The election has been called and we’re ending our live coverage, thank you for reading.
11.09pm: Retiring Liberal veteran Rob Lucas told InDaily he was “very disappointed” with the result.
“You never expect that, but ultimately I don’t think it will be as bad as some of what’s being said on television,” he said.
“I think the postal is up to 40 per cent of votes still to come in… so I don’t think we’ll lose as many seats as some of the commentators are predicting.
“We’ll hold on to some of our important seats and we’ve equally got some outstanding new talent coming into the party, which will be great.
“We’ve got some good young talent coming in, which is important to the party regrouping.
“I thought the Premier’s speech was remarkably gracious and a good summary of his proud achievements.
“The people have spoken, we accept the decision and we’ll sit back and hope they can achieve what they said they were going to achieve.”
10.15pm: After acknowledging the Kaurna people, Malinauskas described the win as special and said he would draw confidence and inspiration from the people of SA.
“It is not lost on me the significance of the privilege and the size of the responsibility that you invested in me and my team, which means for all of my MPs tonight, particularly the newly minted ones, it means that we have a big job to do,” Malinauskas said.
“True satisfaction for us comes in realising our ambition of delivering a better, fairer society and more opportunities.
“To that end I do believe we have the policy and the plan to realise that ambition. But more than that, I know I lead the team to deliver it.”
Malinauskas said that “every leader of the Labor Party always stands on the shoulders of giants”.
“In the case of the Australian Labor Party, those giants are millions of hardworking men and women across this country, ably represented by the Australian trade union movement.
“Tonight I do particularly want to acknowledge all those hardworking people in the health system. Every doctor, every nurse, every hospital orderly, they all serve us so incredibly well during the pandemic, but a particular shout out tonight to our ambos.”
Malinauskas also thanked Marshall who he said called to congratulate him and graciously concede the election.
“The premier is a class act,” he said.
“The Liberal Party are not our enemy. They may be our adversaries but they are not our enemies and we thank them for what is a significant night for them, too.”
9.49pm: Incoming Premier Peter Malinauskas is speaking to the Labor faithful.
9.48pm: One of independent Lou Nicholson’s supporters in Finniss:
We are not counting our chickens yet although it’s very, very promising.
Tonight’s result in Finniss shows that women can run, no matter their political experience at the outset, and be truly competitive.
Women can do this. We can do this.
I’m overwhelmed with emotion.
— Chelsey Potter (@chels_e_potter) March 19, 2022
9:30pm: Outgoing Health Minister Stephen Wade said the election result was “devastating”.
Asked if it was the government’s performance on health that cost the Liberals the election, he said: “There were certainly a lot of issues running in the election. The party will now need to sit down and work through our forward plan.”
“Let’s let the paint dry on the results and see the composition of the party room and we’ll get on with the next term.”
Wade said he “certainly did not” predict such a landslide loss.
“The feeling on the ground wasn’t reflected in the results, so these are things we need to work through.”
9.20pm: Peter Malinauskas is due to arrive at Labor’s election night HQ in 10 to 15 minutes.
9.01pm: Premier Steven Marshall has conceded the election. “I think we leave South Australia in an immeasurably better situation than what we found four years ago,” he told the Liberal faithful at the Robin Hood Hotel.
Big cheers in the Labor celebrations as Marshall concedes.
8:50pm: As Labor celebrates at Adelaide Oval, Steven Marshall is expected to soon arrive at the Liberal Party’s election night HQ, the Robin Hood hotel in Norwood, where the mood is less than festive.
Photo: Stephanie Richards/InDaily
8:33pm: There is a 10 per cent swing against the Premier in Kensington, with Labor up 563 to 504.
8:20pm: The Labor camp has just blasted Alicia Keys’ ‘Girl On Fire’ to announce the arrival of new Adelaide MP Lucy Hood.
