South Australian Election: A Look at the State of the Parties

There are 47 electorates being contested in today’s South Australian election. Either side needs to win 24 seats to govern in their own right.

In recent times, the South Australian lower house numbers have fluctuated wildly. In 1989, the Bannon Labor government and the Liberal Party each won 22 seats and Bannon hung on with the support of two independent Labor members. By 1993, Bannon’s successor, Lynn Arnold, was decimated and the ALP was reduced to 10 seats, compared to 37 for the Liberals.

In 1997, following a change of Liberal leader from Dean Brown to John Olsen, the Liberals lost 14 seats to finish with 23, whilst the ALP went from 10 to 21. The Liberals remained in office as a minority government, supported by the National Party member, Karlene Maywald.

Since the 1997 election, one Liberal member has resigned, another has been expelled, and one of the independents has joined the Liberals, reducing the government to a net 22 seats. Late last year, the then Premier, John Olsen, resigned over the Motorola contract scandal, and was replaced by John Kerin.

There have been similar ructions in the ALP. Two sitting members have resigned following their defeat in pre-selections, although they have pledged their support to the ALP if needed.

In summary, the ALP needs to hold all its 19 seats and win 5 more to secure a majority, whereas the Liberal Party needs to two seats to have an outright majority.

This table shows the state of the parties at the 1997 election and the current numbers: