips are informal when they are not filled out correctly, such examples are not numbering subsequent numbers, not filling out all the candidate boxes with numbers (except the last candidate), or in some other way that is verified by the State Electoral Office as illegible. South Australian elections have some features that are unique to the rest of Australia.
As elections have fixed four-year terms, the election date of 18 March 2006 was known well ahead of time. The Electoral Act stipulates that the election is to be held on the third Saturday in March every four years. The election campaign must run for a minimum of 25 days or a maximum of 55 days, therefore the Governor would have needed to issue writs for the election by 21 February 2006 at the latest. On 20 February, Premier Mike Rann invited Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson to issue writs for the election. In accordance with electoral regulations, the Electoral Commissioner then advertised key dates for the election of the House of Assembly and half of the Legislative Council — close of rolls on 27 February 2006 at noon, nominations to be received by 2 March 2006 at noon, polling day on 18 March 2006, and the return of writs on or before 28 April 2006.
Election background
In the 2002 election, Labor won 23 seats, the Liberals 20, Nationals 1, and conservative Independents won three. As 24 seats are required to govern, the Liberal Party was expected to retain government with the support of all four independents. However, in a surprise decision, one of the conservative independents, Peter LewisPeter Lewis (politician)
Ivan Peter Lewis is an Australian politician. Lewis was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1979 and 2006 in the electorates of Hammond, Ridley, Murray-Mallee and Mallee. Between 1979 and 2000 he was in the House as a Liberal member. From 2000 until 2006 he served as an...
, decided to support Labor in exchange for holding a constitutional convention
Constitutional Convention (Australia)
In Australian history, the term Constitutional Convention refers to four distinct gatherings.-1891 convention:The 1891 Constitutional Convention was held in Sydney in March 1891 to consider a draft Constitution for the proposed federation of the British colonies in Australia and New Zealand. There...
, making him speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
, and concessions for his electorate including the phasing out of commercial fishing
Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...
in the River Murray, prioritising the eradication of the branched broomrape
Broomrape
Broomrape or Broom-rape is a genus of over 200 species of parasitic herbaceous plants in the family Orobanchaceae, mostly native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Some species formerly included in this genus are now referred to the genus Conopholis.The broomrape plant is small, from...
weed, changing water rates
Rates (tax)
Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government...
for irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
, fast-tracking a feasibility study for a weir
Wellington Weir
Wellington Weir is a proposed weir on the River Murray at or near the town of Wellington, South Australia, not far upstream from where the river flows into Lake Alexandrina....
and lock
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
at Wellington
Wellington, South Australia
Wellington is the small town in South Australia on the Murray River just upstream of where it empties into Lake Alexandrina. Its postcode is 5259. Wellington is in the Rural City of Murray Bridge...
, and improving rural roads. Lewis resigned as speaker in April 2005 after controversy over allegations of paedophilia he had made about a serving MP. However, by this time, Labor had already gained the support of independents Bob Such
Bob Such
Robert Bruce "Bob" Such , Australian politician, is the member for the seat of Fisher in the South Australian House of Assembly, as an independent since 2000, and as member of the Liberal Party member from the 1989 election to 2000....
and Rory McEwen
Rory McEwen
Rory McEwen , Australian politician, was the independent member for the seats of Gordon and Mount Gambier in the South Australian House of Assembly....
in 2002, as well as Nationals SA member Karlene Maywald
Karlene Maywald
Karlene Ann Maywald is an Australian National Party politician who represented the seat of Chaffey in the South Australian House of Assembly from October 1997 until March 2010...
in 2004. Such was given the position of speaker for the remainder of the government's term.
Campaign
The Labor campaign was heavily based around Premier Mike Rann with Labor's advertising swapping between the mottos "Building South Australia" and, to a greater extent, "RANN Gets Results". Some commentators also argued that the "presidential" style of campaign, common in modern Australian politics, could be seen in Labor's formal campaign launch at the Norwood Town HallNorwood Town Hall
The Norwood Town Hall is the seat of the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters. It is located on The Parade in the suburb of Norwood, Adelaide, Australia, five minutes east of the city centre....
the Sunday before the election, which had some similarities to the nomination conventions that the major parties hold in the United States.
Another facet of the Labor campaign was extensive negative campaigning
Negative campaigning
Negative campaigning, also known more colloquially as "mudslinging", is trying to win an advantage by referring to negative aspects of an opponent or of a policy rather than emphasizing one's own positive attributes or preferred policies...
against Liberal leader Rob Kerin, including an advertisement featuring an excerpt of an interview that Kerin had with FIVEaa
FIVEaa
5AA , is 50% owned by dmg Radio Australia and Lachlan Murdoch's company Illyra, and Adelaide's only commercial talkback radio station. The station has a range of programs including news, sport, current affairs, social issues, gardening, lifestyle, cars, travel and health...
presenter Keith Conlon, who asked Kerin why he wanted to be leader of the Liberal Party. Kerin stammered for a few seconds and gave the impression that he was uncertain. The advertisement concluded with the question, "Does Rob Want The Job?". Conlon complained that the advertisement gave the false impression that he was endorsing Labor, but Labor campaign director David Feeney
David Feeney
David Ian Feeney is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor member of the Australian Senate since July 2008.Feeney was born in Adelaide. His father is a immigrant from Northern Ireland. Raised Catholic, he attended Mercedes College, Adelaide before moving to Melbourne, where he attended...
dismissed his concerns. Other negative advertisements run by Labor revolved around the actions of the previous Liberal government—one advertisement and leaflet reminded voters that while in power, the previous Liberal government closed 65 schools, closed hospital wards, and privatised the Electricity Trust of South Australia
Electricity Trust of South Australia
The Electricity Trust of South Australia was the South Australian Government-owned monopoly vertically integrated electricity provider...
.
Considered "strapped for cash", the Liberal Party ran a very limited television and radio campaign. Businessman Robert Gerard
Robert Gerard
Robert Gerard is a businessman, was Chairman of the Gerard Family's company Gerard Industries Pty Ltd, a former member of the Reserve Bank of Australia, and ran for the leadership of the Liberal party in 1987. He was born and grew up in Adelaide, and attended Prince Alfred...
was forced to resign from his Federal Liberal Party-appointed position on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia
Reserve Bank of Australia
The Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority, when the Reserve Bank Act 1959 removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank to it....
due to the party appointing him to the position despite the known fact that he had outstanding tax avoidance issues being dealt with by the Australian Taxation Office
Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office is an Australian Government statutory agency and the principal revenue collection body for the Australian Government. The ATO has responsibility for administering the Australian federal taxation system and superannuation legislation...
, and had thus subsequently pulled out of his traditional role of bankrolling the state division of the party, leaving the party with "only enough funds for the most basic campaign". Kerin indicated people would have to "wait and see" if there would be any campaign, even asking trade unions
Australian labour movement
The Australian labour movement has its origins in the early 19th century and includes both trade unions and political activity. At its broadest, the movement can be defined as encompassing the industrial wing, the unions in Australia, and the political wing, the Australian Labor Party and minor...
for donations, no matter how small. The advertisements that did run argued that Labor was wasting record tax receipts from the GST
Goods and Services Tax (Australia)
The GST is a broad sales tax of 10% on most goods and services transactions in Australia. It is a value added tax, not a sales tax, in that it is refunded to all parties in the chain of production other than the final consumer....
. A number of embarrassments for the Liberal Party surrounded their television advertisement—in an early version released to journalists, Labor was spelt "Labour" (Labor cabinet minister King O'Malley
King O'Malley
King O'Malley was an Australian politician. He was a member in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1896 to 1899, and the Australian House of Representatives from 1901 to 1917. O'Malley was also Minister for Home Affairs in the second and third Fisher Labor ministry...
dropped the 'u' in 1912 to "modernise" it as per American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
) and the advertisement alleged that South Australia's hospital waiting lists were the worst in the nation, which Labor successfully disputed to the Electoral Commissioner. During the election campaign, David Pisoni
David Pisoni
David Gregory Pisoni is a South Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian House of Assembly since 2006, representing the electorate of Unley....
, the Liberal candidate for Unley
Electoral district of Unley
Unley is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the suburb of the same name, it is a 12.2 km² urban electorate in Adelaide's inner southern suburbs, taking in the suburbs of Eastwood, Frewville, Fullarton, Glenunga, Highgate, Hyde...
, made allegations in his advertising that Labor and their candidate Michael Keenan
Michael Keenan (South Australian politician)
Michael Keenan is a South Australian politician. He was the Mayor of the City of Unley for 15 years before been beaten by Richard Thorne, a retired businessman, on 11 November 2006. Keenan has run as an Australian Labor Party member and an independent for various state and federal seats at various...
supported controversial urban infill programmes, which Labor flatly denied. Electoral Commissioner Kay Mousley
Kay Mousley
Kay Mousley is the Electoral Commissioner for the Electoral Commission of South Australia. She is the first woman to hold the post and had previously worked for 25 years for the Australian Electoral Commission rising to the head of that agency in South Australia...
investigated and ordered that the advertisements be withdrawn and corrections be run at Pisoni's expense.
The Labor minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
sought to win a majority in the House of Assembly. Opinion polls indicated that this was likely and ABC elections expert Antony Green
Antony Green
Antony John Green is an Australian psephologist and commentator for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.-Early years and background:...
said that the "Labor government looks set to be returned with an increased majority". Centrebet
Centrebet
Centrebet is an Australian bookmaker licensed in the Northern Territory.Centrebet originated from Alice Springs, Northern Territory and was the first bookmaker to be licensed in Australia in 1993 and the first bookmaker to go online in the Southern Hemisphere. Centrebet was acquired by its biggest...
had Labor at odds of $1.01 and the Liberals at $12.00 for a majority government.
Most commentators agreed that the Liberal Party had little chance of winning government, and that Kerin would step down from the leadership after the election, a suspicion confirmed in Kerin's concession speech. Martin Hamilton-Smith
Martin Hamilton-Smith
Martin Leslie James Hamilton-Smith is the member for the electoral district of Waite in the South Australian House of Assembly since 1997...
was considering mounting a leadership challenge, however, he withdrew on 14 October 2005 (probably for the sake of the impression of party unity) and subsequently resigned or was pushed from the opposition frontbench.
Issues
One of the most publicised issues prior to the election was the tram extension from Victoria SquareVictoria Square, Adelaide
Victoria Square is a public square in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. The square is in the centre of the city's grid of one square mile, and was named by the Street Naming Committee on 23 May 1837 after Princess Victoria, heir presumptive of the British throne. Less than a month later the...
to the Adelaide Railway Station
Adelaide Railway Station
Adelaide Railway Station is the central terminus of the Adelaide Metro railway system. It is at on the north side of North Terrace, west of Parliament House. The Adelaide Casino is in part of the building that is no longer required for the station....
which the Liberals, despite having proposed the idea in their previous transport plan, now opposed. Construction began in April 2007 and was operational as of October 2007. The Adelaide Airport
Adelaide International Airport
Adelaide Airport is the principal airport in the South Australian capital of Adelaide and the fifth busiest airport in Australia, servicing 7,362,000 passengers in the year ending 30 June 2011. Located adjacent to West Beach, it is approximately west of the city-centre...
expansion suffered fuel delivery related delays that Labor was criticised for. A perrennial election issue, lack of safety improvement of the Britannia Roundabout
Britannia Roundabout
The Britannia Roundabout is an infamous roundabout intersection near the city centre of Adelaide. Many minor accidents have occurred over the years at this traffic black spot.....
was focused on by the Norwood
Electoral district of Norwood
Norwood is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after its surrounding geographical area, Norwood, South Australia. Norwood is a 14.2 km² urban electorate in Adelaide's inner eastern suburbs...
