Labor wins Dunstan by-election
Labor’s Cressida O’Hanlon will be South Australia’s newest MP after the Liberal Party conceded its seat of Dunstan following Saturday’s by-election.
The Liberal Party has conceded the seat of Dunstan to Labor candidate Cressida O'Hanlon, seen here with Premier Peter Malinauskas during last Saturday's by-electon. Photo: Jacob Shteyman
Opposition Leader David Speirs said on Wednesday night that he had rung Premier Peter Malinauskas to “congratulate him on their victory in the Dunstan by-election”.
Speirs paid tribute to Liberal candidate Anna Finizio, who lost to O’Hanlon by less than 400 votes.
“I want to thank Anna for her tireless work on the campaign. She was a positive and energetic candidate who truly reflected the community she was wanting to represent.
“Dr Finizio comfortably won the primary vote but unfortunately the preference flow has ultimately seen us fall short by a few hundred votes.
“The campaign to win back Dunstan starts today and the Liberal Party looks forward to continuing to engage the community and to present a positive alternative vision for our state.”
Finizio ran for the seat vacated by former Liberal Premier Steven Marshall after 14 years, and which he held against Labor’s O’Hanlon by only 260 votes and the state’s slimmest margin at 0.5 per cent at the 2022 state election.
A days long Electoral Commission count of postal and pre-poll votes had given the Liberals some hope of winning the seat after a Labor victory was deemed all but certain on Saturday night, particularly with an eight per cent swing to the Greens via candidate Katie McCusker.
But the preference flow from the Greens to Labor saw the Liberals concede their loss, in what is the first time an SA government has taken a seat off the Opposition in a by-election for more than a century.
Finizio also conceded and congratulated her opposing candidate, after a bitter and bruising and largely negative campaign.
“While this was not the outcome we had hoped for, I want to thank all my supporters and our volunteers for their incredible efforts during this campaign,” she said.
O’Hanlon, a mother of two who has lived in the area for 11 years, used to work as a political staffer under Labor MLC Reggie Martin and now works as a corporate mediator.
Her win marks the first time Labor has held Dunstan since Vini Ciccarello won the former seat of Norwood in 1997 and held it until losing to Marshall in 2010.
– with AAP
