When the hyperventilation and histrionics devoted to the Hamilton-Smith defection dies down, the state Cabinet can get back business.

There will be discernable differences in the usual business of government, but they won’t be unusual. Not in South Australia.

The good burghers of Waite will still be served by a Liberal MP, albeit one released from the shackles of Opposition and newly blessed with a seat in Cabinet.

Just ask the citizens of Frome how that kind of blessing is working for them.

Notwithstanding the stunning coup achieved by Labor MP Tom Kenyon and Premier Jay Weatherill this week in poaching Martin Hamilton-Smith, there’s no question he was low hanging fruit (and no, Mr McFetridge, that’s not a reference to gonads).

For the past 12 years Hamilton-Smith has been bristling with ambition, ideas, knowledge and talent, eager to get into government and take on the defence industries portfolio in which he has an obvious interest.

His enthusiasm has been boundless. As Opposition Leader he was irksome and annoying. He famously hugged a tree to protest against the new trams and, then, when they arrived, he complained they were too popular.

But he had a good narrative – a former commando, colonel in the SAS, he’d served overseas, he’d jumped out of planes, he was a successful businessman, he’d married well, he was local and personable.

There was no denying his work ethic and energy but he badly over-reached in prosecuting a case against senior Labor MPs with a few forged documents that brought his leadership undone.

It is a very gutsy move by all players – to set aside strident and public mutual antagonisms to work together for the stability of government and betterment of the state.

For Rann and Labor, Hamilton-Smith’s leadership loss was their relief. He posed the first real risk to state Labor, then in its second term.

And so it came to pass that by the end of March this year he was still there in Opposition: fully ripe and dangling from a root-bound tree.

Known for his passion of cars and our armed forces, it may well have offended Hamilton-Smith’s sensibilities to watch the appalling images in Federal Parliament of a laughing Abbott with assorted ministers as they cut Holden and the car industry adrift and whipped up uncertainty in the future submarine project.

Picking him was plucky – and the right thing to do.

The March state election effectively consigned the Liberals to 16 years in Opposition. It gave rise to the realisation in some that they could serve their entire Parliamentary careers without ever experiencing government.

That’s immensely frustrating when considering the only good thing about Opposition is winning government.

And Martin Hamilton-Smith was a man tired of standing still.

So when you can’t win, the next best thing is to join, if ever the opportunity occurs.

In South Australia, bringing outsiders into Cabinet is now a thing.

It’s more than giving Peter Lewis the Speakership to secure Government.

It’s bringing your political adversaries into Cabinet to shape policies, decide futures and govern with you, side by side.

Rory McEwen was an Independent Liberal and Karlene Maywald was the state National Party leader when Mike Rann brought them into Cabinet in his first term.

McEwen and Maywald had previously been in a coalition of sorts with the former minority Olsen Government, but they were not members of the Opposition.

Their example proved a powerful point – that these deals can be done without undermining the central planks of our Westminster system of government.

It is a very gutsy move by all players – to set aside strident and public mutual antagonisms to work together for the stability of government and betterment of the state.

Karlene Maywald, flanked by Mike Rann and Kevin Foley, after being sworn in to Labor’s Cabinet in 2004. AAP image

Jay Weatherill really pushed the boundaries by seducing a former Opposition Leader and serving frontbencher into Cabinet.

An upside is that Liberal voters who felt disenfranchised by the outcome of this year’s state election now have a voice in government. Far from feeling “betrayed”, they should be buoyed that their interests are being heard and served inside the Cabinet room.

Greater diversity is positive in a Cabinet: it means deliberations and debates are strengthened by the introduction dissenting views and values.

Ministers are forced to think differently about the consequences of their actions and to take into account valid points that may not accord with their own ideologies.

Overall, it makes for better-honed decision-making.

This was evidenced in the first two terms of the Rann Cabinet that included McEwen and Maywald. It was a particularly productive, innovative and successful period of government.

The Westminster system is amazingly adaptable and governments should never shy away from exploring different ways to govern in the interests of improving democracy and securing better outcomes.

South Australia has led the way in adjusting Westminster traditions to suits its purposes and long may it do so.

The outrage expressed when Mike Rann introduced non-elected non-government members to Cabinet sub-committees disappeared in about 24 hours – because it worked well and the world didn’t stop.

This month, Jay Weatherill was presented with the opportunity to achieve greater stability in government for the next four years – and he seized the day.

Were we surprised? Absolutely. Was it unusual? A bit, but not so much in this state.

We are a small population occupying a vast and dry land with few natural advantages.

We have to think strategically and differently about how we manage ourselves as a state. In South Australia, that’s now a thing.

Jill Bottrall is a communications consultant. She was a senior adviser to Mike Rann in Opposition and during his nearly 10 years as Premier.

A version of this article was first published on her website.