Liberal candidate. Land
Land value tax
A land value tax is a levy on the unimproved value of land. It is an ad valorem tax on land that disregards the value of buildings, personal property and other improvements...
and payroll tax
Payroll tax
Payroll tax generally refers to two different kinds of similar taxes. The first kind is a tax that employers are required to withhold from employees' wages, also known as withholding tax, pay-as-you-earn tax , or pay-as-you-go tax...
cuts worth $1.5 billion were announced by Labor, the largest in the state's history. The tax cuts coincided with South Australia achieving an economic "Triple A" rating under the current Labor government. Business SA chief executive Peter Vaughan "praised" Labor's economic management.
The construction of two bridges over Port River
Port River
The Port River is the western branch of the largest tidal estuary on the eastern side of Gulf St Vincent. It extends inland through the historic Inner Harbour of Port Adelaide, to the constructed salt-water West Lakes in the north-western suburbs of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia...
as part of the Port River Expressway
Port River Expressway
The Port River Expressway is a freeway-grade road. The expressway links Port Adelaide and the LeFevre Peninsula to the northern suburbs of Adelaide and major interstate routes via Salisbury Highway to Port Wakefield Road and the Northern Expressway to Perth and Sydney.The expressway is only...
project had come under criticism, which the Government promised would be open-span to allow passage of tugboats and tall ships, thereby preserving the inner harbour's dwindling port functions. Despite criticism coming from the electorate, the media, federal Labor, and road organisations including the Royal Automobile Association
Royal Automobile Association
The Royal Automobile Association of South Australia, also known simply as RAA, is a South Australian automobile club providing a range of member services including: 24-hour emergency breakdown, vehicle inspection, motoring advocacy, road safety, legal services, technical advice, travel services,...
, The Advertiser revealed details of "the biggest project of its kind in South Australia's history", a $1.5 billion redevelopment on the western bank of the inner harbour. The development will include 2000 new homes on government-owned land and new buildings as high as 12 storeys. This followed the awarding of a $6 billion air warfare destroyer contract to the Australian Submarine Corporation
Australian Submarine Corporation
The ASC, formerly Australian Submarine Corporation, is a wholly government-owned Australian naval defence company headquartered at Osborne in Adelaide, South Australia.-History:...
, based in the electorate at Osborne
Osborne, South Australia
Osborne is a north-western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia 19 km from the CBD, in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It is on the LeFevre Peninsula, adjacent to Outer Harbor, Taperoo and North Haven...
.
The future of the River Murray has come under threat due to falling water levels, and in an unprecedented move, Nationals MP Karlene Maywald
Karlene Maywald
Karlene Ann Maywald is an Australian National Party politician who represented the seat of Chaffey in the South Australian House of Assembly from October 1997 until March 2010...
was given a cabinet position as Minister for the River Murray in 2004. Possible nuclear waste dumps were of concern to many Adelaide residents; Premier Rann successfully lobbied against any federal government proposals.
Law and order was another key issue, with Labor promising extra police. Tough drink and drug driving
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
laws had also been introduced which included zero tolerance
Zero tolerance
Zero tolerance imposes automatic punishment for infractions of a stated rule, with the intention of eliminating undesirable conduct. Zero-tolerance policies forbid persons in positions of authority from exercising discretion or changing punishments to fit the circumstances subjectively; they are...
roadside testing for Tetrahydrocannabinol
Tetrahydrocannabinol
Tetrahydrocannabinol , also known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol , Δ1-THC , or dronabinol, is the main chemical psychoactive substance found in the cannabis plant. It was first isolated in 1964. In pure form, it is a glassy solid when cold, and becomes viscous and sticky if warmed...
(THC) and Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
, and later MDMA
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
MDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...
. Labor introduced speed limit reduction legislation which took effect in March 2003 which saw non-arterial non-main roads and most Adelaide CBD roads reduce from 60 km/h to 50 km/h. The Liberals proposed to increase the speed limit back to 60 km/h for several roads, concentrated mainly around the Adelaide Park Lands
Adelaide Park Lands
The Adelaide Park Lands are the parks that surround the centre of the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. They measure approximately 7.6 square kilometres in a green belt encircling the city centre....
.
Allegations were made over the condition of the state's health system and the capacity to deal with mental health issues. Labor pledged to buy back Modbury Hospital
Modbury Hospital
Modbury Hospital is a 174-bed, acute care teaching hospital that provides inpatient, outpatient and emergency services to a population of nearly 200,000 people living primarily in Adelaide’s north-eastern suburbs....
located in the district of Florey
Electoral district of Florey
Florey is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after scientist Howard Florey, who was responsible for the development of penicillin...
, privatised under the Liberal government to alleviate the effect of the State Bank
State Bank of South Australia
The State Bank of South Australia was a bank owned by the Government of South Australia. Its collapse in 1991 was a major political event in South Australia...
collapse.
The need for homosexual law reform was acknowledged by both major parties; however, there was disquiet within the Labor Party over delays. December 2006 saw the Domestic Partners bill pass which provides greater recognition to same sex relationships on a range of issues such as superannuation. The bill was supported by all parties after much negotiation, but in the end was voted against by both members of Family First
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
, as well as Liberal Terry Stephens
Terry Stephens
Terence John "Terry" Stephens is an Australian politician, and a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian Legislative Council since being elected in 2002....
.
Electoral reform
Electoral reform
Electoral reform is change in electoral systems to improve how public desires are expressed in election results. That can include reforms of:...
policies received little attention, as did the eventually shelved referendum proposal by the Rann Government to abolish or reform the Legislative Council
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
. WorkCover
WorkCoverSA
WorkCoverSA, commonly known in South Australia as WorkCover, is a government authority established by the Government of South Australia.It is has three functions:* Policing occupational health and safety legislation* Providing worker's compensation...
underfunded liability increases have also received little attention, despite the fact that the liability has climbed from a disputed $67 to $85 million to $700 million since Labor came in to government in 2002 due to a more generous compensation scheme. Labor have since looked in to reform for the scheme including cutting payments to injured workers.
There were claims that federal industrial relations
Labor relations
Industrial relations is a multidisciplinary field that studies the employment relationship. Industrial relations is increasingly being called employment relations because of the importance of non-industrial employment relationships. Many outsiders also equate industrial relations to labour relations...
reform, WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
, was an influential issue in the election. The Liberals announced 4,000 public service
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
job cuts to pay for election promises.
Polling
NewspollNewspoll
Newspoll Market Research is an Australian company providing opinion polling and other market research services. Its chief executive is Martin O'Shannessy.Newspoll's surveys of voter opinion are published in The Australian....
polling is conducted via random telephone number selection in city and country areas. Roy Morgan
Roy Morgan Research
Roy Morgan Research is an Australian market research company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria; it was founded in 1941 by Roy Morgan ; its Executive Chairman today is his son, Gary Morgan....
polling is conducted face-to-face Australia-wide. Sampling sizes consist of 500–1000 electors, Roy Morgan has a sampling tolerance (the Margin of error
Margin of error
The margin of error is a statistic expressing the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results. The larger the margin of error, the less faith one should have that the poll's reported results are close to the "true" figures; that is, the figures for the whole population...
) of ±3.2 percent for a 40 to 60 percent rating in a sample size of 1000 electors, and ±4.5 for 500 electors. The sampling tolerance rate is lower for high and low percentages.
| Date | Rann | Kerin |
|---|---|---|
| Jan – Mar 2007 | 64% | *14% |
| Oct – Dec 2006 | 61% | *14% |
| 15–16 Mar 2006 | 63% | 21% |
| Jan – Feb 2006 | 59% | 19% |
| Oct – Dec 2005 | 60% | 16% |
| Jul – Sep 2005 | 60% | 16% |
| Apr – Jun 2005 | 60% | 17% |
| Jan – Mar 2005 | 61% | 15% |
| Pre 2002 election | 30% | 50% |
| Source: Newspoll/The Australian ^ Remainder were "uncommitted" to either leader. *Iain Evans Iain Evans Iain Frederick Evans is a South Australian Liberal Party politician. He studied at Heathfield High School and gained a Bachelor Degree for Building Technology from the SA Institute of Technology . Prior to entering politics he managed a family-owned building and retailing business... |
||
| Political parties | Two party preferred | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Liberal | Democrats | Family First |
SA Greens |
One Nation |
Other | Labor | Liberal | |
| December 2006 | 55.5% | 27.0% | 3% | 4% | 4% | 0.5% | 6% | 66% | 34% |
| March 2006 ¹ | 50.5% | 30.5% | 2% | 2% | 8% | 0.5% | 6.5% | 61.5% | 38.5% |
| February 2006 ² | 50.5% | 31.5% | 5% | 3.5% | 4% | 0% | 5.5% | 61.5% | 38.5% |
| January 2006 | 50.5% | 33% | 3% | 3.5% | 4.5% | 0.5% | 5% | 60.5% | 39.5% |
| December 2005 | 49% | 32% | 4% | 5.5% | 4% | 1% | 4.5% | 60.5% | 39.5% |
| October 2005 | 50% | 33% | 3.5% | 3.5% | 4.5% | 0.5% | 5% | 62.5% | 37.5% |
| August 2005 | 53% | 32% | 3% | 4% | 3.5% | 1% | 3.5% | 62% | 38% |
| June 2005 | 54% | 33% | 1% | 4% | 4% | 0.5% | 3.5% | 62% | 38% |
| 2002 Election | 36.3% | 40% | 7.5% | 2.6% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 8.8% | 49.1% | 50.9% |
| Source: Roy Morgan Research - ¹ Post-election announcement - ² Pre-election announcement |
|||||||||
| Political parties | Two party preferred | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor | Liberal | National | Democrats | Family First |
SA Greens |
One Nation |
Other | Labor | Liberal | |
| Jan – Mar 2007 | 48% | 29% | 1% | 4% | 2% | 6% | 0% | 10% | 61% | 39% |
| Oct – Dec 2006 | 47% | 33% | 1% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 0% | 10% | 58% | 42% |
| 15–16 Mar 2006 | 46% | 33% | 1.5% | 1.5% | 3% | 4% | 0% | 11% | 57% | 43% |
| Jan – Feb 2006 | 44% | 37% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 0% | 10% | 54% | 46% |
| Oct – Dec 2005 | 46% | 35% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 4% | 0% | 10% | 56% | 44% |
| Jul – Sep 2005 | 45% | 38% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 4% | 0% | 10% | 54% | 46% |
| 2002 Election | 36.3% | 40% | 1.5% | 7.5% | 2.6% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 7.3% | 49.1% | 50.9% |
| Source: Newspoll/The Australian |
||||||||||
House of Assembly
2006 House of Assembly South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :... Results |
||||||
| Enrolled Voters | 1,055,347 | |||||
| Votes Cast | 974,190 | Turnout | 92.3 | −1.3 | ||
| Informal Votes | 35,029 | Informal % | 3.6 | +0.5 | ||
| Party | First Preference | % | Change % | Seats | Change | |
| Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
424,715 | 45.2 | +8.9 | 28 | +5 | |
| Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
319,041 | 34.0 | −6.0 | 15 | −5 | |
| SA Greens | 60,949 | 6.5 | +4.1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Family First Party Family First Party The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council... |
55,192 | 5.9 | +3.3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Australian Democrats Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader... |
27,179 | 2.9 | −4.6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nationals SA | 19,636 | 2.1 | +0.6 | 1 | 0 | |
| Dignity for Disabled Dignity for Disabled Dignity for Disability or Dignity 4 Disability is a minority political party in the Australian state of South Australia... |
3,974 | 0.4 | +0.4 | 0 | 0 | |
| One Nation Party One Nation Party One Nation is a far-right and nationalist political party in Australia. It gained 22% of the vote translating to 11 of 89 seats in Queensland's unicameral legislative assembly at the 1998 state election and made major inroads into the vote of the existing parties... |
2,591 | 0.3 | −2.1 | 0 | 0 | |
| No Rodeo No Rodeo No Rodeo ran seven independent candidates at the 2006 South Australian state election.Adelaide • Amanda BarlowGiles • Esmond VettorettiKaurna • Jeanie WalkerLight • Craig AllanNewland • Troy WalkerReynell • Marie NichollsStuart • Simon Cook... |
2,131 | 0.2 | +0.2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independents Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
23,753 | 2.5 | 3 | +1 | ||
| SA First SA First SA First is a now-defunct South Australian political party formed in 1999 by dissident Labor Member of Parliament Terry Cameron. The Party contested the 2002 South Australian legislative election, but failed to have any candidates elected to the Parliament of South Australia.-Ideology and policy:SA... |
−1.8 | 0 | ||||
| CLIC Peter Lewis (politician) Ivan Peter Lewis is an Australian politician. Lewis was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1979 and 2006 in the electorates of Hammond, Ridley, Murray-Mallee and Mallee. Between 1979 and 2000 he was in the House as a Liberal member. From 2000 until 2006 he served as an... |
−0.8 | −1 | ||||
| Total | 939,161 | 47 | ||||
Two-Party Preferred Instant-runoff voting Instant-runoff voting , also known as preferential voting, the alternative vote and ranked choice voting, is a voting system used to elect one winner. Voters rank candidates in order of preference, and their ballots are counted as one vote for their first choice candidate. If a candidate secures a... |
||||||
| Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
533,290 | 56.8 | +7.7 | 32 | +8 | |
| Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
405,871 | 43.2 | −7.7 | 15 | −8 | |
The final results for the House of Assembly seats were 28 Labor, 15 Liberal, three independents and one National. First preference and two party preferred statistics for each district are available through the South Australian House of Assembly electoral districts
South Australian House of Assembly electoral districts
Since 1970, the South Australian House of Assembly has consisted of 47 single-member electoral districts consisting of approximately the same number of enrolled voters...
