The recent elections in Tasmania, South Australia and the byelection in Batman have left an impression that the advance of the minor parties has stalled. This is not necessarily the case.
Ged Kearney and Bill Shorten pose for a photo at Preston Market.
AAP/Ellen Smith
While Labor lost in South Australia it was far from a disaster, and new Liberal premier Steven Marshall will need to move quickly to ensure he does not test voters’ patience.
Steven Marshall will become the next South Australian premier after defeating Jay Weatherill’s Labor government.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
After 16 years in government, the Liberals oust Labor in South Australia – but the biggest disasters of the night were Nick Xenophon and SA-BEST, with Xenophon not even winning his seat.
Michelle Grattan speaks with Lawrence Pratchett about this weekend’s elections.
The outcome of the three-horse race between Jay Weatherill’s Labor, Nick Xenophon’s SA-Best and Steven Marshall’s Liberals is uncertain.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
Much is in play for South Australia in this weekend’s state election – politically and economically.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, SA Liberal leader Steven Marshall and SA Best leader Nick Xenophon at a leaders’ debate hosted by the ABC.
AAP Image/Morgan Sette
SA Liberal Party leader Steven Marshall said that state Labor policy had left South Australians with ‘the highest energy prices in Australia’ and ‘the least reliable grid’. Is that right?
The Australian Hotels Association (South Australia) has campaigned against the SA Best party’s proposed poker machine reforms.
Threthny/Flickr
The Australian Hotels Association of South Australia claims poker machine reforms proposed by Nick Xenophon’s SA Best party would wipe out ‘many of the 26,000’ jobs in the hotel industry. Is that right?
Minor parties led by high-profile candidates such as Nick Xenophon are particularly appealing away from the big cities.
AAP/Russell Millard
Politics podcast: the “X factor” in the South Australian election.
Labor is pitching for a fifth term in South Australia.
Although SA-BEST is averaging 27% in seats it is contesting, the major parties are less vulnerable to losing seats to SA-BEST than it may appear from primary votes.
AAP/David Mariuz
Nick Xenophon says the proposals encapsulated in his party’s gambling policy for the South Australian election are just the start of a wider push for reform.
Keeping the lights on has always been a stormy issue in South Australia.
Jon Westra/Wikimedia Commons
Two decades ago, the then SA premier, John Olsen, defied a campaign promise and announced plans to privatise the state’s electricity industry. It’s been a high-voltage issue ever since.
Ged Kearney has been announced as Labor’s star candidate for the inner-Melbourne seat of Batman.
AAP/David Crosling
As the fallout from the dual citizenship saga continues, the Greens and Labor are set to fight a close contest in Batman, while Nick Xenophon has work to do ahead of the South Australian election.
If the Greens hold the sole balance of power after the Tasmanian election, the next parliamentary term could be a messy business for Labor’s Rebecca White or the Liberals’ Will Hodgman.
AAP/The Conversation
The polls are leaning towards the Liberals holding power in Tasmania, but the unpopularity of the federal Coalition government could help Labor get over the line.
Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman announced the March 3 election on Sunday.
Rob Blakers/AAP
Malcolm Turnbull says people won’t be casting a national vote until the due time of 2019 – although Labor is working on contingency plans for this year in case he changes his mind or is foxing.
If Jay Weatherill is returned as the premier of South Australia in 2018, he promises to once again butt heads with Malcolm Turnbull over energy policy.
Morgan Sette/AAP
Last year was a vicious one for climate and energy politics. And with a South Australian election and various other federal decisions in the offing, 2018 looks like being similarly rancorous.
Nick Xenophon won 46% of the preferred South Australian premier vote in a recent Newspoll.
AAP/Morgan Sette