![\"Opposition](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0389fcdf1d90df6aeac30bd35f6277ce.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nLabor has claimed a decisive victory in South Australia, securing a second term for Premier Peter Malinauskas while capitalising on a fractured opposition.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The result marks the party\u2019s fifth state election win in six contests, extending its dominance to 20 of the past 24 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mr\u00a0Malinauskas acknowledged the scale of the triumph\u00a0at Labor headquarters\u00a0but urged restraint.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than anything else, tonight, I’m overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude,\u201d he told supporters\u00a0on Saturday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He framed the result as a mandate to continue delivering for the state rather than a moment of celebration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough this is a historic result \u2026\u00a0it’s\u00a0very important\u00a0that nobody confuses tonight’s result as modulation,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Instead, we should see it as only being an invitation to continue to work our guts out for the next four years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Labor\u2019s primary vote dipped slightly to around 38 per cent, but strong polling in\u00a0Adelaide\u00a0helped the party secure key suburban seats.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
With 30\u00a0of 47 electorates\u00a0achieved by midnight, the party strengthened its hold on the lower house, while regional challenges were offset by a splintered conservative vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One Nation breaks into SA politics<\/p>\n
One Nation made history by claiming its first lower house seat in South Australia, capturing Hammond southeast of Adelaide.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
One Nation candidate Robert Roylance gained the lower house seat for Pauline Hanson\u2019s party, a first for the minor party in South Australian history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Party leader\u00a0Pauline Hanson celebrated the result as a milestone for her party, describing it as \u201cjust the start\u201d of a broader national movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just a protest vote \u2026 there\u2019s a movement, there\u2019s an undercurrent and it’s people saying we\u2019ve had a gutful, we want our country back, we want to have a voice,\u201d Hanson told Sky News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Former Liberal senator Cory Bernardi secured a seat in the upper house for One Nation, reinforcing the party\u2019s presence in parliament.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bernardi said voters were seeking representatives willing to challenge the traditional parties. \u201cI think people have voted for One Nation because people have been left behind by\u00a0uni-party politics,\u201d he told Sky News.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hanson also sent a pointed warning to Premier Malinauskas.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI will say to Peter Malinauskas \u2026\u00a0I’m\u00a0leaving you some landmines \u2026\u00a0they’re\u00a0called One Nation Members of Parliament,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u00a0I suggest don’t step on them, because they will explode.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She framed the party\u2019s rise as part of a nationwide shift, promising to support candidates in Victoria and beyond.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere we are tonight, just to let you know, this is the low tide \u2026 I believe that our vote will rise even more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Liberals crushed but resilient\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Liberal Party suffered heavy losses, with early counts placing its primary vote at around 19 per cent \u2013 down\u00a0nearly 16\u00a0points from the\u00a0previous\u00a0election.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leader Ashton Hurn conceded defeat but\u00a0maintained\u00a0a cautiously optimistic tone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pundits said we wouldn\u2019t win a single seat, but we will prove them wrong,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are thousands of supporters who are backing the Liberal Party and as counting continues, our position continues to improve as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hurn acknowledged lessons for the party.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0a tough night for the Liberals and lessons must be learned but now is not the time for that. There is still hope for the Liberals in South Australia.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Changing dynamics<\/p>\n
The election has produced a more diverse crossbench, with One Nation claiming a significant role alongside independents.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Malinauskas signalled a willingness to work across party lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCory Bernardi in One Nation also deserve recognition \u2026 for getting a very significant result at the ballot box, which does deserve credit,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy government stands ready to work with each and every one of you for as long as it is in the interests of South Australians.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Final tally<\/p>\n
Labor is expected to hold around 34 lower house seats, with the Liberals reduced to five or six.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
One Nation has one lower house seat and at least two upper house positions. Complex preference flows mean several seats will remain undecided for\u00a0now, with early voting accounting for more than a third of the electorate.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Labor has claimed a decisive victory in South Australia, securing a second term for Premier Peter Malinauskas while…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,1788,10940,44,60504,24805,121980,1124],"class_list":{"0":"post-555144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-labor","11":"tag-liberal-party","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-one-nation","14":"tag-peter-malinauskas","15":"tag-sa-election","16":"tag-south-australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}