article.
Labor won six of eight key seats, the Liberals one of three. Labor's wins included the previously marginal Liberal seats of Hartley
Electoral district of Hartley
Hartley is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after John Hartley, a public servant responsible for creating much of South Australia's public education system...
, Light
Electoral district of Light
Light is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Colonel William Light who was the first Surveyor-General of South Australia. The electorate was created in 1857, abolished in 1902 and reinstated in 1936...
, Morialta
Electoral district of Morialta
Morialta is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Morialta is derived from a Kaurna Aboriginal word "mariyatala", with "mari" meaning east and "yertala" meaning water...
, Mawson
Electoral district of Mawson
The Electoral district of Mawson is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the outer southern suburbs of Woodcroft, Hackham, Hackham West, Huntfield Heights and Noarlunga Downs, as well as the regional shopping centre at Noarlunga as well as the southern wine region...
, Bright
Electoral district of Bright
Bright is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers southern coastal suburbs of Adelaide including Hove, Brighton, Seacliff, Seacliff Park, Marino, Hallett Cove, Somerton Park, South Brighton, North Brighton and Kingston Park....
and Newland
Electoral district of Newland
Newland is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after pioneer Simpson Newland, a prominent figure in nineteenth-century South Australia...
. The Liberals regained Peter Lewis' seat of Hammond
Electoral district of Hammond
Hammond is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Ruby Hammond, the first indigenous woman to stand for the South Australian parliament...
.
National Karlene Maywald
Karlene Maywald
Karlene Ann Maywald is an Australian National Party politician who represented the seat of Chaffey in the South Australian House of Assembly from October 1997 until March 2010...
and Independents Bob Such
Bob Such
Robert Bruce "Bob" Such , Australian politician, is the member for the seat of Fisher in the South Australian House of Assembly, as an independent since 2000, and as member of the Liberal Party member from the 1989 election to 2000....
, Rory McEwen
Rory McEwen
Rory McEwen , Australian politician, was the independent member for the seats of Gordon and Mount Gambier in the South Australian House of Assembly....
and Kris Hanna
Kris Hanna
Kris Hanna was an Australian politician, and member for Mitchell in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1997 until 2010. Originally elected as a Labor member, Hanna defected to the SA Greens in 2003 before becoming an independent in 2006....
were all re-elected. Hanna was elected at the 2002 election as a Labor candidate; this counted as a loss for Labor, giving Labor a net gain of five seats.
Labor, the Liberals and the Greens ran in all 47 seats, the Democrats ran in all but Giles
Electoral district of Giles
Giles is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. The electorate, named after explorer Ernest Giles, is the largest in South Australia, covering a 500,738.0km² swathe of outback South Australia...
which resulted in a contested seat vote of three percent, Family First ran in all but Ramsay
Electoral district of Ramsay
Ramsay is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Alexander Ramsay , who was General Manager of the South Australian Housing Trust for 25 years and devoted to the improvement of South Australian life...
and Croydon with a contested seat vote of 6.1 percent. The Nationals ran in Chaffey
Electoral district of Chaffey
Chaffey, created in 1936, is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the Riverland region of South Australia and is named after brothers George and William Chaffey who established the irrigation area along the Murray River from 1886...
, Flinders
Electoral district of Flinders
Flinders is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after explorer Matthew Flinders, who was responsible for charting most of the state's coastline. It is a 55,260.6 km² coastal rural electorate encompassing the Eyre Peninsula and...
, Finniss
Electoral district of Finniss
Finniss is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Boyle Finniss, the first Premier of South Australia...
, and MacKillop
Electoral district of MacKillop
MacKillop is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named in 1991 after Mary MacKillop , who served the local area, it is a 24,358.3 km² rural electorate in the south-east of the state, stretching from the mouth of the Murray River...
, averaging 24.8 percent in those seats. Dignity for Disabled, No Rodeo and One Nation ran in 10, 7 and 6 six seats respectively.
Jack Snelling
Jack Snelling
John James "Jack" Snelling is an Australian politician who has been the sitting Labor member for the electoral district of Playford in the South Australian House of Assembly since the 1997 election....
became speaker of the House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
.
Key Liberal seats
The outer southern suburbs district of MawsonElectoral district of Mawson
The Electoral district of Mawson is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the outer southern suburbs of Woodcroft, Hackham, Hackham West, Huntfield Heights and Noarlunga Downs, as well as the regional shopping centre at Noarlunga as well as the southern wine region...
was first won by former Liberal Police Minister Robert Brokenshire
Robert Brokenshire
Robert "Rob" Lawrence Brokenshire is a South Australian dairy farmer and Member of the 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd and current South Australian Parliament. Formerly a real estate broker, Brokenshire was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1993 and...
in the 1993 state election. He was defeated by former radio presenter Leon Bignell
Leon Bignell
Leon William Kennedy Bignell , Australian politician, is the member for Mawson for the Australian Labor Party. He finished ahead of incumbent Liberal member Robert Brokenshire by 3.9% on first preference and 2.2% of two party preferred in the 2006 state election, delivering the seat to Labor for...
, who gained a 5.7 percent two party preferred swing for Labor.
The other outer suburbs district that fell to Labor was Bright
Electoral district of Bright
Bright is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers southern coastal suburbs of Adelaide including Hove, Brighton, Seacliff, Seacliff Park, Marino, Hallett Cove, Somerton Park, South Brighton, North Brighton and Kingston Park....
, which had been held since 1989 by former Liberal energy minister Wayne Matthew
Wayne Matthew
Wayne Anthony Matthew is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1989 to 2006 inclusive, representing the electorate of Bright....
, who decided to retire at this election. The seat was contested for the Liberals by Legislative Council member Angus Redford
Angus Redford
Angus John Redford is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian Legislative Council between 1993 and 2006....
, who faced a tougher fight than expected. He was defeated by Labor's Chloe Fox
Chloe Fox
Chloë Catienne Fox is an Australian politician, and MP for the seat of Bright in the South Australian House of Assembly since the 2006 election, representing the Australian Labor Party...
, who received a 14.4 percent swing on a two party preferred basis, the largest in the state.
The inner southern suburbs district of Unley
Electoral district of Unley
Unley is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the suburb of the same name, it is a 12.2 km² urban electorate in Adelaide's inner southern suburbs, taking in the suburbs of Eastwood, Frewville, Fullarton, Glenunga, Highgate, Hyde...
was won in 2002 by outspoken Liberal Mark Brindal
Mark Brindal
Mark Brindal is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian House of Assembly, Adelaide, South Australia, between 1989 and 2006, representing the electorates of Heywood and then Unley.-Early life:Brindal was born in South Australia and was educated...
who failed to win preselection for the seat and moved to contest the marginal Labor seat of Adelaide, but was shrouded in a controversy concerning a sexual relationship that Brindal had with a mentally ill man, forcing him to withdraw. The Liberal candidate was businessman David Pisoni
David Pisoni
David Gregory Pisoni is a South Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian House of Assembly since 2006, representing the electorate of Unley....
, while Labor fielded Unley Mayor Michael Keenan
Michael Keenan (South Australian politician)
Michael Keenan is a South Australian politician. He was the Mayor of the City of Unley for 15 years before been beaten by Richard Thorne, a retired businessman, on 11 November 2006. Keenan has run as an Australian Labor Party member and an independent for various state and federal seats at various...
. Despite a 7.9 percent two party preferred swing against him, Pisoni hung onto the seat by 1.1 percent.
The inner north eastern suburbs district of Hartley
Electoral district of Hartley
Hartley is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after John Hartley, a public servant responsible for creating much of South Australia's public education system...
had been won by Joe Scalzi
Joe Scalzi
Giuseppe "Joe" Scalzi is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1993 and 2006, representing the electorate of Hartley....
in 1993 and held by a very narrow margin in each subsequent election. The district has a very high proportion of Italian migrants
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
and the ability to speak the language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
is considered by many commentators as being vital for a candidate to win the seat. This was a factor in Labor's preselection of political staffer Grace Portolesi
Grace Portolesi
Grace Portolesi is a South Australian politician and Labor member for the electoral district of Hartley, having won the seat at the 2006 state election...
, who defeated Scalzi with a 5.9 percent two party preferred swing.
The neighbouring district of Morialta
Electoral district of Morialta
Morialta is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Morialta is derived from a Kaurna Aboriginal word "mariyatala", with "mari" meaning east and "yertala" meaning water...
had been held by former Liberal Tourism Minister Joan Hall
Joan Hall
Joan Lynette Hall is a former member of the South Australian House of Assembly, serving in the electoral district of Coles from 1993 to 2002 and the renamed electoral district of Morialta from 2002 to 2006....
since 1993. She was defeated by Labor's Lindsay Simmons
Lindsay Simmons
Lindsay Anne Simmons is a former Australian politician, representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Morialta for the Australian Labor Party from her election in 2006 until the 2010 election.-Early life:...