Labor supporters hail Lucy Hood after the seat of Adelaide was tipped for the ALP. Photo: Tom Richardson/InDaily
8:18pm: Overheard at Liberal HQ: “I didn’t think they’d win by a landslide. This is an absolute landslide.”
8:15pm: In the Waite booth of Belair, a strong preference flow from the Greens has seen the returning officer doing a two-candidate preferred count between Liberal Alexander Hyde and independent mayor Heather Holmes-Ross.
8:08pm: Big cheers in Labor gathering at Adelaide Oval as ABC analyst Antony Green calls it for the ALP.
8:07pm: The results for Adelaide have just shown on the big screen at Labor campaign’s party, with a big cheer going up for Lucy Hood who is currently polling ahead of Liberal frontbencher Rachel Sanderson on two party preferred 56.9 to 43.1 per cent.
8.05pm: Recriminations already? A former Liberal MP has teed off at outgoing Treasurer Rob Lucas.
8pm: Senior Labor source: “I think it’s over. Consistently big swings pretty much everywhere.”
7:55pm: Labor’s Nadia Clancy is in a strong position in the critical marginal seat of Elder, ahead 55.2 to 44.8 of Liberal incumbent Carolyn Power on two party preferred.
7.54pm: ABC election analyst Antony Green says he expects to call the election in the next 15 minutes.
7:51pm: The swing is definitely on. A downcast-sounding Davenport Liberal MP Steve Murray just told ABC Radio Adelaide that he’s not yet prepared to concede his seat to Labor but believes he’s behind on the primary votes he needs to retain it.
7:49pm: Dan Cregan well ahead in Kavel – currently more than 50 per cent on primary votes alone.
7:46pm: Labor are a couple of good booth results away from calling Davenport. It’s a safe Liberal seat.
7:41pm: An update from Newland. Labor has taken Highbury Turramurra, a strong Liberal booth previously. Olivia Savvas has 231 votes to Richard Harvey’s 203.
7:35pm: An update on Trinity Gardens: Steven Marshall has 670 votes, O’Hanlon 616, Family First 91, Greens 194.
In St Morris, Marshall has 416, Labor 343, Family First 49 and the Greens 137.
The Greens are preferencing Labor, as are Family First.
In Lenswood, Dan Cregan has won the booth with 282 of the two-party vote to Liberal Rowan Mumford on 122.
7:31pm: Independent Lou Nicholson appears to have made some headway in the blue-ribbon seat of Finniss, currently held by Liberal frontbencher David Basham.
Nicholson, an independent who has styled herself in the Rebekha Sharkie mould, is currently polling at 27.4 per cent – well ahead of Labor. Basham remains ahead on 35.4 per cent with nearly a thousand votes counted.
InDaily reported on the campaign trail that some Liberal branch members in the notionally safe Fleurieu seat privately confessed they would be voting for Nicholson, amid discontent about the state of health services around the Victor Harbor area.
7:27pm: Some at Lib HQ have already given up hope of majority government and are aiming for minority: “It will be tough,” one was heard to say.
7:25pm: Less than 90 minutes since polls closed but senior Labor sources tell us the early numbers have the election going their way.
“I can’t see them getting a majority, we are well placed.”
Confidence building, but they’re not betting the house yet.
7:23pm: Independent Frances Bedford has garnered just 102 votes in the Fairview park booth of Newland – only 12 votes ahead of the Greens.
7:20pm: Big news out of Dunstan. Trinity Gardens, the largest booth in the seat is in. Steven Marshall is down 3 per cent in a booth he won handsomely in 2018 – and is neck and neck with Labor’s O’Hanlon on 40 per cent of the booth.
Family First has 9 per cent and the Greens 11 per cent – Labor ahead on two-party-preferred.
7:10pm: Interesting figures coming out of Stuart, with independent Geoff Brock ahead of Deputy Premier Dan van Holst Pellekaan from very early returns.
