Parliament of South Australia, House of Assembly election

* Party did not contest previous election or did not meet criteria for listing, or contested previous election under a different party name.

Notes

Government in office at election: After the 2002 general election, the Rann Australian Labor Party minority government was formed with the support of Independent Peter Lewis who became Speaker of the House of Assembly. On 4 December 2002, Independent member Rory McEwen was sworn in as a minister in a Rann Australian Labor Party and Independent coalition government. The willingness of McEwen to become part of the government while remaining an Independent transformed the government from a minority government relying on the casting vote of the Speaker to a coalition government with majority support on the floor of the Assembly (creating a second period in office); see Andrew Parkin, 'South Australia, January to June 2003' Australian Journal of Politics and History, Political Chronicles, 38 (3) December 2003: 597-604, at p. 597.

The Rann government's position was further strengthened on 23 July 2004 by the addition of Karlene Maywald, the sole National Party member of the Assembly, to the coalition government;. The conditions under which Maywald joined the ministry while remaining a member of the National Party were set out in a formal agreement which permitted her to vote against the government in the Assembly on some issues.

Government after election: Although the Australian Labor Party under Premier Rann won a majority of seats at this election (2006), Rann and the Labor Party parliamentary members (the Labor caucus) chose to keep the reelected Independent member McEwen and National Party member Maywald as ministers in the government under the same conditions negotiated at the time when these two non-Labor Party members originally joined the government in 2002 and 2004 (see previous note). As a result of this arrangement, Rann continued as premier of a Labor Party, Independent and National Party coalition government.

Independents and Independent (McEwen): The votes and seats allocated to Independents in the table above were gained by 17 candidates who ran for office at this election (2006) as Independents (13 of these linked the label 'Independent' with with some other description or policy preference, for example, Independent -- No Rodeo). Three Independents were elected to the House of Assembly at this election; Kris Hanna (electoral district of Mitchell), Rory McEwen (electoral district of Mount Gambier), and Bob Such (electoral district of Fisher). As McEwen agreed to support the government and accept a ministry, his votes and seat are shown separately. The vote for all Independents, including McEwen, was 25,884.

One Nation Party: Some supporters of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party at the 2002 South Australian Assembly election fielded 6 candidates at the 2006 election under the label One Nation Party. Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party gained 22,833 votes (2.41%) at the 2002 election, but the One Nation Party gained only 2,591 votes (0.28%) at the 2006 election.

References: For background, analysis and commentary on this election see, Geoff Anderson and Haydon Manning, 'The South Australian Election of 18 March 2006', Australian Journal of Political Science, 41 (4), December 2006: 631-640; Haydon Manning, 'South Australia, January-June 2006', Australian Journal of Politics and History, 52 (4), December 2006: 667-673. Both these journals are available online through subscribing libraries.

Sources

State Electoral Office, South Australia, Results and Outcomes 3: State Election 18 March 2006, (Adelaide: State Electoral Office, South Australia), available at:
https://bit.ly/2Lv4Ul9 [accessed 17 June 2006].