Politics With Michelle Grattan: South Australian Election Special

(MENAFN- The Conversation)

South Australians are heading to the ballot box on March 21. If polls are correct, Peter Malinauskas’s Labor government will win in a landslide.

Polling also indicates One Nation has pulled ahead of the Liberal Party in the state, making it the first test of whether One Nation’s recent surge in national polls can translate into votes – and seats.

To talk about how the campaign is going so far and to explain some distinct features of the South Australian system, we speak to four locals:

Flinders University’s Associate Professor of Politics and Public Policy, Rob Manwaring

former federal minister and incoming national Labor president, Kate Ellis

Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn

former Liberal Senator turned One Nation’s lead upper house candidate, Cory Bernardi.

A ‘once-in-a-generation premier’: Manwaring

Flinders University’s Rob Manwaring says Labor is not taking the election win for granted and was still“trying to pinch strategic moments”, like poaching the MotoGP from Victoria. Manwaring says the premier’s personal popularity has been a key to Labor’s success.

As for One Nation, Manwaring predicts the party could win one or two seats in the lower house and“at least two spots” in the upper house, based on current polling. But he says seats alone are not the only way to measure One Nation’s success at this election.

Voters ‘flirting’ with One Nation should think again: Hurn

Ashton Hurn, who took over as Liberal leader with only around 100 days before the election, says she and her team“are working to ensure that everyone knows what we stand for”.

The opposition leader says that while“the polls are pointing in a certain direction […] it’s not over until it’s over”.

As for the challenge from the Liberals’ right flank from One Nation, Hurn says:

Aiming for ‘a couple’ of upper house seats: Bernardi

Cory Bernardi, One Nation’s lead upper house candidate, says he and his team are“running to give a voice to a great many South Australians who think the major parties have left them behind”.

Bernardi says One Nation’s priorities include opposing“all race-based legislation”, including repealing South Australia’s Voice to Parliament; abandoning“net zero”; and lowering the cost of living, such as by removing state government stamp duty from general insurance contracts.

Bernardi also defends recent comments One Nation leader Pauline Hanson made about no“good” Muslims. He says“I’m 100% supportive about her comments in respect to the cultural integration and immigration mix in this country”.

Bernardi says while“predictions are fraught with error”, he won’t be surprised if a likely Labor government can get their legislation through the next parliament. But he says“I’d like to think we might be able to get a couple [of seats] in the upper house”.

With so many in the race, expect complicated results: Ellis

Incoming national Labor president Kate Ellis says“a huge split in the right and a number of independents and a fracturing of the vote […] makes this a little more unpredictable than other elections”.

Asked about the SA premier’s pro-immigration stance, Ellis says Malinauskas hasn’t been“kowtowing to One Nation”, despite the party’s surging support in the polls.

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