Hello all, and welcome to my page dedicated towards tracking the movements of South Australian politics going into the 2026 election. This page, unlike my political party tracker, is meant to generally track changes and moves made by all politicians and hopeful candidates going into the 2026 state election. I'll be updating the page as various things occur, and will be giving my thoughts as well on every change that appears. In addition, I'll provide links to news (both textual and video) regarding each event.
18/10/2025 - More Candidates and Mark Aldridge's new policy
This will be a relatively short update, but another one that I think is quite relevant. To start, Travis Fatchen has announced that he will be running for the seat of Mount Gambier as an Independent. Fatchen's an interesting candidate for a couple reasons. Firstly, he's a big community independent, being a life member of the Mt Gambier Patriots and member of a few other local organisations. Secondly, he was the office manager for Troy Bell since 2014. Now, that second is a major piece of information. He was likely in Bell's inner circle throughout his time as an MP, and so has probably collected much of his connections and network. So on that side, its a plus. However, on the other side, Bell was literally convicted for fraud and theft, and Fatchen was there the entire time. This isn't to say that Bell knew of the crimes, though of course I am sure people will speculate as such, but even if he didn't he's marked by that reputation. Being the long-term office manager to a known criminal MP is not a great mark on one's reputation, and you have to imagine his campaign will look to push his image as a community member above anything else.
There is a second candidate to discuss, this one being a Labor candidate. Just after Labor randomly dropped 5 candidates, a 6th even more randomly dropped the day after, with even less fanfare. This candidate is Jenn Roberts, and she'll be contesting the seat of Hartley. To note, this means she'll be facing off against Vincent Tarzia, the leader of the Liberal party, and yet she got essentially no fanfare. Not sure that's a good sign for Roberts' chances, but it is the reality. Now, there is scarcely little on her. From what I could find, she is an American expat from Texas, having worked in civil rights/personal lalw in the US. Nowadays, she is the practice manager of Lieschke & Weatherill. That is the law firm founded by Jay Weatherill, the Labor ex-Premier, and a firm which focuses on workers/unions. This is to say that, she likely has a strong legal foundation but I am very unaware about her political experience, besides her supposedly being on Labor's left.
Finally, there is has been a policy announcement by a minor party. That being, the United Voice Australia Party led by Mark Aldridge. Aldridge, on his Instagram and Facebook (but not on the party's social media accounts), stated that, if the UVAP won, they would "seek public ownership of Torrens Island, rebuilt [sic] it to a modern base load plant that can run on our own LPG, coal or any future greener fuel". I'm not going to go into the whole saga of the Torrens Island power stations, but suffice to say, they were meant to be retired this year fully with that being extended to 2028 at the latest. This policy fits Aldridge's anti-net-zero beliefs, but it is also quite weird in its own right. The power stations remaining are very much gas power plants, so to even suggest coal be used, in a state that doesn't mine coal, is either extremely ignorant or just downright insane. At the very least, it shows that the policy isn't the most well-thought-out. It is a policy however, and thats better than half of the minor parties contesting.
Article Links
11/10/2025 - Labor Announces 5 New Candidates
With the resignation of 4 Labor MHAs, it was only a matter of time before the party got around to replacing each of them. And today, in a drop thats only been reported by The Advertiser so far (and only in its physical copy so far), the party has done so, and given us 1 additional candidate, as if it were a treat. In any case, without further ado, I'll put the 5 names below and than go into each of them and give as much detail as I can about each.
* Meagan Spencer for Torrens (replacing Dana Wortley)
* Ella Shaw for Elizabeth (replacing Lee Odenwalder)
* David Wilkins for Lee (replacing Stephen Mullighan)
* Cheyne Rich for Port Adelaide (replacing Susan Close)
* James Rothe for Schubert
Alot to talk about here. Firstly, starting with Spencer, she is/was the Chief of Staff to Claire Scriven, and from what I can tell, has been politically active in the Labor party since atleast 2009. Rumour has it that Spencer was picked against the wishes of Dana Wortley, the MHA she's replacing, and that this was a captain's call by Premier Peter Malinauskas. While such rumours are hard to verify, I will say that this does flow with what I've been hearing more broadly, and so I wouldn't be shocked if they were true. Now, Spencer isn't the only disciple of Scriven's to be selected in this lot. James Rothe, the 20-yr old International Relations student picked for Schubert, is also the Business Support Officer for Scriven. If one wanted to read into this, it seems quite clear that Scriven is gaining alot of influence in SA's Labor party. And considering that she is speaking at the 'Seeking God for South Australia' event being run by the Australian Christian Lobby (she's the only Labor MP doing so), anyone who is for a progressive Labor may have good reason to be anxious.
Beyond Scriven's disciples, there is not too much to say about Rich and Wilkins, atleast. Rich is Malinauskas' Deputy Chief of Staff, and was his campaign director/caucus liaison before that. As such, it seems very clear that Rich's selection into Port Adelaide is a case of the Premier swapping out one ally for another, albeit one who likely owes much of his political 'life' to him. Wilkins, meanwhile, is the Chief of Staff to Chris Picton, and so his selection is probably to do with that.
That leaves Ella Shaw, who is the most interesting out of the lot. Shaw, previously Labor's campaign manager for SA/NT, was named by The Advertiser as one of SA Labor's future leaders alongside the likes of Olivia Savvas, MP for Newlands (and about 3 people I personally know aha). Prior to this though, she was notable for a whole different incident. Back in 2021, she and Ashley Jayasuriya were removed as Board of Directors from the Adelaide University Union (now YouX). The two, who were part of Unity (Labor Right) and Activate (Labor Left) respectively, had "refused to sign declarations swearing they did not leak in-camera information to On Dit" (in-camera information being information discussed at a session that cannot be discussed publicly) and so were removed from the Progress (Liberal) dominated board. Her selection then shows that the latest wave of Student Politics 'hacks' are now entering state politics, something that may be of interest to you all.
Beyond this, there have been some other rumours floating about. Namely, that Justin Hanson, one of Labor's MLCs, was nearly pushed out of the role and given the conciliation prize of being the candidate for Stuart, a seat currently held by Independent MP Geoff Brock with 67.1% of the 2CP. Once again, rumours like these aren't easy to verify, but having talked to Hanson in passing recently, the rumours would make sense with some of the comments he was making at the time. Either way, he apparently fought he was to the #4 spot on the Legislative Council ticket, and so barring a disaster of untold proportions, should retain his spot. All of this does point to the reality that Malinauskas and his allies are looking to turn SA Labor into a machine that can support Malinauskas' 'reign' for a long time to come.
News Articles
None yet, as this has seemingly been only reported in the physical edition of the Advertiser, which I'll put below for now.
08/10/2025 - More Labor MPs Resign/Will not recontest
Welp, another 2 Labor MPs have stated they will not recontest their seats in the 2026 election. Lee Odenwalder, Member for Elizabeth and the Government Whip, as well as Dana Wortley, Member for Torrens, have announced their intentions to retire from state politics at the election. Both have been MHA's for over 10 years, though neither has served in a major ministerial role. While their resignations may not be as impactful as the Susan Closes and Stephen Mullighans a few weeks prior (see the 19/09/25 update), they may make Labor voters begin to worry that a trend is beginning to appear. It is not a factional exdous, of the 4 politicians Close was the only one from Labor Left (though Wortley was part of those who had defected to the Right only a couple years prior), but it may say something that multiple long-term politicians are looking to retire at the election where Labor is looking to win the most. Of course, they all may just see this as an easy getting off point. If they were tired or done with politics, this election, where Labor pretty much cannot lose, is probably the best choice. However, them leaving at the same time, along with discussions I've had with Labor members and politicians recently, may suggest that many are beginning to grate under the politics of Peter Malinauskas. If this is true, Labor voters worries may have some merit.
As a side note, this also means we'll need to keep an eye out for who Labor pre-selects for Elizabeth and Torrens.
I wanted to use this update to also note the piece of news which is most annoying to me. That Turning Point Australia (the Australian branch of Turning Point USA) will be expanding its tentacles to South Australia in time for the state election. Most annoyingly to me, this extension will see Turning Point 'SA' running events on university campuses in the same vein as Charlie Kirk did. I do want to note that, on many campuses, the reception that they will recieve is likely to be less than friendly. In any case, Turning Point SA is being led by George-Alexander Mamalis, who, as the news has noted was an "ex-staffer to former environment minister and opposition leader David Speirs, One Nation MLC-turned-independent Sarah Game, and federal Liberal senator Alex Antic." As you can see, some of the best in SA's political scene. Mamalis is also the one running 'The Adelaide Set', a conservative media brand set in SA. He's used it more recently to promote Sarah Game and Henry Davis, so expect to see them (likely Davis) turning up to Adelaide university campuses under the guise of Turning Point. I do want to note that Mamalis went to both the March for Australia and the Charlie Kirk memorial here in Adelaide, something that the news doesn't seem to know or hasn't brought up. Either way, expect some terrible American-style conservative politics in the lead up to the state election.
News Articles
News Clips
7 News (Odenwalder/Wortley resigns)
10 News (Turning Point SA)
05/10/2025 - The SA Socialists join the Public Transport Race
In another sign that this election may be fought on public transport grounds, and that the Labor party is falling woefully behind in this area, the SA Socialists have announced their own public transport policy. This new policy includes making all Adelaide Metro services free, waiving all outstanding fines issued for travelling without a valid ticket, and transitioning Metro services to a 'turn up and go model'. The latter means that, the SA Socialists would see public transport frequencies increased alongside the establishment of a city rail loop, creating a system where passengers can just turn up to their public transport of choice and go to their destination. This, of course, would likely exceed the costings of the Greens public transport policy, itself being the most expensive of the ones put up so far, but would also significantly increase the quality of life for many Adelaideans. In addition, the turn up and go model does exist, atleast on paper, in places like Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, meaning that it would see Adelaide transitioning to a more equal level of public transport as those in the East.
Overall, while it is quite unlikely that the SA Socialists will do major numbers, this policy is almost certainly made to do two things. Firstly, push the other parties to do more. And secondly, show to South Australians there are alternatives on the left. Whether it is successful will be hard to tell. What is easy to tell though, is that, unless Labor does something soon, they are at risk of falling far behind on public transport.
02/10/2025 - An upgraded Maternity Ward for Murray Bridge's Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital
Bit of a small update today, but I think talking about independents across SA is just as worthwhile as the other updates focusing on the major parties. Independent candidate for Hammond (the seat which holds Murray Bridge), Airlie Keen, has put forward a petition calling for the winner of the 2026 state election to expand and refurbish the Murray Bridge Soldiers' Memorial Hospital's maternity ward. The petition, with signatures numbering in the hundreds, will likely see Keen bring this forward as a policy at the state election. The expansion is wanted by the hospital's advisory committee, and, according to Murray Bridge News, should be part of the SA Health master plan for the hospital. This, alongside the fact that Liberal MP for Hammond, Adrian Pederick, has also begun pushing for upgrades to the maternity ward, alongside other parts of the hospital, seemingly makes it clear that the maternity ward expansion will be a big part of Hammond's election in 2026, if not a unifying policy across the major candidates.
Now, as I mentioned, this is a small update, and it might seem weird that I'm focusing on such a small area. But, in my opinion, it is important to keep an eye on every part of SA's politics that I can, and update the tracker as things appear on all levels. If this tracker was just a 'major party' news story tracker, I may as well not be writing it. So, as we get closer to the election, expect more of these short updates as smaller parties and candidates write up policies, announce their intention to contend, and otherwise get into the electoral mix.
News Articles
Murray Bridge News | Murray Bridge maternity ward looms as election battleground
01/10/2025 - Are We Finally Having a Public Transport Election?
Hello public transport nerds, the 2026 SA state election might be for you (or it might not be). Hot off the heels of the SA Liberals promising 50c public transport fares, both the Labor party and the Greens have thrown their hats into the public transport ring. First was Labor, who have not gone with a promise, but instead made a change for before the election. Speaking a couple days ago, Premier Peter Malinauskas announced that, for the first time in seven years, a South Australian train timetable was being changed. More specifically, that the Gawler Line's timetable was being updated, and that travel between Gawler and Adelaide would now be 20 minutes shorter. Well, actually, that a person would save 20 minutes every week if they used the line to commute between Gawler and Adelaide. So actually, about 2 minutes in savings per trip, or less if you only use the train occasionally or don't get on/off at Gawler station. Seemingly, some of that creative accounting that the Liberals used for their 50c fares announcement is being used here. However, this is not all. The SA Labor government has announced a sorely needed extension to the Riverlea Park bus service, soon to be one of SA's fastest growing suburbs. I would like it to instead be a new train line, considering that Riverlea Park and the Dry Creek developments will both slam the finished Expressway at the same time, but atleast there's some thought being put in? In any case, Labor had one last tease up its sleeve, with Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis suggesting that they would do whatever they have to go to get "the tram over the bridge", making it seem like the SA Labor government was looking at extending Adelaide's trams to North Adelaide. However, I have it from reputable sources that Labor is aiming for no major transport projects this election, so it may just be hot air.
And that hot air may have been completely stolen by the Greens, as last night, they unveiled their new transport policy, a $759m upgrade to Adelaide's tram network. This includes extending the tram service to North Adelaide (with stops at Adelaide Oval, the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Archer Street and Piccadilly Cinema) and Norwood (with stops at the corner of Rundle Road and East Terrace, Rundle Street in Kent Town, Sydenham Street, Norwood Oval and Norwood Place). It also includes the potential to extend the tram line to Prospect as well. This, of course, would be a significant transformation of Adelaide's inner city public transport, bringing us, atleast somewhat, in line with other cities in the country. If we consider this, Labor's tease, and that Independent for Adelaide Keiran Snape also holds the policy of extending the tram line, it seems very likely that this election will be fought on public transport lines. And that, in the seat of Adelaide atleast, public transport might be the key issue.
As a complete tangent, I've also noticed that Family First has claimed that they have raised $450,000 nationally as early as June. If this is true, and their claim that they've had 5,500 donaters in SA, it seems that they may have a war purse to use in the state election.
News Articles:
News Clips
10 News
9 News
7 News
ABC
27/09/2025 - Is SA's Labor Party shifting to the right?
Well, this last week has been somewhat low on major political happenings (hence the lack of updates), but there has been a steady stream of news that I should acknowledge. Most notably, in my opinion, Labor's shift to the right, and the mild disasterclass of a week they've had.
If you've kept up with this tracker, you'll know that SA Labor is in a weird place, having had Susan Close and Stephen Mullighan both announce their retirements at the upcoming election. Well it seems their retirement has caused a shift to occur. This started earlier in the week, when Premier Peter Malinauskas went to the National Energy Forum. There, he gave a speech on the Narrabri gas expansion in New South Wales, supporting it and stating that "if there's gas out there, this is the time to get it out of the ground". He also labelled those who opposed the gas expansion, and gas production as "eco-purists who fill Instagram with creeds", suggesting that anyone who believes that the country can transition to net zero without natural gas is ignorant or an idiot. This is, glaringly, a big shift in rhetoric from a Premier whose campaign rested on pushing for net zero through hydrogen, and whose state is currently suffering from an algal bloom whose cause is, amongst other things, climate change.
Now, this one speech probably would have been water off a duck's back if it weren't for newly re-minted Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis. In an interview with The Australian, Koutsantonis talked about how he was worried about "that type of woke agenda", meaning the championing of politically 'correct' issues that 'drive young men to the right'. This is, once again, a shift in rhetoric from the party whose previously been happy to walk the line between progressivist and centrist. However, its not entirely new, as Malinauskas had said similar only a month ago (see the 21/08/2025 update). What is perhaps new is Koutanstonis essentially coming straight out and saying that "The Labor Party in South Australia is a lot more centrist than other political parties around the country... What you will see from me is an accurate reflection of the Premier’s will – a stable, no surprises government that is unashamedly pro-business and unashamedly labour. A more traditional Labor Party. The one your Dad would recognise." For anyone in South Australia still wondering if SA's Labor Party is still left-wing, the Treasurer has your answer. I also suggest that Koutsantonis read a history book, since unless he's talking about his dad, most younger Labor voters parent's would think of the Whitlam and Dunstan years, which, amongst many things, were eras of social change wrought by Labor party leaders. Also, both men are probably spinning in their graves hearing Koutsantonis call traditional Labor 'pro-business'.