, who received a 12 percent two party preferred swing, reclaiming the seat for Labor for the first time since 1975.
In the outer north-east, the district of Newland
Electoral district of Newland
Newland is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after pioneer Simpson Newland, a prominent figure in nineteenth-century South Australia...
had been won by Liberal Dorothy Kotz
Dorothy Kotz
Dorothy Christine Kotz is a former Australian politician who had been the sitting Liberal member for the electoral district of Newland of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1989 until her retirement in 2006....
since 1989. After her decision to retire, the Liberals preselected police officer and local councillor Mark Osterstock. He was defeated by Labor's Tom Kenyon
Tom Kenyon
Thomas Richard "Tom" Kenyon is an Australian politician. He is the Australian Labor Party member for the electoral district of Newland in the South Australian House of Assembly, having won the seat at the 2006 state election and returned at the 2010 state election.Kenyon was appointed as Minister...
, who recorded a 12.5 percent two party preferred swing.
Light
Electoral district of Light
Light is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Colonel William Light who was the first Surveyor-General of South Australia. The electorate was created in 1857, abolished in 1902 and reinstated in 1936...
, which contains Gawler
Gawler, South Australia
Gawler is the first country town in the state of South Australia, and is named after the second Governor of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is located north of the centre of the state capital, Adelaide, and is close to the major wine producing district of the Barossa Valley...
and the outer northern suburbs, was recontested by sitting Liberal member and former Education Minister Malcolm Buckby
Malcolm Buckby
Malcolm Robert Buckby is a former politician who lost his seat in the electoral district of Light in the 2006 SA election. He is a former research economist and farmer first elected in 1993 replacing Bruce Eastick....
. He was defeated by Labor candidate and Gawler Mayor Tony Piccolo
Tony Piccolo
Tony Piccolo is an Australian politician, currently the Labor member for the electoral district of Light. He managed to win this seat in the 2006 state election with 52.1% on two party preference, a swing of 4.9% against the incumbent Liberal member, Malcolm Buckby...
, who received a 4.9 percent two party preferred swing. This was the first time since 1944 that Labor had won the seat.
The rural and outback district of Stuart
Electoral district of Stuart
Stuart is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the northeast part of the state extending from just north of the Barossa Valley all the way to the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales borders, and extending west to include Port Augusta...
was first won in 1997 by Liberal Graham Gunn
Graham Gunn
Graham McDonald Gunn, AM , Australian politician, was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly. He represented the electoral district of Stuart and was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia...
, a 40-year member of parliament and former Speaker. As in 2002, he was challenged by Labor ministerial adviser Justin Jarvis. Unlike the Adelaide metropolitan area and the neighbouring seat of Giles
Electoral district of Giles
Giles is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. The electorate, named after explorer Ernest Giles, is the largest in South Australia, covering a 500,738.0km² swathe of outback South Australia...
, there was only a small swing of 0.7 percent to Labor, so Gunn managed to hang on with a margin of 0.6 percent.
Key Labor seats
The inner eastern suburbs district of NorwoodElectoral district of Norwood
Norwood is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after its surrounding geographical area, Norwood, South Australia. Norwood is a 14.2 km² urban electorate in Adelaide's inner eastern suburbs...
, held for Labor by former Norwood mayor Vini Ciccarello
Vini Ciccarello
Vincenzina "Vini" Ciccarello , Australian politician, is a former Labor Party MP for the electoral district of Norwood. A mayor of Norwood for seven years, she was a well known identity in the eastern suburbs electorate....
, was expected to be a tough contest, particularly after the Liberal preselection of former Adelaide Crows
Adelaide Crows
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
footballer Nigel Smart
Nigel Smart
Nigel James Smart was an Australian rules footballer with the Adelaide Crows from 1991 to 2004. He was a defender who was a crowd favourite with his bald head and goatee....
. Ciccarello retained the seat picking up a 3.7 percent swing on the two party preferred vote.
The other Labor seat considered vulnerable was the neighbouring inner city district of Adelaide
Electoral district of Adelaide
Adelaide is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly which includes Adelaide's central business district and suburbs in the inner north and inner north east...
where high profile Education Minister and former Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith
Jane Lomax-Smith
Jane Diane Lomax-Smith is a former Australian politician in the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Adelaide representing the Labor Party from 2002 to 2010, and Lord Mayor of Adelaide from 1997 to 2000...
was challenged by Liberal Diana Carroll. Lomax-Smith comprehensively defeated Carroll with a 9.2 percent swing to Labor on the two-party preferred vote.
Key Independent seats
The southern suburbs district of MitchellElectoral district of Mitchell (South Australia)
Mitchell is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the state of South Australia. It was first created in 1969 and is named after philosopher Sir William Mitchell...
was won at the 2002 election by Labor's Kris Hanna
Kris Hanna
Kris Hanna was an Australian politician, and member for Mitchell in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1997 until 2010. Originally elected as a Labor member, Hanna defected to the SA Greens in 2003 before becoming an independent in 2006....
. After the election, Hanna defected to the Greens
Greens South Australia
Greens South Australia is a Green Party located in South Australia, a member of the federation of the Australian Greens party.The party has four members currently elected to parliament, Mark Parnell and Tammy Franks in the South Australian Legislative Council and Sarah Hanson-Young and Penny Wright...
and subsequently left and became an independent on 8 February 2006. Hanna faced a tough contest against by Labor's Rosemary Clancy. Despite pre-election expectations of a safe Labor win, Hanna defeated Clancy by 0.6 percent with the aid of Liberal preferences.
The district of Fisher
Electoral district of Fisher
Fisher is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after James Fisher, a colonial politician and the first mayor of Adelaide...
, located in Adelaide's south, was held by independent MP Dr Bob Such
Bob Such
Robert Bruce "Bob" Such , Australian politician, is the member for the seat of Fisher in the South Australian House of Assembly, as an independent since 2000, and as member of the Liberal Party member from the 1989 election to 2000....
. Late in the campaign, there was some speculation that Fisher may have been a closer contest than commentators initially expected, but Such comfortably defeated Labor's Amanda Rishworth
Amanda Rishworth
Amanda Louise Rishworth , Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since November 2007, representing the electorate of Kingston, South Australia.-Early years:...
and the Liberals' Andy Minnis with an independent candidate election best 45.2 percent of the primary vote, picking up a 4.6 percent two candidate preferred swing. The election outcome saw Such facing the Labor candidate on the two party preferred vote as opposed to the Liberal candidate in 2002.
The Riverland based district of Chaffey
Electoral district of Chaffey
Chaffey, created in 1936, is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the Riverland region of South Australia and is named after brothers George and William Chaffey who established the irrigation area along the Murray River from 1886...
is the only seat held by Nationals SA. River Murray Minister Karlene Maywald
Karlene Maywald
Karlene Ann Maywald is an Australian National Party politician who represented the seat of Chaffey in the South Australian House of Assembly from October 1997 until March 2010...
easily defeated Liberal Anna Baric. Maywald received a 3.2 percent swing on the two party preferred vote.
The Murray Bridge
Murray Bridge, South Australia
Murray Bridge is the fourth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier and Whyalla. It is located east-southeast of Adelaide and north of Meningie....
based district of Hammond
Electoral district of Hammond
Hammond is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Ruby Hammond, the first indigenous woman to stand for the South Australian parliament...
was won in 2002 by independent MP Peter Lewis
Peter Lewis (politician)
Ivan Peter Lewis is an Australian politician. Lewis was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1979 and 2006 in the electorates of Hammond, Ridley, Murray-Mallee and Mallee. Between 1979 and 2000 he was in the House as a Liberal member. From 2000 until 2006 he served as an...
who then cut a deal to deliver government to Labor. Facing almost certain defeat, he declined to recontest the district and his attempt to win a seat in the Legislative Council failed. Hammond was won comfortably by Liberal Adrian Pederick
Adrian Pederick
Adrian Stephen Pederick is an Australian politician who won the safe Liberal seat of Hammond for the Liberal party, re-claiming it back from Liberal-turned-independent Peter Lewis who left to contest a seat in the Upper House....
.
The district of Mount Gambier
Electoral district of Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the southeast part of the state centered on the city and extinct volcano of Mount Gambier....
(which also includes much of South Australia's south east) was a close contest between independent and Agriculture Minister Rory McEwen
Rory McEwen
Rory McEwen , Australian politician, was the independent member for the seats of Gordon and Mount Gambier in the South Australian House of Assembly....
and Liberal Peter Gandolfi. McEwen prevailed despite a 20.4 percent swing against him on the two party preferred vote.