Brock currently has a 34 per cent share of the vote compared to van Holst Pellekaan’s 17.2, although only 209 formal votes have been counted so far.
Importantly, the figures come from polling stations in the small town of Willsden, just south of Port Augusta, which is not part of Brock’s former seat of Frome and his strong voter base of Port Pirie.
7:09pm: The crowd is growing at Liberal HQ. Senator Simon Birmingham just arrived but declined to speak to InDaily.
One party volunteer tells us they think it will be a tighter than anticipated contest and they’re not confident that there will be a clear winner by the end of the night.
6:57pm: Early days but Labor insiders with a sense of history are feeling positive. In the seat of Lee, which they hold comfortably, the party is winning the West Lakes booth – which they say only happens “in very good years”.
6:54pm: Very early numbers from the Kensington booth in Steven Marshall’s seat of Dunstan.
Scrutineers tell us the Premier has 38 votes to Cressida O’Hanlon’s 39, the Greens 20, Family First 3. Marshall’s vote, while a very small sample, is down 15 per cent on the booth’s first 100 votes in the previous election.
In St Peter’s East, the margin has no significant shift from the previous election with 200 votes counted.
6.44 pm: A scrutineer at the Lenswood booth in the Adelaide Hills seat of Kavel tells us that ex-Liberal independent Dan Cregan has taken that booth, with Lib candidate Rowan Mumford running second.
6.38pm: All quiet at the Labor Party’s main election night shindig thus far. Senator Marielle Smith is on hand for live crosses as a Sky News guest, but apart from that journos outnumber the party faithful at this point.
The event is being held at Adelaide Oval – ironically, at a function space named after the former SACA chair and Howard-era federal Liberal minister Ian McLachlan.
6.10pm: Reporters and a few party faithful members have arrived at Liberal HQ – a pub in Premier Steven Marshall’s electorate of Dunstan.
The mood is very low-key, but the night is still young. According to the function menus, the Liberals will tonight be eating cajun chicken bites, arancini balls and mini cheeseburgers.
6pm: Voting has closed. We’ll have updates and analysis of the numbers in key seats as soon as they start to come in.
5.19pm: Retiring Treasurer Rob Lucas has some… err… interesting plans after this is done and dusted (watch from about 1.10).
Welcome to #9News special coverage of South Australia’s election night, with unrivalled analysis from our panel of experts and reporters across the state.#SAVotes | LIVE on Channel 9 and 9Now pic.twitter.com/zcHDrHLFoI
— 9News Adelaide (@9NewsAdel) March 19, 2022
5.00pm: A social media row has broken out that could have post-election implications.
On a LinkedIn post by Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas promoting his pre-election pitch, the chair of SA’s Housing Authority Gary Storkey chimed in yesterday with a blunt comment.
“We have been informed by Treasury that your housing promises will result in less funding for us as well as reductions in services/staff due to efficiency savings,” Storkey wrote.
“Housing is in crisis as is health but it barely gets a mention.
“Better housing outcomes drastically reduce health costs (evidence based research) but this state no longer leads the nation in outcomes even though housing costs are lower.
“It is time for our leaders to allow the Housing Trust to solve our housing crisis rather than slash and burn policies of past governments.”
The Opposition last week pledged to build 400 new public housing homes, upgrade another 350 and “improve” a further 3000 in what it called a “maintenance blitz”.
But it also has committed to seek budget savings through an efficiency drive in “non-essential” public sector agencies.
The party’s Human Services spokeswoman Nat Cook chimed in with a comment on her own in response.
“I’m very sorry to hear you have been told this by Treasury as it is both baseless and a breach of caretaker conventions,” she told Storkey.
“The shadow treasurer has been clear that public sector savings will not come from critical frontline service delivery staff.
“Labor is acutely aware of the housing crisis and will be spending $177.5mill on building new homes and repairing/upgrading existing properties in dire need.
“I look forward to meeting with you to discuss further as soon as our new government is in place.”