In anycase, its genuinely not been a good week for anyone who still wants to pretend SA Labor government is 'progressive' and 'left-leaning'. Beyond this, there have been a few other things of note that have happened. The SA Young Liberals may, in leaked documents, seemingly decide to back mandated drug testing for state MPs and also push for Medicare to be scrapped. So y'know, its not like the Liberals are doing any better right now. Also, back to the Treasurer for a second, Koutsantonis has essentially said the Labor government won't be promising any ambitious spending at the next election (aka, don't expect to see any big transport/infrastructure/housing policies).
To end, I did also want to note that the Australian Citizens Party has applied for registration in SA, and after a quick check with the ECSA on this, it seems that their application can be finalised before the election as they just met the deadline. So, with that being the case, it seems we will have 18 parties contesting the state election, with the La Rouchists (who claim not to be LaRouchists) being one of them.
News Articles
22/09/2025 - 50c public transport, the promise that never fails
In decently big news over the weekend, the Liberal Party in SA has announced a new election policy, promising to bring 50c public transport fares to South Australia. This is part of their new transport policy plan, which would see $240m invested to boost commuter numbers. It also includes a promise to extend the Adelaide Metro bus services to Murray Bridge, and add additional on-demand bus services to regional centres such as Victor Harbor. The keynote promise of 50c public transport fares has made waves in the news, as it is the first good choice the SA Liberals have made in the last couple years.
Now, I do feel compelled to mention that the Liberals aren't even the first party in the state to present this policy. The Greens, back in April, did so as well, following pushes by the Adelaide City Council. So y'know, if anyone ever tells you the Greens ambitious policies do nothing, I guess point here? In any case, all of them were obviously piggybacking off Queensland Labor and Steven Miles, who took 50c fares into the 2024 Queensland Election as a key policy that they had actually already started. The policy was picked up by the Liberal party that won the election, and is part of why Miles' Labor managed to loss the election with some dignity, versus the landslide that was expected to happen to them.
With that in mind, Labor's response in SA may have you scratching your head. Peter Malinauskas has said that the Liberal's plan is missing $75 million dollars worth of funding (which sounds more like a poor excuse from him than anything else), and claims that it actually increases the cost for students. He gets this in a technicality, as the current 28 day pass for students technically equals 25 cents per ride, if you take public transport 2 times a day, 5 times a week. Mind you, I don't know any highschooler who uses the 28 day pass, as most just use their Metro card, and so its an incredibly weak technicality. At the same time, to be fair, Vincent Tarzia's claim that the change will save the average SA family up to $100 a month is also a technicality, only happening if all 4 people in the family (two adults and two students) use the bus every day, twice a day. This is not really a scenario I see playing out anywhere, so both sides are doing some funky business when it comes to whose saving what.
On a more serious note, I do think it is a mistake for Labor to have essentially rejected matching this promise, and it may be the first serious error Malinauskas has done since becoming opposition leader. Now, this is likely because he was already on unsteady feet due to the events of last week (read that chaos below), but it is a mistake nonetheless. While most voters with some historical memory will be hard-pressed to believe that the SA Liberals will actually go through with this promise, considering how they sold off public transport in the past, optics are important and this is something Malinuaskas knows well. Not matching what is a clearly popular promise, and a policy that has been shown to help increase the dreary prospects of interstate parties, may see the Liberals gain some ground. Now, it won't be enough, but unless Malinauskas and Labor can come together and provide their own policies with ambition within them, they may actually see their massive lead shrink somewhat. At the very least, they may not win all but two seats in the state as previous polls have suggested.
As a small aside, Pangallo is still facing backlash over his use of AI in regards to the algal bloom. And so, while Tarzia may have gotten some unexpected wins here, he's still under the pump over 'the watchdog's' position in the Liberals. One more mistake by Pangallo, and all of these small wins will be quickly trampled by the need to find a new candidate for Waite.
News Articles
ABC | SA opposition promises to slash public transport fares to 50 cents, if elected next year
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7 News
9 News
ABC
19/09/2025 - Peter Malinauskas has shuffled his cabinet, lets see whose gone where
So, coming off the retirement announcements of Susan Close and Stephen Mullighan, Peter Malinauskas has decided to undertake a full cabinet shuffle. While we are only 6 months out, and most of the new ministers won't get much time to enact much change, their new positions are telling. Should Malinauskas and Labor win the upcoming election, and that seems very likely, it is possible these positions now are a 'dry run' for a potential cabinet in 2026.
In any case, here are the changes;
- Tom Koutsantonis, MP for West Torrens → Treasurer
- Kyam Maher, Legislative Councillor → Deputy Premier
- Emily Bourke, Legislative Councillor → Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
- Blair Boyer, MP for Wright → Minister for Police
- Joe Szakacs, MP for Cheltenham → Minister for Industry, Innovation, and Science
- Rhiannon Pearce, MP for King → Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services & Minister for Recreation, Sport, and Racing
- Lucy Hood, MP for Adelaide → Minister for Climate, Environment, and Water
- Katrine Hildyard, MP for Reynell → Minister for Women & Minister for Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence
On top of this, Malinauskas has taken the portfolio of defence and space industries for himself. Now, the shuffle has occasioned criticism from the Liberals, specifically Josh Teague, whose taken issue at a new minister being given the environmental portfolio, and Koutsantonis becoming treasurer again (he was last it between 2014-2018 under Weatherill). While I can't comment much on Hood's appointment one way or another, I assume Koutsantonis was given the position so that he could spend even more time ragging on the Liberals and specifically Pangallo to the media. I could be wrong but it also seems to be everything he does these days, so?
Either way, this is likely the cabinet that'll lead SA into the next election, barring any major controversies. It does leave one question though, who will Labor pre-select to replace Close and Mullighan in their seats of Port Adelaide and Lee. I will keep an eye out for their replacements, which I hope will be soon.
News Articles
ABC | Tom Koutsantonis appointed SA Treasurer after Stephen Mullighan and Susan Close step down
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7 News
9 News
ABC
18/09/2025 - Susan Close and Stephen Mullighan retire and Sarah Game continues to hate abortions
The South Australian political landscape got hit with a large blow today as the Deputy Premier, Susan Close, and the Treasurer, Stephen Mullighan, have announced their retirements. More specifically, Peter Malianuaskas announced it for them out of nowhere, but tomato tomato. The two have given details on why they are retiring, Mullighan to spend more time with his young family, and Close as she's felt she has given everything she can to public life and wants more freedom. To be fair to them both, those are valid reasons, but they have left Malinauskas scrambling. In perhaps a rare bit of vulnerability for the premier, he stated that "was really disappointed by it. I like to think every now and then I can persuade people to do things. I was completely unable to persuade them to stick around despite my best efforts. So naturally, I’m really sad to be losing them both". If you read between the lines, it seems very clear that Malinauskas does not think this is the right move for them, his government, or the Labor party, and for a political operator whose normally on top of it all, it does seem to have him abit shaken.
One man whose trying to capitalise on this is Liberal leader Vincent Tarzia. He's come out swinging, claiming that the wheels have fallen off the Labor government, that Close and Mullighan are abandoning ship, and, not using a cliche this time, that the government used these announcements to hide bad ABS data about SA. The last one seems like an incredible reach, but this is the closest Tarzia's has come to a win in months, so he's taking it. He further claimed that the "veneer" had come off Malinauskas, which might be true but it doesn't mean he's gained one himself. In any case, it seems very likely that he'll ride this wave for a long while, if oonly to distract from Frank Pangallo running into every rake in the yard.
Now, we were apparently meant to get the full details of the cabinet reshuffle tomorrow, but half of it has either been leaked or announced today, so I figure I may as well say it here. Kyam Maher, attorney-general and leader of the government in the Legislative Council, has been sworn in as Deputy Premier. Alongside him, Member for Adelaide Lucy Hood and Member for King Rhiannon Pearce were made ministers in cabinet, while Member for Elder Nadia Clancy was made an assistant minister. Maher, chief of the labor left faction in the state, is an interesting choice considering Tom Koutsantonis' existence, but I suspect Koutsantonis doesn't want any additional responsibility and is just enjoying his role mocking Pangallo. Either way, if there's more to be said about it tomorrow, I will update this tracker.
While this may have taken over the news today, another news story has been bubbling away at the surface. As has been mentioned previously, Sarah Game has been pushing for a new anti-abortion bill, and has finally produced it in the Legislative Council. She also held an anti-abortion rally alongside Dr Joanna Howe on parliament steps, to show that this isn't just a PR move as she has been accused of. Interestingly, Keiran Snape, Independent candidate for Adelaide, was nearby criticising them and otherwise being against the rally. Based on his social media, it seems hes taken a pro-abortion stance against Game and Howe.
Either way, Game has stated that she believes the bill will pass through the Legislative Council, and if it should, that she will push for it to be voted on by the lower house before the election. Now, I'm not certain she either has the power or that the bill will actually pass, but atleast she's confident? In any case, she also had a go at the Liberal party, particularly Tarzia, over making this vote a conscience vote rather than a strict vote for it as per the party line. She went so far as to call the Liberal's "wussy" over it, showing you that even a Legislative Councillor isn't below using terms you'd hear on a year 3's playground. And, I don't know if she knows this, but Tarzia has never really been anti-abortion, so he er attempts at baiting him (I think) probably won't work. Either way, this will likely be a continuing story until the bill either passes or is killed once again.
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7 News
9 News
ABC
17/09/2025 - Frank Pangallo's AIGate
Two '-gate' controversies in just under a month, Frank must be gunning for a record. This time, ol' watchdog Frank Pangallo has gotten himself into hot water after using artificial intelligence to generate academic sources for his claims that SA's desalination plant has a part to play in the algal bloom crisis. He claims it was a mistake done when he was trying to fetch a list of academic articles to show to the Budget and Finance Committee, while Labor says it was a deliberate attempt to mislead parliament and people alike.
Starting up yesterday, it came to light that Pangallo had provided the Budget and Finance Committee with research showing that the desalination plant was likely a factor in the algal bloom. Now, this has been a theory (and conspiracy theory) that has remained popular throughout South Australia, even though there is no evidence for it. It's often used by people who want to deny climate change's role in the bloom, but others use it to show that the desalination plant, built under a Labor government and whose production was increased by Malinauskas in January 2025, is a mistake to have around, No matter Frank's motivation, he was attempting to peddle something less than scientifically accurate.
In any case, Labor had attempted to contact the authors, only to be told by one that they had never written the paper cited. This spiralled, with The Advertiser stating that only two from the list of five authors could be contacted at all. From here, Pangallo and Hood both claimed it was an administrative error, that something had gone wrong with the citations but that they did exist. Now, for anyone with a keen eye or whose in education, even from this point AI seemed like the likely culprit. Tom Koutsantonis, smelling blood in the water, began calling for Pangallo to apologise and resign from the parliamentary committee over this. And for many, that was where we thought it would end. Pangallo would deny any misconduct, suggest it was a simple mistake, and things would continue.
Today though, things changed. Confronted by reporters from the major networks at his office door, Pangallo has admitted to using AI, though he claims it was still simply a mistake. He stated that, he had already done the research on the papers, and just used AI to get a "list of authors or whatever", and was given the wrong information. Whether the true reason or not that this occurred, its very clear that Pangallo is in hot water. The Liberal Party, including Tarzia, have done their best to stick by him, but this may be a bridge to far. The dilemma comes now over whether it is worse to sack your 'star' candidate 6 months out from the big game, or keep them knowing that they are an absolute wrecking ball. Neither option does not seem exciting for a Liberal Party already on its knees as it enters the state election.
Koutsantonis, atleast, seems to believe there is only one option. He's stated that Tarzia needs to sanction Pangallo and remove him from the Committee, noting that "if any serious or professional researcher did this, they'd be sacked!". I guess time will tell whether AIGate will sink Pangallo, or if the watchdog can hold on once more.
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News Clips
7 News
14/09/2025 - The Liberal Bunch; or who the Liberals have pre-selected for the Legislative Council
Interesting news coming out today as we have learnt which candidates the Liberal party will be putting forward for the Legislative Council. To not bury the lede, the candidates are as follows;
- Ben Hood MLC
- Heidi Girolamo MLC
- Rowan Mumford
- Thea Hennessey
- Kanwaldeep/KD Singh
- Belinda Crawford-Marshall
These 6 will lead the statewide charge come campaign season, but you have to think that in the current state of the Liberal party's polling, even Hennessey, sitting at the normally 'comfortable' 4th spot, will be anxious about her chances. It should be noted that this pre-selection was not without its troubles. The Advertiser reported that Alex Antic, the far-right powerbroker of the Liberal party, had put up his own pre-selection ticket for the Legislative Council. This ticket included Hood at no.1, Hennessey 2nd, Playford Mayor Gleen Docherty 3rd, Crawford-Marshall 4th, and Girolamo (a sitting MLC) all the way down at 5th. His ticket was opposed by the 'Conservative ticket', which had Hood and Girolamo at the top, and then recommended voters preference Crawford-Marshall, Mumford, Hennessey, and Docherty in any order they prefer. As you can see, the Conservatives got the best of it in the end, with their top 2 picks going forward as well as their choice in Mumford. The Advertiser, interestingly, has described this as a spurning, but in my opinion it really is just showing a federal Senator that he can't run roughshod over a state party.
In any case, let's have a look at some of the candidates. Hood and Girolamo are obviously easy to find information on, being incumbent MLCs. Hood, the co-creator of children's book/TV character George the Farmer, has been an MLC since 2023, having been a fill-in for the vacancy caused by Stephen Wade's retirement. Hood's 2 years of sitting have been controversial, as he was the one to introduce the ban on late-term abortions which failed, and that was pushed by Dr Joanna Howe. It should also be noted that Hood, prior to becoming an MLC, failed to win the seat of Mt Gambier against convicted fraudster and thief Troy Bell in 2022. Girolamo was also appointed to the Legislative Council to fill a casual vacancy, caused by the resignation of David Ridgway. Previously a client manager for Deloitte for 12 years across 2 stints, and the treasurer of Kidsafe SA, both she and Hood stem from the right-wing faction of the SA Liberals.
Moving on from the sitting candidates, we get to Rowan Mumford. Mumford is abit more of a mystery to me, but I know his political timeline quite well. Mumford's two biggest claims to fame are being a former state party president, and the candidate for Kavel in the 2022 election, a result he lost by a landslide to Dan Cregan (seeing a 26.4% primary vote swing against him). It was also rumoured by InDaily that he and now-Sarah Game Fair Go for Australia Legislative Council candidate Henry Davis were part of the pre-selection battle for Mayo in the lead-up to the 2025 election. If he were, he also lost that pre-selection battle to Zane Basic. Either way, Mumford's record is not the shiniest of them all. Now, he is joined by Crawford-Marshall and Hennessey, whom I won't go into too much detail on as I've already covered them both extensively. If you're interested, check out the update on the 25th of August 2025. For a brief overview, Crawford-Marshall believes in chemtrails, and Hennessey believes that through the power of prayer she once cured lactose intolerance.