Seats changing hands
| Seat | Pre-2006 | Swing | Post-2006 | ||||||
| Party | Member | Margin | Margin | Member | Party | ||||
| Bright Electoral district of Bright Bright is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers southern coastal suburbs of Adelaide including Hove, Brighton, Seacliff, Seacliff Park, Marino, Hallett Cove, Somerton Park, South Brighton, North Brighton and Kingston Park.... |
Liberal | Wayne Matthew Wayne Matthew Wayne Anthony Matthew is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1989 to 2006 inclusive, representing the electorate of Bright.... |
5.0 | 14.3 | 9.4 | Chloë Fox Chloe Fox Chloë Catienne Fox is an Australian politician, and MP for the seat of Bright in the South Australian House of Assembly since the 2006 election, representing the Australian Labor Party... |
Labor | ||
| Hammond Electoral district of Hammond Hammond is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Ruby Hammond, the first indigenous woman to stand for the South Australian parliament... |
Independent | Peter Lewis Peter Lewis (politician) Ivan Peter Lewis is an Australian politician. Lewis was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1979 and 2006 in the electorates of Hammond, Ridley, Murray-Mallee and Mallee. Between 1979 and 2000 he was in the House as a Liberal member. From 2000 until 2006 he served as an... |
2.0 | N/A | 12.0* | Adrian Pederick Adrian Pederick Adrian Stephen Pederick is an Australian politician who won the safe Liberal seat of Hammond for the Liberal party, re-claiming it back from Liberal-turned-independent Peter Lewis who left to contest a seat in the Upper House.... |
Liberal | ||
| Hartley Electoral district of Hartley Hartley is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after John Hartley, a public servant responsible for creating much of South Australia's public education system... |
Liberal | Joe Scalzi Joe Scalzi Giuseppe "Joe" Scalzi is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1993 and 2006, representing the electorate of Hartley.... |
2.2 | 6.8 | 4.6 | Grace Portolesi Grace Portolesi Grace Portolesi is a South Australian politician and Labor member for the electoral district of Hartley, having won the seat at the 2006 state election... |
Labor | ||
| Light Electoral district of Light Light is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Colonel William Light who was the first Surveyor-General of South Australia. The electorate was created in 1857, abolished in 1902 and reinstated in 1936... |
Liberal | Malcolm Buckby Malcolm Buckby Malcolm Robert Buckby is a former politician who lost his seat in the electoral district of Light in the 2006 SA election. He is a former research economist and farmer first elected in 1993 replacing Bruce Eastick.... |
2.3 | 4.4 | 2.1 | Tony Piccolo Tony Piccolo Tony Piccolo is an Australian politician, currently the Labor member for the electoral district of Light. He managed to win this seat in the 2006 state election with 52.1% on two party preference, a swing of 4.9% against the incumbent Liberal member, Malcolm Buckby... |
Labor | ||
| Mawson Electoral district of Mawson The Electoral district of Mawson is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the outer southern suburbs of Woodcroft, Hackham, Hackham West, Huntfield Heights and Noarlunga Downs, as well as the regional shopping centre at Noarlunga as well as the southern wine region... |
Liberal | Robert Brokenshire Robert Brokenshire Robert "Rob" Lawrence Brokenshire is a South Australian dairy farmer and Member of the 48th, 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd and current South Australian Parliament. Formerly a real estate broker, Brokenshire was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1993 and... |
3.6 | 5.8 | 2.2 | Leon Bignell Leon Bignell Leon William Kennedy Bignell , Australian politician, is the member for Mawson for the Australian Labor Party. He finished ahead of incumbent Liberal member Robert Brokenshire by 3.9% on first preference and 2.2% of two party preferred in the 2006 state election, delivering the seat to Labor for... |
Labor | ||
| Morialta Electoral district of Morialta Morialta is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Morialta is derived from a Kaurna Aboriginal word "mariyatala", with "mari" meaning east and "yertala" meaning water... |
Liberal | Joan Hall Joan Hall Joan Lynette Hall is a former member of the South Australian House of Assembly, serving in the electoral district of Coles from 1993 to 2002 and the renamed electoral district of Morialta from 2002 to 2006.... |
3.3 | 11.2 | 7.9 | Lindsay Simmons Lindsay Simmons Lindsay Anne Simmons is a former Australian politician, representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Morialta for the Australian Labor Party from her election in 2006 until the 2010 election.-Early life:... |
Labor | ||
| Newland Electoral district of Newland Newland is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after pioneer Simpson Newland, a prominent figure in nineteenth-century South Australia... |
Liberal | Dorothy Kotz Dorothy Kotz Dorothy Christine Kotz is a former Australian politician who had been the sitting Liberal member for the electoral district of Newland of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1989 until her retirement in 2006.... |
5.5 | 12.3 | 6.8 | Tom Kenyon Tom Kenyon Thomas Richard "Tom" Kenyon is an Australian politician. He is the Australian Labor Party member for the electoral district of Newland in the South Australian House of Assembly, having won the seat at the 2006 state election and returned at the 2010 state election.Kenyon was appointed as Minister... |
Labor | ||
- Members in italics did not contest their seat at this election.
- *Hammond's second margin figure is Liberal vs. Labor.
Post-election pendulum
The following pendulum is known as the Mackerras PendulumMackerras Pendulum
The Mackerras Pendulum was devised by the Australian psephologist Malcolm Mackerras as a way of predicting the outcome of an election contested between two major parties in a Westminster style lower house legislature such as the Australian House of Representatives, which is composed of...
after its inventor, the psephologist
Psephology
Psephology is that branch of political science which deals with the study and scientific analysis of elections. Psephology uses historical precinct voting data, public opinion polls, campaign finance information and similar statistical data. The term was coined in the United Kingdom in 1952 by...
Malcolm Mackerras
Malcolm Mackerras
Malcolm Hugh Mackerras AO is an Australian psephologist and commentator and lecturer on Australian and American politics.-Education and works:...
. The pendulum works by lining up all of the seats held in the House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
according to the percentage point
Percentage point
Percentage points are the unit for the arithmetic difference of two percentages.Consider the following hypothetical example: in 1980, 40 percent of the population smoked, and in 1990 only 30 percent smoked...
margin they are held by on a two party preferred basis. This is also known as the swing
Swing (Australian politics)
The term swing is used in Australia in a different sense from the one employed in the UK. For the Australian House of Representatives and the lower houses of the parliaments of all the Australian states and territories except Tasmania and the ACT), Australia employs preferential voting in...
required for the seat to change hands. Given a uniform swing to the opposition or government parties, the number of seats that change hands can be predicted. The seats are classified as follows: marginal 0–5.99 percent, fairly safe 6–10 percent, safe 10–20 percent, very safe > 20 percent.
| LABOR SEATS (32) | |||
| Marginal | |||
| Mitchell Electoral district of Mitchell (South Australia) Mitchell is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the state of South Australia. It was first created in 1969 and is named after philosopher Sir William Mitchell... |
Kris Hanna Kris Hanna Kris Hanna was an Australian politician, and member for Mitchell in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1997 until 2010. Originally elected as a Labor member, Hanna defected to the SA Greens in 2003 before becoming an independent in 2006.... |
IND | 0.6% v ALP |
| Light Electoral district of Light Light is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Colonel William Light who was the first Surveyor-General of South Australia. The electorate was created in 1857, abolished in 1902 and reinstated in 1936... |
Tony Piccolo Tony Piccolo Tony Piccolo is an Australian politician, currently the Labor member for the electoral district of Light. He managed to win this seat in the 2006 state election with 52.1% on two party preference, a swing of 4.9% against the incumbent Liberal member, Malcolm Buckby... |
ALP | 2.1% |
| Mawson Electoral district of Mawson The Electoral district of Mawson is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the outer southern suburbs of Woodcroft, Hackham, Hackham West, Huntfield Heights and Noarlunga Downs, as well as the regional shopping centre at Noarlunga as well as the southern wine region... |
Leon Bignell Leon Bignell Leon William Kennedy Bignell , Australian politician, is the member for Mawson for the Australian Labor Party. He finished ahead of incumbent Liberal member Robert Brokenshire by 3.9% on first preference and 2.2% of two party preferred in the 2006 state election, delivering the seat to Labor for... |
ALP | 2.2% |
| Norwood Electoral district of Norwood Norwood is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after its surrounding geographical area, Norwood, South Australia. Norwood is a 14.2 km² urban electorate in Adelaide's inner eastern suburbs... |
Vini Ciccarello Vini Ciccarello Vincenzina "Vini" Ciccarello , Australian politician, is a former Labor Party MP for the electoral district of Norwood. A mayor of Norwood for seven years, she was a well known identity in the eastern suburbs electorate.... |
ALP | 4.2% |
| Hartley Electoral district of Hartley Hartley is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after John Hartley, a public servant responsible for creating much of South Australia's public education system... |
Grace Portolesi Grace Portolesi Grace Portolesi is a South Australian politician and Labor member for the electoral district of Hartley, having won the seat at the 2006 state election... |
ALP | 4.6% |
| Fairly safe | |||
| Mount Gambier Electoral district of Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the southeast part of the state centered on the city and extinct volcano of Mount Gambier.... |
Rory McEwen Rory McEwen Rory McEwen , Australian politician, was the independent member for the seats of Gordon and Mount Gambier in the South Australian House of Assembly.... |
IND | 6.2% v LIB |
| Newland Electoral district of Newland Newland is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after pioneer Simpson Newland, a prominent figure in nineteenth-century South Australia... |
Tom Kenyon Tom Kenyon Thomas Richard "Tom" Kenyon is an Australian politician. He is the Australian Labor Party member for the electoral district of Newland in the South Australian House of Assembly, having won the seat at the 2006 state election and returned at the 2010 state election.Kenyon was appointed as Minister... |
ALP | 6.8% |
| Morialta Electoral district of Morialta Morialta is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Morialta is derived from a Kaurna Aboriginal word "mariyatala", with "mari" meaning east and "yertala" meaning water... |
Lindsay Simmons Lindsay Simmons Lindsay Anne Simmons is a former Australian politician, representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Morialta for the Australian Labor Party from her election in 2006 until the 2010 election.-Early life:... |
ALP | 7.9% |
| Bright Electoral district of Bright Bright is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers southern coastal suburbs of Adelaide including Hove, Brighton, Seacliff, Seacliff Park, Marino, Hallett Cove, Somerton Park, South Brighton, North Brighton and Kingston Park.... |
Chloe Fox Chloe Fox Chloë Catienne Fox is an Australian politician, and MP for the seat of Bright in the South Australian House of Assembly since the 2006 election, representing the Australian Labor Party... |
ALP | 9.4% |
| Safe | |||
| Adelaide Electoral district of Adelaide Adelaide is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly which includes Adelaide's central business district and suburbs in the inner north and inner north east... |
Jane Lomax-Smith Jane Lomax-Smith Jane Diane Lomax-Smith is a former Australian politician in the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Adelaide representing the Labor Party from 2002 to 2010, and Lord Mayor of Adelaide from 1997 to 2000... |
ALP | 10.2% |
| Florey Electoral district of Florey Florey is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after scientist Howard Florey, who was responsible for the development of penicillin... |
Frances Bedford Frances Bedford Frances Ellen Bedford , Australian politician, is a member of the South Australian House of Assembly. She represents the electoral district of Florey and is a member of the Australian Labor Party.... |
ALP | 12.1% |
| Giles Electoral district of Giles Giles is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. The electorate, named after explorer Ernest Giles, is the largest in South Australia, covering a 500,738.0km² swathe of outback South Australia... |
Lyn Breuer Lyn Breuer Lynette Ruth "Lyn" Breuer , Australian politician, represents the electoral district of Giles in the South Australian House of Assembly for the Australian Labor Party... |
ALP | 14.4% |
| Elder Electoral district of Elder Elder is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after nineteenth-century businessman and philanthropist Thomas Elder... |
Pat Conlon Patrick Conlon (politician) Patrick Frederick "Pat" Conlon is a South Australian politician. Since 1997 he has represented the Electoral district of Elder in the South Australian House of Assembly as a member of the Australian Labor Party. He is Minister for Transport, Minister for Infrastructure, and Minister for Energy,... |
ALP | 14.9% |
| Wright Electoral district of Wright Wright is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the 19th century South Australian architect Edmund Wright, it is a 21.2 km² urban electorate in Adelaide's outer north-eastern suburbs, taking in the suburb of Salisbury East and... |
