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Canberra, March 21 (IANS) Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce on Monday dismissed concerns over the South Australian (SA) election result in which the ruling party was defeated by the opposition.
The South Australian Labor Party on March 19 defeated the governing Liberals in a landslide election victory to win power, reports Xinhua news agency.
It marked the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic that an opposition has defeated an incumbent government at an election in Australia and came weeks before the federal election, where Labor is hoping to unseat the Liberals from government after nine years.
Despite the heavy loss, Joyce said that the issues that decided the SA election won’t be a factor in the general election, saying that Australia must “become as strong as possible” on defence, exports and infrastructure.
“And I believe the Australian people will make a choice that the most competent group to do that is the Coalition,” he told local media.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who did not campaign for the Liberals in SA, on Sunday paid tribute to outgoing state Premier Steven Marshall but rejected that the result would have implications for his government.
However, Labor’s national president, former Treasurer Wayne Swan, said the result was “a clear message that voters have had enough of Liberal governments that are out of touch with their lives”.
Labor currently leads Morrison’s Coalition 55-45 on a two-party preferred basis.
“This was not just about rejecting Steven Marshall’s government – it was a rejection of the Liberals’ brand,” Swan.
SA Labor, led by new Premier Peter Malinauskas, is set to win at least 26 of the 47 seats in the lower house of the state’s Parliament.
Marshall on Sunday announced his resignation as leader of the SA Liberals.
Currently of the six states and two territories in Australia, premiers of New South Wales (NSW) and Tasmania are from the Liberal Party.
