South Australian Liberal Party

"Liberal and Country League" redirects here. For the party in Western Australia also named Liberal and Country League between 1949 and 1968, see Liberal Party of Australia (Western Australian Division). For the independent party in Victoria between 1938 and 1943, see Liberal Country Party. For the party in Victoria named Liberal and Country Party between 1949 and 1965, see Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division).

South Australian Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division)
Abbreviation
  • LCL (1932–1974)
LeaderDavid Speirs
Deputy LeaderJohn Gardner
PresidentRowan Mumford[1]
Founded9 June 1932; 92 years ago (9 June 1932)[a]
Preceded by
Headquarters104 Greenhill Road, Unley, Adelaide, South Australia
Youth wingSA Young Liberal Movement
Women's wingLiberal Women's Council
Ideology
Political positionCentre-right[2][3] to right-wing[4]
National affiliationFederal Liberal
Colours  Dark blue
  Sky blue
House of Assembly
14 / 47
Legislative Council
8 / 22
House of Representatives
3 / 10
(South Australian seats)
Senate
6 / 12
(South Australian seats)
Website
saliberal.org.au
Seats in local government
Adelaide
1 / 12
Marion
1 / 13
Mount Barker
1 / 11
Onkaparinga
2 / 13
Port Pirie
1 / 10
Prospect
1 / 9
Tea Tree Gully
6 / 14
Unley
3 / 13
Victor Harbor
1 / 10
West Torrens
1 / 15

The South Australian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division), and often shortened to SA Liberals, is the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia. It was formed as the Liberal and Country League (LCL) in 1932 and became the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party when the Liberal Party was formed in 1945.[5] It retained its Liberal and Country League name before changing to its current name in 1974.[6] It is one of two major parties in the bicameral Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Australian Labor Party (SA Branch). The party has been led by Leader of the Opposition David Speirs since the 2022 state election after a one-term government.

During its 42-year existence as the Liberal and Country League, it spent 34 years in government, mainly due to an electoral malapportionment scheme known as the Playmander. The Playmander was named after LCL leader Sir Tom Playford, who was the Premier of South Australia for 27 years from 1938 until his election loss in 1965. The Playmander was dismantled through an electoral reform in 1968, with the first election under the new boundaries in 1970. Since the electoral reform, the party has won only 4 of the 17 state elections: 1979, 1993, 1997 and 2018.

  1. ^ "SA Liberals opt for 'generational shift' rather than conservative takeover at annual general meeting". ABC News. 17 September 2022.
  2. ^ "SA Liberals elect former environment minister David Speirs as new party leader". ABC News. 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022.
  3. ^ Kelsall, Thomas (6 July 2023). "'Dark forces': Liberal factional tensions erupt as MP turns independent". InDaily. Solstice Media. Archived from the original on 6 July 2023.
  4. ^ "SA Liberals call in Jones and Deves". The Australian. News Corp Australia. 13 September 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference jan1945 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Liberal Party of Australia, South Australian Division: SLSA.sa.gov.au


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