Jennifer Rankine Jennifer Rankine Jennifer Mary Rankine is the sitting Labor member for the electoral district of Wright, first won in 1997. She is also the current Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for the Northern Suburbs, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, and Minister for Disability.The 2006 election saw... |
ALP | 15.3% |
| Ashford Electoral district of Ashford Ashford is an electorate for the South Australian Legislative Assembly which includes many of Adelaide's inner south western suburbs. The district forms part of three federal electorates: the Division of Hindmarsh, the Division of Boothby, and the Division of Adelaide.The electorate's name dervives... |
Stephanie Key Stephanie Key Stephanie Wendy Key served as South Australia's Minister for Social Justice, Minister for Employment, Training & Further Education, Minister for Youth, and Minister for the Status of Women in the first Rann Labor government... |
ALP | 16.1% |
| Colton Electoral district of Colton Colton is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a 14.2 km² urban electorate on Adelaide's western beaches, taking in the suburbs of Fulham, Fulham Gardens, Grange, Henley Beach, Henley Beach South, Kidman Park as well as parts of... |
Paul Caica Paul Caica Paul Caica BA JP MP, , Australian politician, is a member of the South Australian House of Assembly. He represents the electoral district of Colton and is a member of the Australian Labor Party. A member of the Rann government cabinet since 2006, he is the current Minister for Environment and... |
ALP | 16.3% |
| Fisher Electoral district of Fisher Fisher is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after James Fisher, a colonial politician and the first mayor of Adelaide... |
Bob Such Bob Such Robert Bruce "Bob" Such , Australian politician, is the member for the seat of Fisher in the South Australian House of Assembly, as an independent since 2000, and as member of the Liberal Party member from the 1989 election to 2000.... |
IND | 16.7% v ALP |
| Little Para Electoral district of Little Para Little Para is an electorate for the South Australian Legislative Assembly in the northern suburbs of the Adelaide metropolitan area in South Australia.... |
Lea Stevens Lea Stevens Lea Stevens is an Australian politician and was the sitting Labor party member for the electoral district of Little Para from the 1994 Elizabeth by-election to the 2010 state election.... |
ALP | 16.7% |
| Chaffey Electoral district of Chaffey Chaffey, created in 1936, is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the Riverland region of South Australia and is named after brothers George and William Chaffey who established the irrigation area along the Murray River from 1886... |
Karlene Maywald Karlene Maywald Karlene Ann Maywald is an Australian National Party politician who represented the seat of Chaffey in the South Australian House of Assembly from October 1997 until March 2010... |
NAT | 17.2% v LIB |
| Reynell Electoral district of Reynell Reynell is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after John Reynell, a leading force in the founding of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia and noted 19th century grape farmer and vineyard owner in the area... |
Gay Thompson Gay Thompson Mary Gabrielle Thompson has been the Labor member for the South Australian House of Assembly electoral district of Reynell since 1997.... |
ALP | 17.6% |
| West Torrens Electoral district of West Torrens West Torrens is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the City of West Torrens because of its location on the River Torrens, it is a 26.7 km² urban electorate on Adelaide's western suburbs... |
Tom Koutsantonis Tom Koutsantonis Anastasios "Tom" Koutsantonis is a South Australian politician and a member of the Australian Labor Party, representing the seat of West Torrens in the South Australian House of Assembly... |
ALP | 18.3% |
| Torrens Electoral district of Torrens Torrens is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Located along the River Torrens, and named after Robert Richard Torrens, a 19th century Premier of South Australia, and also the founder of the "Torrens title" land registration system. Torrens is... |
Robyn Geraghty Robyn Geraghty Robyn Kathryn Geraghty has been the sitting Labor member for the electoral district of Torrens in South Australia since 1994.Geraghty has been heavily involved in community issues, as well as introducing various acts in to parliament... |
ALP | 19.1% |
| Lee Electoral district of Lee Lee is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the women's suffrage campaigner Mary Lee, it is a 17.6 km² urban electorate on Adelaide's north-western beaches, taking in the suburbs of Birkenhead, Ethelton, Exeter, Glanville,... |
Michael Wright Michael Wright (Australian politician) Michael John Wright is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Lee since 1997.... |
ALP | 19.3% |
| Very safe | |||
| Kaurna Electoral district of Kaurna Kaurna is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the Kaurna aboriginal tribe which originally inhabited the Adelaide plains, it is a 67.2 km² semi-urban electorate on Adelaide's far-southern beaches, taking in the suburbs of... |
John Hill John Hill (Australian politician) John David Hill , Australian politician, is the current South Australian Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts in the Rann Government... |
ALP | 22.0% |
| Napier Electoral district of Napier Napier is an electorate created in 1976 for the South Australian Legislative Assembly in the northern suburbs of the Adelaide metropolitan area of South Australia.... |
Michael O'Brien Michael O'Brien (Australian politician) Michael O'Brien is the Labor member for Napier in the South Australian House of Assembly. He was first elected in 2002, replacing Annette Hurley... |
ALP | 24.3% |
| Enfield Electoral district of Enfield Enfield is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the suburb of the same name, it is a 20 km² urban electorate in Adelaide's inner northern suburbs, taking in the suburbs of Angle Park, Broadview, Clearview, Enfield, Ferryden... |
John Rau John Rau John Robert Rau , Australian politician, is the current South Australian Deputy Premier and Attorney-General. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the House of Assembly seat of Enfield since 2002.-Legal career:... |
ALP | 24.5% |
| Cheltenham Electoral district of Cheltenham Cheltenham is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the suburb of the same name, it is a 17.3km² urban rectangular-shaped electorate in Adelaide's north-west, taking in the suburbs of Alberton, Albert Park, Athol Park, Cheltenham,... |
Jay Weatherill Jay Weatherill Jay Wilson Weatherill is an Australian politician and current Premier of South Australia. He has represented the electoral district of Cheltenham in the South Australian House of Assembly as a member of the Australian Labor Party since the 2002 election.-Early life:Born in the western suburbs of... |
ALP | 25.4% |
| Port Adelaide Electoral district of Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after Port Adelaide because of its geographical location, it is a 113.4 km² urban electorate on Adelaide's Lefevre Peninsula and stretches east to cove some of Adelaide's northern... |
Kevin Foley Kevin Foley Kevin Owen Foley , Australian politician, is the current Minister for Industry and Trade and Minister for Federal/State Relations in the Rann Labor government. He previously served as Treasurer of South Australia and Deputy Premier of South Australia from 2002 until his resignation in 2011... |
ALP | 25.7% |
| Playford Electoral district of Playford Playford is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the long serving South Australian premier Tom Playford, it is a 21.4 km² urban electorate in Adelaide's northern suburbs, taking in the suburb of Ingle Farm, Para Hills West,... |
Jack Snelling Jack Snelling John James "Jack" Snelling is an Australian politician who has been the sitting Labor member for the electoral district of Playford in the South Australian House of Assembly since the 1997 election.... |
ALP | 25.8% |
| Croydon | Michael Atkinson Michael Atkinson Michael John Atkinson , an Australian politician, was the South Australian Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Veterans' Affairs, and Minister for Multicultural Affairs in the Rann Labor Government. A day after the 2010 election, he stepped down as Attorney-General and resigned... |
ALP | 26.0% |
| Taylor Electoral district of Taylor Taylor is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. This district is named after Doris Irene Taylor MBE, a leading force in the founding of Meals on Wheels, and Australian Labor Party activist. Taylor is a 549.8 km² semi-urban electorate in... |
Trish White Trish White Patricia Lynne "Trish" White is a company director and former Australian politician, representing Taylor in the South Australian House of Assembly for the Australian Labor Party... |
ALP | 27.4% |
| Ramsay Electoral district of Ramsay Ramsay is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Alexander Ramsay , who was General Manager of the South Australian Housing Trust for 25 years and devoted to the improvement of South Australian life... |
Mike Rann Mike Rann Michael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election... |
ALP | 28.5% |
| LIBERAL SEATS (15) | |||
| Marginal | |||
| Stuart Electoral district of Stuart Stuart is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the northeast part of the state extending from just north of the Barossa Valley all the way to the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales borders, and extending west to include Port Augusta... |
Graham Gunn Graham Gunn Graham McDonald Gunn, AM , Australian politician, was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly. He represented the electoral district of Stuart and was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia... |
LIB | 0.6% |
| Unley Electoral district of Unley Unley is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the suburb of the same name, it is a 12.2 km² urban electorate in Adelaide's inner southern suburbs, taking in the suburbs of Eastwood, Frewville, Fullarton, Glenunga, Highgate, Hyde... |
David Pisoni David Pisoni David Gregory Pisoni is a South Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian House of Assembly since 2006, representing the electorate of Unley.... |
LIB | 1.1% |
| Heysen Electoral district of Heysen Heysen is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Sir Hans Heysen, a prominent South Australian landscape artist. It is a 616 km² electoral district stretching from residential suburbs in the east and southeast of Adelaide... |
Isobel Redmond Isobel Redmond Isobel Mary Redmond is the current parliamentary leader of the South Australian division of the Liberal Party of Australia and the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of South Australia since 2009. The Redmond Liberals won 18 of 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly at the 2010... |
LIB | 3.0% |
| Frome Electoral district of Frome Frome is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Edward Charles Frome, the third surveyor-general of South Australia. The electorate is based around the industrial city of Port Pirie and the agriculture areas of Clare and Gilbert... |
Rob Kerin Rob Kerin Robert Gerard Kerin was the Liberal Premier of South Australia from 22 October 2001 to 5 March 2002. He also served as Deputy Premier of South Australia to John Olsen from 7 July 1998 until he became premier upon Olsen's resignation.... |
LIB | 3.4% |
| Waite Electoral district of Waite Waite is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after Peter Waite, a 19th entrepreneur and philanthropist in the current area of the electorate, it is a 30.6km² urban electorate in Adelaide's inner south-eastern suburbs, taking in the... |
Martin Hamilton-Smith Martin Hamilton-Smith Martin Leslie James Hamilton-Smith is the member for the electoral district of Waite in the South Australian House of Assembly since 1997... |
LIB | 4.0% |
| Morphett Electoral district of Morphett Morphett is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the state of South Australia.Created in 1976 following an electoral redistribution, the seat of Morphett was named after Sir John Morphett who lived in the Morphettville area and was speaker of the enlarged Legislative Council in 1851... |
Duncan McFetridge Duncan McFetridge Duncan McFetridge is an Australian politician representing the seat of Morphett in the South Australian House of Assembly for the Liberal Party since the 2002 election. He was re-elected at the 2006 and 2010 elections.... |
LIB | 5.4% |
| Fairly safe | |||
| Schubert Electoral district of Schubert Schubert is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Max Schubert, the winemaker of Grange Hermitage... |
Ivan Venning Ivan Venning Ivan Howard Venning is an Australian politician and Liberal Party member of the South Australian House of Assembly since 1990.... |
LIB | 6.4% |
| Davenport Electoral district of Davenport Davenport is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after nineteenth-century pioneer and politician Sir Samuel Davenport. Davenport is a 37.4 km² electorate covering part of outer suburban Adelaide and the southern foothills of... |
Iain Evans Iain Evans Iain Frederick Evans is a South Australian Liberal Party politician. He studied at Heathfield High School and gained a Bachelor Degree for Building Technology from the SA Institute of Technology . Prior to entering politics he managed a family-owned building and retailing business... |
LIB | 6.4% |
| Finniss Electoral district of Finniss Finniss is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Boyle Finniss, the first Premier of South Australia... |
Michael Pengilly Michael Pengilly Michael Redding Pengilly is an Australian politician who took over from retiring sitting member and former Premier Dean Brown for the safe Liberal seat of Finniss at the 2006 election.... |
LIB | 6.5% |
| Goyder Electoral district of Goyder Goyder is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a 10,406.4 km² rural electorate based around the Yorke Peninsula and taking in the towns of Ardrossan, Bute, Corny Point, Edithburgh, Maitland, Minlaton, Moonta, Owen, Port Wakefield,... |