And that leaves us with KD Singh. The only 'moderate' Liberal pre-selected on the list, Singh is essentially in a horror spot, as the Liberal party will need to see significant gains for him to be elected (but without it being as impossible as 6th). Singh, who recently got featured in an article by The Australian (shudder), is the owner/leader of multiple businesses, including being the managing director of financial advisory firm Money Merchants Financial Service, and the owner/operator of Brice Hill Country Lodge, a tourism property in the Clare Valley. Singh also notes himself as a 'financial coach' on his resume, as well as a 'builder and developer', though provides no examples of what projects he has apparently led in 'sustainable building and community housing'. He also notes his extensive community leadership roles, including being a Governing Council Member of Adelaide High School. In any case, if this were a Liberal party not captured by the right, you'd almost expect Singh to be an ideal candidate and higher up on the list. The Australian essentially implies that, as he is looking to be the first Indian MLC in SA's history, he could be a salve to a party struggling with its image to Indian voters after Jacinta Price's messaging and the March for Australia. His being 5th, below Hennessey and Mumford, is telling of a party that is in factional disarray.
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08/09/2025 - Pop Quiz! Which Better Suits Salt Flats, 15,000 Houses or a Golf Course?
In a bizarre shift for South Australian Politics, the major parties have become embroiled in a debate on how best to use the Dry Creek salt flats. For a while now, Labor has touted its efforts to rezone the area for 15,000 houses, in an attempt to address Adelaide's housing crisis. This policy, divisive amongst South Australians, has become the target on a new feud between the Liberals and Labor. Two weeks back, newly minted Liberal Frank Pangallo was discussing the North Adelaide golf course redevelopment and LIV Golf, and while he did so, stated that "There’s a greenfield site at Dry Creek that the government could take over tomorrow and build one very quickly, in three years they can have it done".
Now, this statement pretty much flew under the radar for the last two weeks, with no one I know even thinking about it. However, I assume some Labor staffers turned back to it, as today Labor has come out in full force, lambasting the idea. Housing Minister Nick Champion went as far as to call it "a fantasy", ridiculing Pangallo for even bringing it up. Now, I want to bring this to your attention because it is emblematic of the current state of SA's two major parties. The Liberals, confused and at eachother's throats, continually stumble when attempting to make political points. Pangallo here was obviously trying to state that you could go anywhere for LIV Golf, so there needs to be more reason given to the public over the choice of North Adelaide (which isn't an unfair statement). However, he put his foot in his throat when he chose a major housing development, and gave Labor political ammunition while poorly explaining his point. Labor, for their part, did what they are undeniably good at, and have turned the statement into a 'political row' designed to make the Liberals seem ridiculous. Because what seems more insane than houses on salt flats? A golf course on salt flats.
Overall, I don't expect this to affect state politics much, but it really demonstrates the ongoing pattern here. The Liberals, even if they have good points, aren't able to articulate them, and Labor, a cohesive and united party, are simply running circles around them. This row is symptomatic of what we will likely see in spades come the proper election campaign.
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06/09/2025 - Sarah Game Enters SA's Ongoing Abortion Saga & Nicolle Flint Goes to War with Tony Pasin
Been a few days since we needed an update, but I've decided now is a good time to add one in. Ex-One Nation MLC and current leader of Sarah Game's Fair Go for Australia party, Sarah Game, has taken up the anti-abortion crusade less than a year after the debacle caused by Ben Hood's attempt. Standing alongside anti-abortion campaigner Dr Joanna Howe, whom we should all remember was banned from parts of SA's Parliament over her efforts to threaten and intimidate MPs (including ex-Liberal MLC Jing Lee), Game announced her introduction of a new bill which would place limits on abortions after 23 weeks. In summary, the bill seeks to remove the clause allowing abortion after that limit if the pregnancy would (with the approval of two doctors) lead to "significant risk" for the mother's mental/physical health, and instead only allow late-term abortions if it was to save a life or if the fetus risked significant 'abnormalities'.
Howe and Game have both labelled the bill as a sensible way to protect the rights of babies, however, as ex-Greens MLC Tammy Franks has noted, this is quite clearly a "conservative dogwhistle". Howe campaigns against abortion far beyond the scope of this bill, and so its hard to believe her attempts will stop here even if she is successful. It should also be noted that Hower helped draft both this and Hood's bill, and so despite her being banned in parts of Parliament, her influence is still strong. Furthermore, as Franks has also noted (thanks for stealing all my analysis from me), it is also a "bid for votes". In essence, Game is attempting to increase her and her party's notoriety in the state before the election occurs, using an issue that will get TV, Radio, and coffee shop talk to get her name out there. Mind you, this is failing as both The Advertiser and the ABC have only noted her as an ex-One Nation MLC turned Independent, not even bothering to mention her party in the introduction of their articles.
In any case, the bill, if voted on, will likely be one which does not follow party lines, as MLCs are provided the ability to 'vote with their conscience'. For anyone who needs reminding, the previous vote along the same lines saw Labor MLCs Clare Scriven and Tung Ngo, alongside newly minted Liberal Frank Pangallo vote for the bill, while SA Best's Connie Bonaros voted against it. The other votes fell as you may expect. It is likely that this bill will also not pass, as the number of MLCs voting against does not seem likely to change, but I will keep an eye on it over time.
Now, a few other things occurred over the last couple days that should be noted. Firstly, Alex Antic was off in Federal Parliament doing his best to imply conspiracy around the National Socialist Network. Antic, essentially the main powerbroker of the SA Liberals, stated that the NSN "seems like they're straight out of central casting". He'd go further, complaining about the media labelling the group as 'far-right' even though they have socialist in their name (I'm sure that Antic also believes North Korea is Democratic), before noting that they aren't the "face-tattooed overweight men like we’ve come to accept". I won't go too in-depth, as its obvious that Antic is being deliberately disingenuous while also comparing the NSN to biker gangs with connections to Nazis, but Australia's far-right have a history of being clean cut and 'professional' whenever they come together as a political group rather than something else. If I didn't know that Antic was purposefully being obtuse, I'd have to question his understanding of basic Australian right-wing political history (tbh I do question it anyways).
Speaking of Nazis, Mark Aldridge's saga with the March continues. He has continually distanced himself from the NSN who showed up in Adelaide, claiming that he did not want them there and had no power to stop them (despite them making it very clear that they both were going to be there for weeks and that they had a hand in leading the March), and has essentially been going through a significant amount of damage control. At the same time, him and Bec Freedom (who claims Annie Marlow was the real organiser) have been going at it on Instagram and Twitter over who actually organised the event. Its spectacularly entertaining to watch play out. All of this hasn't stopped Mark from claiming to be the organiser of a new March, titled "Australia Unites Against Government Corruption", which is apparently planned for September 13th 'nationwide' (at Rundle Park at 12pm in Adelaide). It seems that Mark has double-booked himself on this day, as he also plans to attend an anti-Nazi First Nations rally at Victoria Square (he does actually support Indigenous Sovereignty interestingly enough), and I imagine this fact will not go over well with the people who go to the AUAGC March. In any case, I cannot wait to watch how this one spectacularly crashes and burns.
BREAKING NEWS: As I was writing this, a whole new development occurred that I need to talk about. The Advertiser just broke that Nicolle Flint, ex-Liberal MP for Boothby, is planning on fighting Tony Pasin for pre-selection for the seat of Barker. Such a move is clear evidence of the party's ongoing factional struggles, but one also has to imagine it is a move of sheer desperation from Flint. Having failed at the 2025 Federal Election to regain her seat, going head-to-head with an opposing faction's most prominent powerbroker seems to be Flint testing whether she can regain some control of the party. If Flint tries and fails to be pre-selected against Pasin, I would not be shocked to see her leave the party entirely and either stand as an independent or build her own micro-party. Only time will tell though.
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02/09/2025 - No By-Election for Mount Gambier
A short update today, but one that is nonetheless quite pertinent. This is a follow-up on the Troy Bell/Mt Gambier saga thats played out over a couple updates, so be sure to check those out below if you haven't. In any case, it has been revealed today that Bell's resignation will not be leading to a by-election for the Electoral District of Mount Gambier. Speaker Leon Bignell noted that the cost of running a by-election, alongside the fact that anyone elected would only represent the district for 6-8 days in parliament prior to the actual state election, meant that running a by-election was impractical.
