Not sure what you’re actually voting for? Here’s a breakdown of what South Australia’s major political parties are promising ahead of Saturday’s state election (Image: Australian Electoral Commission).
By Constance Siasios | @constance.siasios
You might not follow politics, but politics follows you.
It affects how much you pay in rent, how long you wait in a hospital, and how much it costs to get an education.
South Australia’s political parties all have different plans for the state and they could shape your daily life more than you realise.
Here is what each major party is proposing, so you can decide for yourself what matters most:
Housing
Labor:
- Introduce initiatives to maximise housing supply and increase access to affordable homes for South Australians.
- Support public housing tenants by building 200 supported accommodation places.
- Establish a $1 billion housing package to build more homes for South Australians and increase housing supply.
- Abolish stamp duty for downsizers buying new homes to stimulate housing growth and free up larger homes for families.
Liberal:
- Give downsizers a one-off stamp duty concession of $15,000.
- Abolish stamp duty for first home buyers for existing properties up to $1 million and waive the mortgage registration fee.
- Introduce a housing productivity package with a $40 million “Build Better Fund”.
The Greens:
- Mandate a minimum of 30 per cent affordable and public housing across the entire state using state planning legislation.
- Build 20,000 public homes over the next four years to reduce the public housing waitlist and plan for future demand.
- Ensure that the state-based taxation system provides incentives for older people to downsize to smaller properties.
One Nation:
- Reduce demand for housing and rental accommodation by substantially lowering immigration.
- Increase the supply of housing to South Australians by advocating a permanent ban on foreigners owning residential property.
- Seek to allow homeowners to rent rooms in their primary residence to a tenant, tax-free.
Health
Labor:
- Deliver three more 24/7 pharmacies in the west, north-east, and Adelaide Hills.
- Construct three new mental health assessment units next to emergency departments.
- Establish a $250 million no-interest aged care loan scheme and transform the old Women’s and Children’s Hospital site into a health and aged care precinct.
- Introduce South Australia’s first fertility rebates to improve In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment affordability.
- Train a further 100 General Practitioners (GPs), doubling the number across the state who can diagnose and treat ADHD.
Liberal:
- Roll out 250 beds by establishing five Transition Care Centres to support patients who no longer require a hospital bed but are awaiting long-term care.
- Introduce the “Nurse and Midwife Recruitment Scholarship Program”, nurse and midwife retention and re-attraction bonuses, up-front relocation incentives, and an interstate and overseas attraction package for GPs.
- Fund a GPs after-hours access trial, with grants of up to $150,000 per practice, allowing up to 80 GP practices to operate outside of traditional working hours.
- Establish a $40 million “Breaking the Cycle Fund” to deliver support and rehabilitation, aimed at stopping high-risk youth from reoffending.
The Greens:
- Offer free emergency ambulance services for those on the Age Pension and concession-holders.
- Establish 50 free local health care clinics across South Australia, which have a GP, dentist, psychologist, or nurse.
- Work collaboratively with the government to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.
One Nation:
- Provide more beds for mental health, aged care, and disability patients to improve the supply in emergencies.
Education
Labor:
- Abolish public school fees, starting from the 2027 school year to make public education free for all South Australian children.
- Give every public primary school child access to Out of School Hours Care (OSHC).
- Fund more than $500 million in preschool and school infrastructure, upgrading and replacing facilities across South Australia.
- Invest $27 million to support more than 1,000 new university, trade, and upskilling opportunities for South Australians.
Liberal:
- Offer a $10,000 bonus to South Australians who join the construction industry as an apprentice at age 21 or older.
- Address South Australia’s workforce shortages through the “Boosting Apprenticeships” program.
- Double annual grants for capital works at non-government schools across SA, increasing funding by $12.7 million a year.
The Greens:
- Fully fund state schools by 2029 to increase teachers’ wages, decrease class sizes, and give other direct material support to the education system.
- Free breakfast and lunch program in every public school in South Australia, supported by a $52m fund to upgrade school kitchen facilities and eating areas.
- Ensure that the government works directly with teachers’ unions to improve safety in the classroom and implement appropriate class sizes in all schools.
- Establish a capital grants fund worth $50 million for government schools.
One Nation:
- Remove subjects outside those traditionally taught in schools, and re-emphasise subjects such as English, Science and Mathematics.
- Strip the curriculum of material the party describes as ideological or politically biased, such as gender or Indigenous issues.
- Mandate schools to develop strict protocols and policies for dealing with disruptive students, including suspension and expulsion.
Environment
Labor:
- Provide $5 million to continue revitalising our rivers and waterways.
- Invest $13 million towards conservation and natural heritage.
Liberal:
- Invest in oceans, with a nature-based plan to clean and rebuild ecosystems and protect South Australia’s marine life.
- Establish a “Zero Litter to Ocean” target by 2035, with a $4.3 million commitment to projects that stop litter reaching the coast.
The Greens:
- Legislate a target of net-zero emissions by 2035 based on 2005 levels.
- Scrap the $100 million in subsidies for fossil fuel companies.
- Advocate for a fully-funded program after the algal bloom to rehabilitate affected habitats, support marine research, and restore populations of vulnerable species.
- Propose the creation of a Commissioner for Animal Welfare.
One Nation:
- Ensure Australia is self-sufficient in timber.
Infrastructure
Labor:
- Invest $12 million in a new industry partnership program to strengthen South Australia’s resources sector.
- Prioritise infrastructure in Mount Barker, with over $200 million across transport, health, education, community safety, skills, and housing construction.
Liberal:
- Prioritise investment into health, transport, emergency services, and community services across Mount Gambier.
- Invest $120 million in targeted infrastructure upgrades and maintenance works at priority school, preschool, and childcare sites.
The Greens:
- Introduce 50-cent fares for all public transport and free fares for school kids.
- Invest $12 billion over the next four years to deliver 100 kilometres of new tram lines into the suburbs.
One Nation:
- Embrace coal as an energy source and advocate for the construction of a new black coal ultra-supercritical (USC) power plant in Port Augusta.
- Introduce nuclear energy.
- Aim to keep council rates lower, including capping annual rate increases in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
For more information on South Australia’s state election policies visit:
Labor: https://www.sa.alp.org.au/our-policies
Liberal: https://brightersa.com.au
The Greens: https://greens.org.au/sa/election-platform
One Nation: https://sa.onenation.org.au/issues