Steven Griffiths Steven Griffiths Steven Paul Griffiths is a former parliamentary deputy leader of the South Australian division of the Liberal Party of Australia and the deputy Leader of the Opposition in South Australia since 2009, and member for the electoral district of Goyder in the House of Assembly since 2006.Griffiths was... |
LIB | 9.1% |
| Kavel Electoral district of Kavel Kavel, created in 1969, is an electorate for the South Australian Legislative Assembly in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia.Kavel is named after Lutheran pastor August Kavel who migrated to South Australia from Germany in 1838 with approximately 250 people seeking freedom from religious... |
Mark Goldsworthy Mark Goldsworthy Roger Mark Goldsworthy is an Australian politician who has been the sitting Liberal member for the electoral district of Kavel since 2002.... |
LIB | 9.4% |
| Safe | |||
| Flinders Electoral district of Flinders Flinders is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after explorer Matthew Flinders, who was responsible for charting most of the state's coastline. It is a 55,260.6 km² coastal rural electorate encompassing the Eyre Peninsula and... |
Liz Penfold Liz Penfold Elizabeth Meryl "Liz" Penfold was an Australian politician who represented the seat of Flinders in the South Australian House of Assembly for the Liberal Party from 1993 to 2010.... |
LIB | 10.1% v NAT |
| Hammond Electoral district of Hammond Hammond is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Ruby Hammond, the first indigenous woman to stand for the South Australian parliament... |
Adrian Pederick Adrian Pederick Adrian Stephen Pederick is an Australian politician who won the safe Liberal seat of Hammond for the Liberal party, re-claiming it back from Liberal-turned-independent Peter Lewis who left to contest a seat in the Upper House.... |
LIB | 12.0% |
| Bragg Electoral district of Bragg Bragg is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. The seat of Bragg is named after the eminent physicists Bragg – William Henry and his son, William Lawrence. The electorate is largely urban and encompasses a significant portion of the City of... |
Vickie Chapman Vickie Chapman Vickie Ann Chapman is an Australian politician, representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Bragg for the Liberal Party since 2002. She was Deputy Leader of the South Australian Opposition from 30 March 2006 until 4 July 2009.-Early life:Chapman was born in Kangaroo Island... |
LIB | 12.8% |
| Very safe | |||
| MacKillop Electoral district of MacKillop MacKillop is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named in 1991 after Mary MacKillop , who served the local area, it is a 24,358.3 km² rural electorate in the south-east of the state, stretching from the mouth of the Murray River... |
Mitch Williams Mitch Williams (Australian politician) Michael Richard "Mitch" Williams is a South Australian Liberal politician and farmer. He is currently the deputy opposition leader in the South Australian parliament. He resigned from the Liberal Party and was elected to the safe Liberal seat of MacKillop in the state's south east at the 1997... |
LIB | 22.2% |
Legislative Council
2006 Legislative Council South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly... Results |
||||||
| Enrolled Voters | 1,055,347 | |||||
| Votes Cast | 981,658 | Turnout | 93.0 | −1.1 | ||
| Informal votes | 50,789 | Informal % | 5.2 | −0.2 | ||
| Party | First preference | % | ∆ % | Seats Won (qta Droop Quota The Droop quota is the quota most commonly used in elections held under the Single Transferable Vote system. It is also sometimes used in elections held under the largest remainder method of party-list proportional representation . In an STV election the quota is the minimum number of votes a... ) |
Seats Held | |
| Australian Labor Party Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... |
340,632 | 36.6 | +3.7 | 4 (4.39) | 8 | |
| Liberal Party of Australia Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office... |
241,740 | 26.0 | −14.1 | 3 (3.12) | 8 | |
| No Pokies No Pokies No Pokies is an independent South Australian Legislative Council ticket that contested the 1997, 2002, and 2006 statewide legislative council elections... |
190,958 | 20.5 | +19.2 | 2 (2.46) | 2 | |
| Family First Party Family First Party The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council... |
46,328 | 5.0 | +1.0 | 1 (0.60) | 2 | |
| SA Greens | 39,852 | 4.3 | +1.5 | 1 (0.51) | 1 | |
| Australian Democrats Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader... |
16,412 | 1.8 | −5.5 | 0 | 1 | |
| One Nation Party One Nation Party One Nation is a far-right and nationalist political party in Australia. It gained 22% of the vote translating to 11 of 89 seats in Queensland's unicameral legislative assembly at the 1998 state election and made major inroads into the vote of the existing parties... |
7,559 | 0.8 | −1.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| HEMP Legalise Marijuana HEMP Legalise Marijuana HEMP in this context, is an acronym for Help End Marijuana Prohibition, a minority political party in South Australia. They have run in the upper house with noticeable results, through various South Australian legislative elections, their best in the 1997 state election.-External links:***... |
6,617 | 0.7 | −0.2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nationals SA | 6,237 | 0.7 | +0.2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Shooters Party Shooters Party The Shooters and Fishers Party, formerly known as the Shooters Party, is an Australian state political party. It is registered for state elections in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia... |
5,991 | 0.6 | +0.6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dignity for Disabled Dignity for Disabled Dignity for Disability or Dignity 4 Disability is a minority political party in the Australian state of South Australia... |
5,615 | 0.6 | +0.6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Peter Lewis Peter Lewis (politician) Ivan Peter Lewis is an Australian politician. Lewis was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1979 and 2006 in the electorates of Hammond, Ridley, Murray-Mallee and Mallee. Between 1979 and 2000 he was in the House as a Liberal member. From 2000 until 2006 he served as an... |
5,370 | 0.6 | +0.6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ban Live Animal Exports | 2,754 | 0.3 | +0.3 | 0 | 0 | |
| No Battery Hens Factory farming Factory farming is a term referring to the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a factory — a practice typical in industrial farming by agribusinesses. The main products of this industry are meat, milk and eggs for human consumption... |
2,334 | 0.3 | +0.3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Recreational Fishers Recreational fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing, is fishing for pleasure or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is fishing for profit, or subsistence fishing, which is fishing for survival.... |
2,118 | 0.2 | +0.2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Stormy Summers Reform Party | 2,106 | 0.2 | +0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mick Dzamko | 1,581 | 0.2 | +0.2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Other | 6,665 | 0.6 | ||||
| Voluntary Euthanasia Euthanasia Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering.... |
−1.2 | |||||
| SA First SA First SA First is a now-defunct South Australian political party formed in 1999 by dissident Labor Member of Parliament Terry Cameron. The Party contested the 2002 South Australian legislative election, but failed to have any candidates elected to the Parliament of South Australia.-Ideology and policy:SA... |
−1.0 | |||||
| Grey Power Grey Power Grey Power, an Australian political party lobby group, first registered in 1983. At the federal elections of 1984 and 1987 it ran candidates, but on both occasions these candidates did poorly... |
−0.9 | |||||
| Total | 930,869 | 11 | 22 | |||
In the South Australian Legislative Council
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
, Labor won 4 seats, the Liberals won 3 seats, both No Pokies
No Pokies
No Pokies is an independent South Australian Legislative Council ticket that contested the 1997, 2002, and 2006 statewide legislative council elections...
member Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
and his running mate Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington is an Australian politician. She was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2006 South Australian election as Nick Xenophon's running mate on his independent No Pokies ticket...
were elected and Family First
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
and the Greens
Greens South Australia
Greens South Australia is a Green Party located in South Australia, a member of the federation of the Australian Greens party.The party has four members currently elected to parliament, Mark Parnell and Tammy Franks in the South Australian Legislative Council and Sarah Hanson-Young and Penny Wright...
won a seat each. Almost 40 percent of voters deserted the major parties for Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
and the minor parties; this percentage had been steadily increasing over time.
Labor received a 3.7 percent swing, electing four councillors as in the previous election. Carmel Zollo
Carmel Zollo
Carmelina "Carmel" Zollo is an Australian politician, and an Australian Labor Party member of the South Australian Legislative Council since 1997. She was re-elected for a second term in the 2006 election....
, Bob Sneath
Bob Sneath
Robert Kenneth "Bob" Sneath is an Australian politician, and an Australian Labor Party member of the South Australian Legislative Council since 2002.Sneath originally worked as a shearer and an organiser with the AWU...
, Russell Wortley
Russell Wortley
Russell Paul Wortley, Australian politician, has served as a Labor MLC in the South Australian Legislative Council since the 2006 state election. He will be up for re-election at the 2014 state election....
and Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (politician)
Ian Keith Hunter is an Australian politician, representing the Australian Labor Party in the South Australian Legislative Council since the 2006 state election...
were all elected, with 4.39 quotas Bob Sneath
Bob Sneath
Robert Kenneth "Bob" Sneath is an Australian politician, and an Australian Labor Party member of the South Australian Legislative Council since 2002.Sneath originally worked as a shearer and an organiser with the AWU...
was elected president of the Legislative Council
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly...
.
On the other hand, the Liberal vote collapsed with a 14.1 percent swing against the Liberal Party. Having received five councillors in 2002, at this election the Liberal Party had just three councillors elected. Rob Lucas
Rob Lucas
Robert Ivan "Rob" Lucas is an Australian politician and a Liberal Party of Australia Member of the Opposition in the South Australian Legislative Council, and was re-elected in the 2006 election....
, John Dawkins
John Dawkins (South Australian politician)
John Samuel Letts Dawkins is an Australian politician and the Liberal Party of Australia Opposition Whip in the South Australian Legislative Council, and was re-elected for a second eight-year term in the 2006 election....
and Michelle Lensink
Michelle Lensink
Jacqueline Michelle Ann Lensink is an Australian politician and, since 26 June 2003, a Liberal Party of Australia member in the South Australian Legislative Council.- Education :...
were elected on 3.12 quotas.
Before the election, No Pokies
No Pokies
No Pokies is an independent South Australian Legislative Council ticket that contested the 1997, 2002, and 2006 statewide legislative council elections...
member Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
was popular with the media and in opinion polls, but he faced a tough campaign as a result of both major parties preferencing in favour of other independents and the minor parties. No Pokies received 20.5 percent of the vote, yielding 2.46 quotas and thus seats for both Xenophon and his running mate Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington is an Australian politician. She was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2006 South Australian election as Nick Xenophon's running mate on his independent No Pokies ticket...
. Having been elected at the 1997 election with 2.9 percent of the vote and other independent candidates at the 2002 election on 1.3 percent of the vote (Xenophon being a sitting member at that election), the No Pokies ticket received a swing of 19.2 percent.
The Family First Party
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
's first member, Andrew Evans MLC, was elected in 2002. Family First won 5 percent of vote with only a small swing of 0.98 percent, allowing candidate Dennis Hood
Dennis Hood
Dennis Garry Edward Hood is an Australian politician. He is a member of the South Australian Legislative Council, and the South Australian leader of the Family First Party.-Early life and career:...
to be elected on preferences.
The SA Greens won 4.3 percent of the upper house vote meaning a swing of 1.5 percent, narrowly securing Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell is an Australian politician and the first SA Greens representative in the South Australian Legislative Council, having won a seat in the 2006 state election. His term will expire in March 2014. Since his election, the Greens position in state political opinion polls has approximately...
for the last upper house seat on preferences. This is the first time The Greens have won a seat in South Australia. Having secured second spot on the ticket at this election, Sarah Hanson-Young
Sarah Hanson-Young
Sarah Coral Hanson-Young is an Australian politician. She has been a Greens member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of South Australia. she is the youngest person ever elected to the Australian Senate....
was successful in gaining the first spot on the ticket at the 2007 federal election, which saw the Greens secure their first federal upper house seat in South Australia.
The Australian Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
fell to just one seat in the Legislative Council held by Sandra Kanck
Sandra Kanck
Sandra Myrtho Kanck is a South Australian politician. She was an Australian Democrats member of the South Australian Legislative Council 1993-2009, and at the time of the announcement of her resignation in November 2008, her party's sole remaining member of any Australian parliament...