This has caused Liberal member for Barker, Tony Pasin, to go on what could be considered a tyrade against Premier Malinauskas (even though he is not the one who decides whether a by-election is held). I'll let you read it in the SE Voice, but its very clear that Pasin, and the Liberals, want to make this a fight. This is abundantly clear with the statement, "failure to heed this call is proof positive the Premier wants to govern for Adelaide whilst simultaneously offering the regions nothing but lip service."
In the terms of the upcoming state election, this leaves the political parties in a very interesting spot. With no elected representative for another 6 months, there is good room for pre-selected candidates to make a brand of themselves by simply being seen throughout the community. As such, it seems likely that both major parties, and perhaps even the Greens, will begin pushing their candidates, as a way to get them well-known before the election occurs. Only time will tell though.
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31/08/2025 - Mark Aldridge leads March for Australia in Adelaide
So, only one small update today, but worth noting nonetheless. The first, and most relevant, is that Mark Aldridge, leader of the United Australia Voice Party, has been confirmed as an organiser of Adelaide's 'March for Australia'. When asked about it by the ABC, Mark stated, "It's not anti-migration. The general consensus here is mass immigration, it's just not the right time. The way we're struggling with housing, the way we're struggling with hospital beds and everything else. Whilst there's not enough homes, not enough resources, I think we need to temper migration down and then have a national conversation as adults about the continuation of migration figures."
As anyone can tell you, these are not factual statements, and that Adelaide's very real health and housing crises are based on other systemic issues, not immigration. It should be noted that Adelaide's march descended into chaos as those within it seemingly rejected the arrival of the National Socialist Network, though its unknown whether Mark was aligned with their arrival/had invited them. What should be noted is that, throughout the March, multiple people could be seen wearing shirts with Aldridge's party logo on them. Seemingly than, Mark (who I've been told moonlights as a dodgy car salesmen on Facebook) utilised this event to essentially 'soft launch' his party. Considering how his party's site is devoid of information or policies, this is the first solid thing we can point to, beyond Mark's torrid past in far-right politics, that demonstrates where the party will lie on the political spectrum.
I should also note that a few other ex-political candidates showed up at the march. This includes Mark Neugebauer, Australian Federation Party candidate for Mayo in the 2022 Federal election, and Jacob Van Raalte, Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayo in that same election. If any more show up, I will be sure to alert you, though any larger politicians like Alex Antic, Sarah Game, or Carlos Quaremba all seem to have avoided the March.
Unfortunately, there is no links to provide to this, however, there are a few photos of Mark and his party's shirts.
28/08/2025 - Troy Bell, MP for Mt Gambier, resigns from Parliament
Ex-Liberal MP Troy Bell has resigned from state parliament today, after his appeals against his convictions for theft and fraud amounting to over $430,000 were quashed. Bell, who had been found guilty of 20 counts of theft and 5 counts of 'dishonestly dealing with documents', had remained an active MP after having been found guilty, having been awaiting the outcome of his appeal hearing. His resignation does not come as an exact shock, rather, it is logically impossible that he could continue in his role should his sentencing include jail time.
However, his resignation does put the state into a bit of a bind. With the 2026 state election only 7 months away, there is difficulty in knowing whether a by-election will occur to replace Bell. Premier Malinauskas, when asked, stated that such a decision will be made by Speaker Leon Bignell under the advice of the ECSA. He did note that the current calendar, close to the end of the parliamentary sitting year and containing school holidays which often do not include by-elections, did not leave much room for one to occur. In my opinion, it seems unlikely that a by-election will occur, as the candidate elected would only hold the role for a couple months at most before preparations for the election started. In any case, this does take Bell out of the running for the 2026 election, and leaves Mt Gambier very open for both the Labor and Liberal parties.
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27/08/2025 - Game On for Fair Go Candidates
Got some interesting updates for the trackers today (please ignore the absolute horror show of a title, its the best pun I could think of lmao). One is a proper update of candidates, and the other is technically a few months old but just came to my attention, so enjoy that.
The first, and the proper update, is that Sarah Game's Fair Go for Australia party (horrific party name) has announced two candidates for the state election. Coming off the back of former Liberal party veteran Henry Davis joining as their lead Legislative Council candidate, the party has announced that Angela Rojas will join him, while Jake Hall-Evans will run for the seat of Colton. Rojas is perhaps the lesser-known figure of the two politically, being the co-founder of the International Coalition4Children, a Christian Conservative group which promotes the 'child safety' and the 'parental voice' over governments and teachers having a say on a child's "morality, ethics and identity". Put plainly, she is obviously for opposing LGBT+ rights, as we can see by her attempts to undertake a petition around "classification and borrowing conditions for 'pornographic' children's books in libraries and school", which is very much a dogwhistle for books which discuss gender and sexuality.
Jake Hall-Evans, on the other hand, is likely a name politics hacks in SA have heard of. He was the Liberal candidate for Hindmarsh in the 2019 Federal Election and their candidate for Lee in the 2022 State election, losing both of those to Labor. He also ran in the 2025 election as an independent for Hindmarsh, receiving only 1.6% of the vote and beating only the Animal Justice Party and FUSION. Despite these setbacks, he was obviously trusted enough at one point by a not-yet-dead Liberal party to be their candidate, and so must have some political acumen. Hall-Evans claims that he joined 'Fair Go' as it focused on "real people" and "pragmatic outcomes", words we've all heard before in regards to parties such as One Nation, UAP, or Trumpet of Patriots. In any case, he is probably the most well-known name on the party's list right now, and that includes an MLC and a Councillor. Whether his name brand can help him win a seat he's never contested, for a new party that is a split off from One Nation, seems very unlikely.
We also learnt a couple of other things about 'Fair Go' today. These include some potential policies, which range from the mundane, such as "incentivising landlords to put solar panels and batteries on their homes", to the controversial, including "repealing the First Nations Voice to Parliament". Game also noted that the party would be focusing on "putting parents back in charge of how their kids are educated" an obvious dogwhistle that the party will look to demonise modern education around gender, sexuality, and likely history/society as well. Finally, it seems that the party's slogan is going to be 'Game On', which is unfortunately not horrible.
Moving on, we find ourselves at the 'retro update', which is about a candidate who stepped forward a few months ago but who slipped under my radar until today. This section is abit of a look at their candidacy, as I think it might be quite relevant for the election.
The aforementioned candidate is ex-Greens member Keiran Snape, an Adelaide City Councillor who left the Greens over being unable to run for them. Specifically, he was disallowed from running in their upper house campaign as he still worked for Tammy Franks, the ex-Greens MLC who left the party with some controversy. Snape, a Councillor for 4 years and the Deputy Mayor in 2024, is planning to run as an independent for Adelaide, He’ll be facing strong opposition from Labor’s ____, but with endorsements from Franks, as well Adelaide’s cult classic Rex “FOI Warrior” Patrick, he’s got backing that most other independents won’t have.
In addition, his platform is one which will likely find significant support across North Adelaide and Prospect. Notably, he has attacked the Festival Tower and LIV Golf plans (the favourite punching bags of those in the electoral division’s wealthier area), while also proposing plans to make the Adelaide parklands both state heritage listed and even go for a UNESCO World Heritage bid. Furthermore, he’s also promising a favourite policy of transport nerds across Adelaide, a tram extension across to North Adelaide. These policies, local and targeted to a specific demographic, will likely find a cult classic, and it is possible that Snape will find himself in the 2 candidate preferred race if the Liberals continue to implode. However, I am unsure that even the most targeted policies will be able to beat a surging Labor who holds the hearts and minds of many of the Adelaide Division’s non-northern residents.
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25/08/2025 - Frank Pangallo becomes the Lorax while the Liberal pre-selection potentials claim to be the cure for lactose intolerance
The last two days have been relatively slow in terms of news, however, there were a few things that went on for me to discuss here. From chainsaw-wielding politicians, to pre-selection potentials who believe they can use prayer to heal lactose intolerance, even a slow news period in SA is still a fun one.
