Voters in South Australia head to the polls today, with the Malinauskas‑led Labor government seeking a second term.
Predictions suggest the government will be easily returned, with the Liberal opposition facing the possibility of a significant election wipeout.
There is also intense interest in how well One Nation performs. Newly instated South Australian leader Cory Bernardi is expected to be elected to the state’s upper house—potentially alongside up to two colleagues—but the major question is whether the party can secure any lower house seats.
Bernardi made headlines during the campaign after doubling down on comments he made in the federal parliament almost 14 years ago, in which he suggested that marriage equality would lead to the acceptance of bestiality and polyamorous relationships. At the time, Bernardi was a Liberal Party senator.
On the final day of campaigning, Bernardi fronted the media to respond to a report that one of One Nation’s candidates was wanted by police in the United Kingdom.
Speaking to Sky News, Bernardi said the party had no reason to doubt an ABC report revealing that One Nation candidate Aoi Baxter was wanted in the UK for failing to attend court on a charge of inappropriate touching of a woman in 2023. At the time, Baxter was living in the UK and using the name Trent Baxter.
Appearing on The Bond Report, Bernardi said the party had been unable to contact the candidate but denied that One Nation had fallen short in its vetting process.
A day before the election, Baxter’s profile was removed from One Nation’s website and replaced with a message reading: “Maybe Albo broke the internet (again), or maybe the page you were looking for was just not found on our amazing new website.”
One Nation has not been the only party to disendorse a candidate during the campaign. The Liberal campaign also stumbled when comments made on a podcast by one of its candidates led to his removal from the ticket.
Carston Woodhouse was running for the seat of Wright in Adelaide’s northern suburbs. Initially, Liberal leader Ashton Hurn stood by Woodhouse after it emerged he had described feminism and same‑sex marriage as “demonic,” labelled Islam as “problematic and wrong,” and expressed the belief that rape victims should be forced to carry pregnancies to term rather than access abortion services. Hurn’s support was short‑lived, and Woodhouse was dumped as a candidate less than 24 hours later.
Polls will close at 6 pm (SA time), but a large number of voters have already cast their ballots ahead of election day. A record 388 candidates are contesting House of Assembly seats—significantly more than the 240 who contested the 2022 election.