Who forms that government could be known tonight, but with upwards of 200,000 early votes to be counted next week a result may not be clear.
4.45pm: It’s just over an hour until voting closes. While there’s been a huge increase in pre-poll voting this year, ABC election analyst Antony Green believes he should be able to call many seats tonight. “Most urban electorates should record a 50-60% vote count on election night which should be enough to call most seats,” he says on his blog.
Girl power! ???
Fantastic to have Liberal stalwart and former Minister for Foreign Affairs @HonJulieBishop supporting me in #Adelaide today. #SAVotes #SAStrong pic.twitter.com/NnyFaCpuuP
— Rachel Sanderson (@AdelaideMP) March 18, 2022
Green says the seat with the lowest vote to be counted today is Finniss, based in the southern Fleurieu with Victor Harbor its biggest town. There is some interest in this seat, despite primary industries minister David Basham holding it for the Liberals with a comfortable margin. He’s being challenged by all of the usual suspects – Labor, Family First, the Greens, the Nationals and One Nation. Also in the mix is a well-organised independent, Lou Nicholson, who looks very much in the mold of independent women who have made inroads across the nation.
1.50pm: Spotted in Hawthorndene: the Liberal candidate for Waite living up to his name.
The seat is one of the election’s most interesting to watch, with the Libs trying to win it back from their former member, Sam Duluk, and Labor and local mayor Heather Holmes-Ross also figuring in calculations.
12:55pm: After long queues were reported in some seats this morning, it looks like wait times have settled down. At the central Mt Barker polling place mid-morning, voters were waiting 30 minutes to vote in the seat of Kavel, where former Liberal Dan Cregan is hoping to hold onto his seat as an independent.
You can find your local booth and wait times (for some of them, at least) on this page from the Electoral Commission.
12.30pm: It’s been a busy morning of voting as South Australians who haven’t yet cast their ballot come out in force to select the state’s government. About one million people will vote today, while 300,000 have cast an early ballot or applied for a postal vote.
Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas and Premier Steven Marshall have both voted in their electorates – directly across town from each other – with the knowledge that a final poll has Labor as warm favourites to win the popular vote.
Whether that translates into marginal seat gains for Labor is the key question.
Malinauskas was out early on Saturday to cast his own ballot and greet voters at a school in his safe seat of Croydon.
Peter Malinauskas greets a vocal supporter as he casts his ballot. Photo: Matt Turner / AAP
“You only get one chance to rebuild from the global pandemic,” he said.
“South Australia has a really clear choice today. A choice between a government that seems to be at war with itself or a fresh united team with a clear vision for the future of our state.”
Huge queue of voters as polls open at Prospect Primary in crucial marginal seat of Adelaide. @10NewsFirstAdl pic.twitter.com/KoQX4ocwn8
— Alan Murrell (@AlanMurrell10) March 18, 2022
The premier voted mid-morning in his eastern suburbs seat of Dunstan and said the poll was about who people trusted to give them certainty.
“I’m very confident that the people of South Australia will vote in their own interests and have a continuing Liberal government,” he said.
Marshall said he wasn’t concerned about opinion polls and expected to have a clear indication of the result before the night was out.
“Some people in polling will send a message to a political party but when they get in that booth they vote in what’s in their best interests and what’s in their families’ best interests,” he said.
A Newspoll in today’s The Australian newspaper shows Labor leading the Liberals 54-46 on a two-party preferred basis.
Malinauskas leads Marshall as preferred premier – 46 to 39.
Long lines at polling booths in Littlehampton and Nairne in the seat of Kavel. This will be one to watch…if re-elected, former Liberal turned Independent Dan Cregan could be a kingmaker in the event of a hung parliament #SAvotes @10NewsFirstAdl pic.twitter.com/IXr9LBTePW
— Beth (@ExcellBeth) March 19, 2022
– InDaily reporters and AAP