Starting with Frank Pangallo, the newly minted Liberal has already gone on the attack, setting his eyes on a common target for many across the state, LIV Golf. A sporting event which has already gotten pushback due to its redevelopment plans, Pangallo has gone all in on the claim that LIV Golf's redevelopment will do irreparable damage to the Adelaide Parklands. Specifically, he has claimed that it will take down over 5400 trees from the 9000 across the current golf courses, something Pangallo says will be action "South Australians have not seen before".
Frank "I'm the Lorax and I speak for the trees" Pangallo
These claims have earned Pangallo the ire of Infrastructure and Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis, who often feels like Premier Peter Malinauskas' own attack dog these days. Koutsantonis (commonly referred to as Kouts) noted that the government did not yet have a number for how many trees would be removed, but claimed that the Liberals number was a lie. He'd go even further than that though, stating that "I’m prepared to go as far as to say that if this number is accurate, I’ll resign." In my opinion, Koutsantonis (SA's longest running MP at just under 28 years) is simply giving himself an easy out to retirement. If Pangallo's claim is true, he gets to retire quickly and easily. If not, he gets to laugh at Frank. Now, I may be joking, but funnier things have happened in SA.
Now, things only continue to get worse for Liberals as a 'scoop' by the Daily Mail UK of all places has shown that one of their pre-selection hopefuls might not be the most representative candidate. Thea Hennessy, a small business owner and campaign manager for Zane Basic (the Liberal's federal candidate for Mayo), aiming to be pre-selected for the Legislative Council, has been recorded claiming miracles that most South Australians probably won't identify with. Specifically, she claims to have conducted the practice known as 'lay hands' so well that she cured a girl of her lactose intolerance. Hennessy noted, "we prayed for precious Daisy, and that was it. All dairy intolerance gone. She was really sick before then. God healed her completely", perhaps the most unintentionally funniest line said by a pre-selection hopeful. She also claims that her and her husband stopped their smoking addition - where she was smoking 30 a day and her husband 50 - when a friend of theirs simply said the word 'Lord' in prayer to them. All very interesting things to claim as someone wanting to run for parliament.
Surely though, the Liberals' other hopeful, Belinda Crawford-Marshall, the executive pastor at a Pentecostal church, must be a better choice right? Well, there is less of her claiming miracles, but she has previously posted to Facebook complaining about chemtrails. Now, you might think that both women have no chance of getting preselected based off all this, but you'd be forgetting that Alex Antic is the powerbroker throughout the SA Liberals and that he supports both of them. So, yeah, it is not unlikely that atleast one of Hennessy or Crawford-Marshall are on the Liberal's ticket next year.
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Daily Mail UK | Watch the moment a budding Liberal MP makes an INCREDIBLE claim about how she cured a young girl - as wild social media posts come back to haunt election hopefuls
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23/08/2025 - Tarzia and Mali face their demons
Over today and yesterday, both Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas and Liberal Leader of the Opposition Vincent Tarzia have been forced to, atleast in speech, deal with the longstanding issues facing their parties. In particular, both leaders were forced to reconcile with either past or future policy failures that would not do well electorally.
Firstly, Malinauskas spoke at the Advertiser's Bush Summit yesterday, and during his interview delved on the topic of the state's ramping crisis. A massive issue going into the 2022 election, and one that still exists to this day, one of Labor's main attacks against the governing Liberals had been in regards to the failure to address ramping. Yesterday though, Malinauskas noted that his government hadn't deal with the ramping crisis in a satisfactory manner. Specifically, he stated, "In terms of the fixing the ramping crisis, of course we’d like better results. I’m not going to shy away from that. That would be unfair and not responsible." He even went so far to accept the label of his government's failure to deal with ramping as a 'broken electoral promise', not something you often see incumbent politicians do. He did naunce all this by pointing to the successes the state's Labor party has had, such as hiring more nurses and doctors beyond the initial targets, doubling promised hospital beds, and increasing spending overall. In any case, for many politicians, accepting that you have broken an electoral promise can often be the beginning of the end for your campaign. However, Malinauskas, well-loved by South Australians and a generally smart political operator, has likely accepted the label as to show humility, accepting that his government isn't perfect but has done work. Whether that strategy will work will come down to the media and the Liberals.
Speaking of, its not been a good day for Vincent Tarzia and the state Liberals. In a day that should've been used for pushing against Labor and the aforementioned election promise, Tarzia has instead been forced to go on the defensive. And not by anyone external either, in fact, it was by his own party. Today was the state Liberal AGM, meant to provide a clear direction for the party to go, looking towards the election. However, it became something of an 'undo' moment for the party, as Tarzia had to essentially prostrate himself in front of the media. The party's leader noted that the party had not only been distracted at times in his keynote address, but had also failed to connect to businesses and families in the state. Furthermore, Tarzia had to take the time to distance himself and the party from a leaked Liberal policy suggestion document. This document (likely coming from the Liberal's right faction (read: Antic)) held policy suggestions such as plans to "examine “excess deaths” linked to vaccinations, overturn Covid-19 vaccine mandates, restrict medical treatment for children with gender dysphoria and lobby the federal Liberals to overturn a policy to achieve net zero emissions by 2050". Such a policy platform would, quite obviously, alienate much of the centre-right in the state, and if implemented would destroy any small chance the Liberals have of winning. The fact that Tarzia had to respond to this is telling.
If only the negatives stopped there for the Liberals. Unfortunately for them, The Advertiser came across ECSA disclosure documents, which revealed that less than a week before political donations were banned across the state, Dr Pamela Wall had donated 5 million dollars to the party. While obviously still legal at the time, the timing is obviously of interesting, and the donations size, the largest ever by an individual in SA, will raise eyebrows. Certainly, it will help the Liberals to campaign, but at the same time, could be used by Labor as a tool against them.
As a final note, Malinauskas did comment that Izak Rankine, the Crows Football player, deserved the 4 week sanction he got for using a homophobic slur on field during a game.
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21/08/2025 - The right bangs the culture war drums in South Australia
Firstly, there are no new political parties registering in the Gazette today, which makes me quite sad.
Moving on, it seems that culture war is the name of the game this week. A Parliamentary inquiry into the impact of stillbirths has seemingly struck a nerve with the state's right-wing parties, after one of the state's most senior health bureaucrats, Rebecca Graham, prefaced her evidence by stating that her use of women/woman was not intended to exclude transgender/intersex people. She quickly clarified her comments to The Australian, stating that her words were not intended "to imply that a transgender woman could give birth", a position that Labor Health Minister, Chris Picton, agreed with. He and Graham have both stated that Graham's preface was simply to ensure that all perspectives are considered.
However, this has not stopped the state's right-wing parties from jumping on the issue. The Liberals shadow Health spokesperson, Ashton Hurn, stated that "It’s a bizarre point to raise at the stillbirth committee when surely everyone in the health sector would agree only a biological woman can give birth to a baby and experience the trauma of a stillbirth first hand". Meanwhile, the Liberal's sadly ever-present Alex Antic used the moment to complain about the definition of what a man or woman was, and went so far as to state "will he [Premier Peter Malinauskas] allow it to freelance in radical gender theory?” Unfortunately for us, Family First also took their moment to chime in as well, with their Legislative Council candidate, Deepa Mathew, 'asking' both Malinauskas and the Liberal's Vincent Tarzia "whether the major parties agree with the falsehood that men can bear children".
I should note that the founder of Still Aware (a stillbirth awareness charity), Claire Foord, stated that humanity should not be outraged "by how a person wants to identify, but rather that six babies are born stillborn in Australia every day". While she also expressed disagreeance with Graham bringing gender into the picture at all (and, according to The Australian, made some weird comments about the Women and Children's Hospital name that aren't on The Advertiser's article on it), she ended by saying that "I wish they had the same convinction towards that [stillbirths] argument.
