The South Australian Labor Party has nabbed the state election and booted the Liberal Party back out after just one term. Outgoing Premier Steven Marshall conceded his defeat shortly after the election was called by ABC’s election wizard Antony Green, and said he was “so proud” of South Australians.
Labor secured the win with a huge swing in the southern state by clawing back seats from the Liberals in Elder, Adelaide, Newlands and Davenport.
This also means that Labor leader Peter Malinauskas — who retained his seat in Croydon — will become the new Premier of South Australia. Huge to see he defeated the Liberals with strong health policies, roosting torps and cheese grater abs.
Steven Marshall said it has been “an honour and a privilege” to be the Premier of the state through the last four years. He noted that in that time the state — and the government — has endured fires, floods, fruit fly (???), the coronavirus and bushfires. He also said he believes the Liberal Party has left South Australia in “an immeasurably better situation” than when they came into power in 2018.
“We came to government four years ago, promising more jobs, lower costs and better services,” he said.
“The figures came out this week. We have record full-time employment in South Australia. We have more young people coming back and staying in South Australia than ever before.
“We’ve got the fastest growing economy in the country, we’ve got record investment, record exports and, finally, in this state, we have turned off the brain drain.”
Marshall also said he was “so proud” of how South Australians responded to the global pandemic and said the state must share in the “fantastic result” of coming out of it “stronger than before”.
It wouldn’t be an Aussie event without someone turning it on for the cameras. Tonight we simply have to shout out the woman sitting in the pub behind him who clearly just wanted to have a beer and watch the footy only to be bombarded by Liberal diehards.
She clearly didn’t vote for them and she (and the several imperial pints she’s surely necked) certainly made that known.
screaming at this red-headed woman flipping the bird behind Marshall’s concession speech. the gal clearly just wanted to have a night at the pub and got bombarded by the SA Libs #SAVotes pic.twitter.com/9kCVWfb8DD
— corgi (@courtwhip) March 19, 2022
Peter Malinauskas made his victory speech in front of a raucous gathering of the Labor party faithful. He said the new government has a “very big job” ahead of them.
“It is not lost on me is the significance of the privilege and the size of the responsibility that you have invested in me, in my team,” he said.
“Which means for all of my MPs tonight, particularly the newly minted ones I’ve been incredibly proud of each and every one of them, it means we have a big job to do.”