, after Kate Reynolds
Kate Reynolds
Kathryn Joy "Kate" Reynolds was an Australian politician. She was an Australian Democrats member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 2003 to 2006....
was defeated in her bid for re-election after being appointed in 2003. The Democrats gained only 1.8 percent after a 5.5 percent swing against them. Kanck has since announced that she would not recontest her seat at the next election, placing serious clouds over the future of the party in the state.
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party
One Nation Party
One Nation is a far-right and nationalist political party in Australia. It gained 22% of the vote translating to 11 of 89 seats in Queensland's unicameral legislative assembly at the 1998 state election and made major inroads into the vote of the existing parties...
gained 0.8 percent of the upper house vote and won none of the six lower house seats they contested. Their highest vote was 4.1 percent in the district of Hammond
Electoral district of Hammond
Hammond is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Ruby Hammond, the first indigenous woman to stand for the South Australian parliament...
, followed by 2.7 percent in Goyder
Electoral district of Goyder
Goyder is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a 10,406.4 km² rural electorate based around the Yorke Peninsula and taking in the towns of Ardrossan, Bute, Corny Point, Edithburgh, Maitland, Minlaton, Moonta, Owen, Port Wakefield,...
, and the other four hovering around 1 percent.
Dignity for Disabled
Dignity for Disabled
Dignity for Disability or Dignity 4 Disability is a minority political party in the Australian state of South Australia...
ran for the first time and won 0.6 percent of the upper house vote; they won none of the 10 lower house seats they contested. Their best results were in Wright
Electoral district of Wright
Wright is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the 19th century South Australian architect Edmund Wright, it is a 21.2 km² urban electorate in Adelaide's outer north-eastern suburbs, taking in the suburb of Salisbury East and...
and Bright
Electoral district of Bright
Bright is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers southern coastal suburbs of Adelaide including Hove, Brighton, Seacliff, Seacliff Park, Marino, Hallett Cove, Somerton Park, South Brighton, North Brighton and Kingston Park....
, with 2.4 percent in each (506 and 492 votes respectively).
Labor-turned-independent Terry Cameron
Terry Cameron
Terry Gordon Cameron is a former South Australian politician.Cameron entered the South Australian Legislative Council in 1994 to fill an Australian Labor Party vacancy, and then was re-elected as a Labor candidate in 1997. However he resigned from the party in order to support the Olsen Liberal...
and Liberal-turned-independent Peter Lewis
Peter Lewis (politician)
Ivan Peter Lewis is an Australian politician. Lewis was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly between 1979 and 2006 in the electorates of Hammond, Ridley, Murray-Mallee and Mallee. Between 1979 and 2000 he was in the House as a Liberal member. From 2000 until 2006 he served as an...
both failed in their bids for re-election.
Aftermath
After the election, Rob Kerin vacated the position of opposition leader. The party selected conservative Iain EvansIain Evans
Iain Frederick Evans is a South Australian Liberal Party politician. He studied at Heathfield High School and gained a Bachelor Degree for Building Technology from the SA Institute of Technology . Prior to entering politics he managed a family-owned building and retailing business...
(son of former politician Stan Evans
Stan Evans
Stanley George "Stan" Evans is a former South Australian Liberal politician.He held the seat of Onkaparinga from 1968 to 1970, then Fisher from 1970 to 1985....
) for the role, with moderate Vickie Chapman
Vickie Chapman
Vickie Ann Chapman is an Australian politician, representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Bragg for the Liberal Party since 2002. She was Deputy Leader of the South Australian Opposition from 30 March 2006 until 4 July 2009.-Early life:Chapman was born in Kangaroo Island...
(daughter of former politician Ted Chapman
Ted Chapman (politician)
William Edwin Chapman is a former Liberal member of the Parliament of South Australia and Minister.Chapman represented the district of Alexandra in the South Australian House of Assembly between 1973 and 1992...
) as deputy leader. The only other contestant had been Isobel Redmond
Isobel Redmond
Isobel Mary Redmond is the current parliamentary leader of the South Australian division of the Liberal Party of Australia and the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of South Australia since 2009. The Redmond Liberals won 18 of 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly at the 2010...
, who ran because she was concerned by some speculation that the Evans deal may have been stitched up by federal Liberal counterparts Christopher Pyne
Christopher Pyne
Christopher Maurice Pyne, MP , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since 13 March 1993, representing the Division of Sturt, South Australia.-Early years:...
and Nick Minchin
Nick Minchin
Nicholas Hugh "Nick" Minchin is a former Australian politician, serving as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing South Australia from July 1993 to June 2011, and a former cabinet minister in the Howard Government....
. Preferred premier ratings in July 2006 showed Rann on 71 percent with Evans on 15 percent. Only 27 percent of Liberal Party supporters saw Evans as the preferred premier. Continuing low support for the new Liberal leadership saw Martin Hamilton-Smith
Martin Hamilton-Smith
Martin Leslie James Hamilton-Smith is the member for the electoral district of Waite in the South Australian House of Assembly since 1997...
replace Evans in April 2007, however this move saw Liberal support decline further to a three-year low according to an Advertiser poll conducted a month after the leadership change. Over half of polling respondents were unable to name the leader of the Liberal Party. This contradicted Newspoll
Newspoll
Newspoll Market Research is an Australian company providing opinion polling and other market research services. Its chief executive is Martin O'Shannessy.Newspoll's surveys of voter opinion are published in The Australian....
s quarterly polling indicating the Rann Labor government slipping to a two-party preferred figure of 57 percent down four percent, with a preferred premier rating of 52 percent down 14 percent for Rann and a first-time rating of 21 percent for Martin Hamilton-Smith
Martin Hamilton-Smith
Martin Leslie James Hamilton-Smith is the member for the electoral district of Waite in the South Australian House of Assembly since 1997...
. Poll results also show Rann's satisfaction rating was below 60 percent for the first time since coming to office at 58 percent, with Hamilton-Smith receiving a 33 percent satisfaction rate.
Previously unknown quantity Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington is an Australian politician. She was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2006 South Australian election as Nick Xenophon's running mate on his independent No Pokies ticket...
, elected on the back of Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
's No Pokies
No Pokies
No Pokies is an independent South Australian Legislative Council ticket that contested the 1997, 2002, and 2006 statewide legislative council elections...
popularity, has proposed mainly conservative social policies such as raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21, zero tolerance of illicit drugs, mandatory twice-annual drug tests of every school student over the age of 14 regardless of whether parents give their consent, and making the sale of "drug-taking equipment" illegal. However, she remains undecided on voluntary euthanasia, calling it "a personal struggle".
Setting a precedent, Sandra Kanck
Sandra Kanck
Sandra Myrtho Kanck is a South Australian politician. She was an Australian Democrats member of the South Australian Legislative Council 1993-2009, and at the time of the announcement of her resignation in November 2008, her party's sole remaining member of any Australian parliament...
's pro-euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
speech which contained suicide methods was censored from the internet version of Hansard
Hansard
Hansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.-Origins:...
in August 2006 as a result of an upper house motion, with Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
, Family First
Family First Party
The Family First Party is a socially conservative minor political party in Australia. It has two members in the South Australian Legislative Council...
, Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
and Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington is an Australian politician. She was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2006 South Australian election as Nick Xenophon's running mate on his independent No Pokies ticket...
voting for, and the Liberals
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
and SA Greens member Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell
Mark Parnell is an Australian politician and the first SA Greens representative in the South Australian Legislative Council, having won a seat in the 2006 state election. His term will expire in March 2014. Since his election, the Greens position in state political opinion polls has approximately...
voting against. Despite this, the speech was published on a non-Australian website.
The state's budget was released on 21 September 2006. It included 1,600 public service job axings despite an election pledge of only 400, however none of the redundancies will be forced. It also included increases in some fees and charges such as victims of crime levies and Technical and Further Education
TAFE South Australia
TAFE South Australia provides vocational education and training in South Australia. The acronym TAFE stands for Technical and Further Education and is used and recognised nationally throughout Australia....
(TAFE) charges. There were increases in funding for health, schools, police and prisons, and the Department of Public Prosecutions. The 2007–2008 budget released on 13 June 2007 saw additional spending on Transport, Energy and Infrastructure, Health, Families and Communities, and Justice portfolios such as transport initiatives including revitalisation of the rail network, commencement of the $1.7 billion Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Hospital to replace the Royal Adelaide Hospital
Royal Adelaide Hospital
The Royal Adelaide Hospital is Adelaide's largest hospital, with 680 beds. Founded in 1840, the Royal Adelaide provides tertiary health care services for South Australia and provides secondary care clinical services to residents of Adelaide's city centre and inner suburbs.The hospital is situated...
, funding for mental health reform including the delivery of health services, and funding for new commitments to law and order policies.
No Pokies
No Pokies
No Pokies is an independent South Australian Legislative Council ticket that contested the 1997, 2002, and 2006 statewide legislative council elections...
MP Nick Xenophon
Nick Xenophon
Nicholas "Nick" Xenophon is a South Australian barrister, anti-gambling campaigner and politician. He attended Prince Alfred College, and studied law at the University of Adelaide, attaining his Bachelor of Laws in 1981. Xenophon established and became principal of his own law firm, Xenophon & Co....
resigned from parliament in early October 2007 in a successful attempt to win a seat in the Australian Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
at the 2007 federal election, which according to the South Australian result, he retained 72 percent of his 2006 vote, on 14.78 percent. His replacement is his third candidate on the 2006 ticket, former Valuer-General John Darley
John Darley (Australian politician)
John Andrew Darley , a former valuer-general, was appointed to the South Australian Legislative Council by a joint sitting of the Parliament of South Australia on 21 November 2007 to replace outgoing No Pokies MP Nick Xenophon. Darley was the third of three candidates on the independent No Pokies...
, and was appointed by a joint sitting on 21 November 2007, where second candidate and upper house MP Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington
Ann Bressington is an Australian politician. She was elected to the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2006 South Australian election as Nick Xenophon's running mate on his independent No Pokies ticket...
also took the opportunity to accuse Xenophon of lacking integrity and suitability for federal parliament.
A record-breaking 13-hour Parnell-Bressington filibuster
Parnell-Bressington filibuster
The Parnell-Bressington filibuster is a record-breaking filibuster that occurred in the South Australian upper house, the Legislative Council, on 8 May 2008, involving SA Greens MLC Mark Parnell and No Pokies MLC Ann Bressington....
occurred in May 2008 in crossbench opposition to WorkCover
WorkCoverSA
WorkCoverSA, commonly known in South Australia as WorkCover, is a government authority established by the Government of South Australia.It is has three functions:* Policing occupational health and safety legislation* Providing worker's compensation...
cuts being passed by the major parties due to the increasing underfunded liability in the workers' compensation
Workers' compensation
Workers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence...
scheme.
See also
- Candidates of the South Australian state election, 2006
- Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 2006-2010Members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 2006-2010This is a list of members of the South Australian House of Assembly from 2006 to 2010, as elected at the 2006 state election....
- Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 2006-2010Members of the South Australian Legislative Council, 2006-2010This is a list of members of the South Australian Legislative Council between 2006 and 2010, spanning the 50th and 51st Parliament of South Australia...
External links
- Official 2002 election results
- Official 2006 election results
- Parliament of South Australia
- State Electoral Office - 2006 election
- ABC election guide - South Australia 2006 election
- State and federal election results since 1890
- Poll Bludger federal and state election guides
- Upperhouse.info federal and state election guides