Unfortunately for us, this wasn't the only culture war moment today. Premier Malinauskas, on a podcast with Kos Samaras and Nick Dyrenfurth (both Labor-affiliated), stated that Australians were 'turning away from both woke and anti-woke elements'. Furthermore, he suggested that Labor needs to do more to connect to both disillusioned young men and religious Australians, or see people like Andrew Tate continue to commandeer that space. He did go abit further though, stating that he thinks the association of masculinity and toxicity (atleast in terms of presence) is too perjorative. Finally, he stated that, progressives (which he included himself in) preach inclusion and tolerance but are quick to denounce Christianity, something he finds perverse. As you might guess, both The Australian and The Advertiser were quick to jump to attacking 'woke', with The Australian's title of "SA Premier strikes a chord by endorsing the end of woke" being so obviously just ragebait considering Malinauskas attacked both sides (even if was weighted to one side more).
Hopefully my next update will be less about culture wars and more about other issues in the state, otherwise at this rate we'll be ending up in another culture war election, which, shockingly, will probably play better to Malinauskas' centre-left/centre Labor party's strengths. Also, as a sidenote, you'll notice that not a single centre/left-wing source has really picked up on all this, even though The Australian claimed the "stillbirth remark" fueled a "woke row".
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20/08/2025 - Family First opposes "any attempt to outlaw smacking in South Australia"
Well, this is not the next update I thought I was going to make. But Family First have decided to give us this to work with, so here we are. To give some background, earlier in the week a South Australian Royal Commission into Domestic Violence handed down its results and recommendations. One of these was to ban parents from disciplining children through the use of physical violence, such as slapping. Now, the Attorney-General has already come out and essentially said that South Australia has laws which deal with the issue well-enough, but said that the government would consider all recommendations carefully. This, of course, has caused Family First to blow a gasket.
Their head candidate, Deepa Mathew, has gone on record to state that the party will oppose any attempt to ban smacking. She also said some of the following quotes;
- "But a smack on the backside without injury is not violence—it is a time-tested way to ensure children learn key life lessons."
- "You can't negotiate with a two-year-old," she said. "Sometimes words are not enough to curb dangerous or defiant behaviour. A quick, measured smack has helped generations of parents set boundaries that children understand."
- "Family First stands with responsible parents who love their children enough to teach them right from wrong. The state should be supporting parents, not undermining them with ideological bans."
Furthermore, she used a poll from the Advertiser (whose readers are generally right-wing and older) to claim that 80% of South Australians opposed banning smacking. I don't think I need to comment on how insane of a claim this is from that single source, so I'll just let you think on it. In any case, I really hope that this does not become even a minor part of the election campaign going forward, and remains as far away from normal people and politicians as possible.
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20/08/2025 - SA Liberals endorse Lamorna Alexander & Rebekah Rosser for the seats of Mount Gambier & Mackillop
We now know who will be facing the joint set of Liberals-turned-Independents who are currently in legal battles. Technically, we knew two days ago, but these two announcements got far overshadowed by Frank Pangallo. Lamorna Alexander, a lawyer, will be facing off against Troy Bell, who has been found guilty of stealing $430,000 from not-for-profit educational organisations in the seat of Mount Gambier. Rebekah Rosser, also a lawyer, will be taking on Nick McBride, who currently faces three charges of assaulting his wife. These two choices are perhaps the direct opposite of the parties' choice earlier this week to endorse Frank Pangallo for Waite, presenting two serious lawyers as choices in the state's South East vs someone who deliberately calls themselves an 'attack dog'.
More specifically, Alexander is someone who has worked on governance and regional politics across the Limestone Coast, having been part of Regional Assessment panels over the last two years. Rosser has less going for her in this department recently, having worked mostly with Cricket SA and Cricket Australia, but was at one point a ministerial advisor for Rob Kerin and had worked in John Howard's Liberal party as a clerk for the whip. Potentially bigger for her is the scuttlebutt going around that McBride's wife is looking to support her, and that could play massively in the election to come.
In my opinion, I think there's two stories that will play out here. First is Alexander's, which is unlikely to be a success. While Bell has been found guilty of his crimes, he is appealing, and they are less eye-catching than McBride's. She'll face strong opposition from Bell and the Labor candidate, and I don't think she has the backing to win there. Rosser, on the other hand, seems to have support from the current MHA's wife, and in a seat where Labor is unlikely to pull ahead (McBride absolutely destroyed Labor last election), it seems like it'll be a two-horse race where it comes down to whether McBride's alleged crimes have damaged his reputation enough.
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18/08/2025 - One Nation announces lead candidate, Carlos Quaremba
In an announcement that slipped under my radar, Pauline Hanson/One Nation has named their lead candidate for the election, State President Carlos Quaremba. Quaremba is not an entirely notable candidate, with his biggest 'claim to fame' being that he is currently a Councillor for Victor Harbour. He was their second candidate in the Federal Election, and funnily enough, his webpage hasn't been updated on the One Nation site, with it still mentioning him helping Jennifer Game (hilarious thing to leave on). In terms of policies, Quaremba has few, besides being anti-Labor and anti-net-zero.
Funnier than all this is that Hanson used the news article announcing Quaremba's candidature to lay into Sarah Game. Literally, she spent more time attacking her old MLC over uplifting her new candidate. Hanson described Game as lazy, untrustworthy, and stated that Game "didn't campaign one day". Game, for her part, called Hanson a liar and essentially two-faced. So, obviously, no love lost there. But it is really funny that Quaremba gets lost in an article that is meant to be about him.
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18/08/2025 - Handshakegate continues
The event I am now dubbing Handshakegate has continued to make headlines today in SA. To sum up this mundane issue blown large, yesterday, when Frank Pangallo announced he was joining the Liberal Party, it seemed that he shunned SA Liberal's leader, Vincent Tarzia's, attempt to shake hands thrice over. As I mentioned yesterday, it was already well-known that Frank didn't hold much respect for Tarzia (and the Liberal Party as a whole), so this blunder has become a headline grabber. Labor and 7 News both have grabbed onto it with two hands, in any case.
In my opinion, its not that big of a deal, besides cementing what we already knew about Pangallo and Tarzia's relationship. It does leave room for speculation about Pangallo's true motives in the Liberal Party. Myself, and a few others I've talked to, are somewhat confident that Pangallo has entered the party with the objective of winning Waite while the rest of the Liberals flounder, and than oust Tarzia and rule over the ashes. Him and the Liberal Right faction are aligned, so it seems possible, although it does require Pangallo to win Waite which seems highly unlikely at this very moment.
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7 News
17/08/2025 - Frank Pangallo joins the SA Liberal Party
Frank Pangallo, former news journalist and SA-Best/Independent MLC, has officially joined the Liberal Party and will be running in the seat of Waite at the next election. In his eyes, it's a natural way of working for the community which (and this isn't false) he's lived in for a decent while. On the other hand, Labor claims it is simply a way for Pangallo to try and keep his place in parliament. Either way, he has a 4% margin to overcome, which may not seem like alot until you consider Labor is currently polling better in the state than its results in the 2022 election.
Now, in my opinion, this is not going to be a successful move. Frank has some 'name brand' value in the state and is a dogged campaigner, certainly, but his style, personality, and politics just aren't what's needed to beat Labor and Catherine Hutchesson (the seat's MHA). Furthermore, Frank doesn't seem to respect Tarzia (not hard to think why) and is a very stubborn man, so it's very possible we see trouble in 'paradise' very soon. At the very least, it's not hard to think of a scenario where the SA Liberals look towards a certain policy or promise closer to the election that Frank disagrees with, and that causes a public spat. In addition to all this, I also think this is just a very poor use of a candidate like Frank. He isn't the best candidate for sure, but his name brand and style of campaigning is something you'd want working to boost your vote statewide, not just in one seat. This is sort of like if, when Fiona Patten joined Legalise Cannabis, she instead was put down as a candidate for a lower house seat, rather than the Senate. It's just a misuse of a candidate, that, to be fair, is quite representative of the SA Liberal's political intelligence these days.
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7 News
9 News
ABC
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