2024 Black state by-election explained
| Country: | South Australia |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2022 South Australian state election |
| Previous Year: | 2022 |
| Election Date: | 16 November 2024 |
| Next Election: | 2026 South Australian state election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Opinion Polls: | - Opinion polling
|
| Registered: | 26,540 |
| Vote Type: | First preference |
| Seats For Election: | Electoral district of Black in the South Australian House of Assembly |
| Party1: | Australian Labor Party (South Australian Branch) |
| Candidate1: | Alex Dighton |
| Popular Vote1: | 10,248 |
| Percentage1: | 47.9% |
| Swing1: | 9.7% |
| Candidate2: | Amanda Wilson |
| Party2: | Liberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division) |
| Popular Vote2: | 7,300 |
| Percentage2: | 34.1% |
| Swing2: | 16.0% |
| Candidate3: | Sarah Luscombe |
| Party3: | Greens South Australia |
| Popular Vote3: | 2,799 |
| Percentage3: | 13.1% |
| Swing3: | 1.3% |
| 1Blank: | TPP |
| 2Blank: | TPP swing |
| 1Data1: | 59.9% |
| 2Data1: | 12.6% |
| 1Data2: | 40.1% |
| 2Data2: | 12.6% |
| MP |
| Before Election: | David Speirs |
| Before Party: | Liberal |
| After Election: | Alex Dighton |
| After Party: | Labor |
The 2024 Black state by-election was held on 16 November 2024 to elect the member for Black in the South Australian House of Assembly, following the resignation of Liberal Party MP David Speirs.[1]
The Labor candidate Alex Dighton won the seat, with ABC election analyst Antony Green calling the result at 7:26pm ACDT on election night.[2] It would be the second seat Labor has gained from the Liberals in a by-election in 2024, following their victory at the March by-election in Dunstan.
Background
The by-election was triggered by the resignation on 5 October 2024 of sitting Liberal MP and former Opposition Leader David Speirs, after he was charged with two counts of supplying a controlled substance on 26 September 2024. Speirs maintained his innocence and announced he would fight the charges.[3]
On 15 October 2024, Speirs formally resigned to the Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly, with the election date held on Saturday, 16 November 2024.
2022 election result
Candidates
Candidates who nominated for the by-election are (in ballot paper order):[4]
On 8 October 2024, the Labor Party preselected Sacred Heart College senior leader Alex Dighton, who previously ran for the seat at the 2022 election.
Amanda Wilson, the mayor of Holdfast Bay, was preselected as the Liberal Party candidate. Wilson does not reside in the electorate, but says she has not ruled out moving to Black "in the longer term". Labor accused Wilson of being "parachuted" into the role.
It was revealed that Wilson had been a member of the Greens before joining the Liberal Party one week prior to her preselection.[10] Wilson subsequently revealed that she had been approached by Peter Malinauskas to run for Labor in the seat of Gibson at the 2022 election, which he confirmed, as well as by Penny Wong to run as a Labor candidate for the federal seat of Boothby.[11]
On 17 October 2024, The Greens announced that City of Marion councillor, Sarah Luscombe would run as their candidate.
The Australian Family Party chose pilot Jonathan Parkin as their candidate for the by-election.
Campaign and controversies
The Liberal Party claimed that Labor had introduced a “Lettuce Tax”, however the ECSA intervened, ordering the posts to be removed, deeming the claim was misleading, inaccurate and breached section 113 of the Electoral Act. Liberal Opposition leader Vincent Tarzia denounced the ECSA findings as “fake news”.[12]
On 11 November 2024 it was revealed that the Liberals had spent $25,000 of public money on internal party polling by Sydney-based Freshwater Partners for the by-election. The Electoral Act requires registered political parties engaged in the public funding regime to abide by a strict spending cap of $94,482 in a by-election.[13]
While the same day, Liberal figure Nicolle Flint accused Labor of sexism, after they released a corflute that stated Dighton was “working with” Malinauskas while Wilson was “working under” Tarzia. Flint called for Labor to remove the advertising.[14]
Opinion polling
Voting intention
| Date | Firm | Interview
mode | Sample
size | Primary vote | 2PP vote |
|---|
| width=30px; class="unsortable" style=background: | | width=30px; class="unsortable" style="background:#F00011" | | width=30px; class="unsortable" style=background: | | width=30px; class="unsortable" style=background: | | width=30px; class="unsortable" style=background: | | width=30px; class="unsortable" style="background:#F00011" | |
|---|
| style=text-align:left | 12 November 2024 | style=text-align:left | The Advertiser (exit poll)[15] | In-person | 100 | 37% | | 47% | 16% | | |
|---|
| style=text-align:left | 19 March 2022 | style=text-align:left | 2022 election | — | 23,684 | 50.1% | 38.1% | 11.8% | — | 52.7% | 47.3% | |
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: subscription . 16 November 2024 . live . https://archive.today/20241116043405/https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/black-byelection-date-to-replace-david-speirs-set-for-saturday-november-16/news-story/3e41f7c6e5aad85b20084271d413d6dc?amp&nk=b601d3819fa2cfde06cf7dd35167d84e-1729053256 . Paul . Starick . Black by-election date to replace David Speirs set for Saturday, November 16 . The Advertiser . 5 October 2024 . 5 October 2024.
- News: Green . Anthony . 16 November 2024 . Black by-election 2024 Commentary . 17 November 2024 . live . https://archive.today/20241117/https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/sa-black-by-election-2024/commentary . 19:26 - I've called a win for Labor's Alex Dighton. A 13.9% swing on two polling places, 10% more than needed, and on the five polling places reporting primary votes, the drop in Liberal vote continues around 18%. No way back from here. . ABC News.
- Web site: Police say former SA Liberal leader David Speirs faces drug charges. Here's how it all unfolded . 17 November 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20241117044110/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-07/david-speirs-liberal-leader-to-drug-charges-explainer/104438058 . Josephine . Lim . McClaren . Rory . Briana . Fiore . live . 7 October 2024 . 10 November 2024.
- Web site: Black by-election: Declaration of nominations . Electoral Commission South Australia. https://web.archive.org/web/20241117044941/https://ecsa.sa.gov.au/news/2024-black-declaration-nominations. 17 November 2024. live. 1 November 2024. 10 November 2024.
- Web site: Black By-election . 17 November 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20241117045317/https://australianfamilyparty.org.au/black-by-election/ . The Australian Family Party . live . 10 November 2024.
- News: Yankovich . George . Holdfast Bay mayor Amanda Wilson to contest Black by-election . 12 October 2024 . subscription . 12 November 2024 . live . https://archive.today/20241112035558/https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/holdfast-bay-mayor-amanda-wilson-to-contest-black-byelection/news-story/1d82ddb12ac8b964eaa4b79b498bb067?amp&nk=ccf202ea869a94f32d8f063bac5b344f-1728705378 . The Advertiser.
- News: Kelsall . Thomas . Labor picks candidate for David Speirs’ seat as Lib contenders emerge. 8 October 2024 . 17 November 2024 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20241117045640/https://www.indaily.com.au/news/politics/2024/10/08/labor-picks-candidate-for-david-speirs-seat-as-lib-contenders-emerge . InDaily.
- News: Kelsall . Thomas . Greens pick candidate for Black by-election . 17 November 2024 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20241117042222/https://www.indaily.com.au/news/politics/2024/10/17/greens-pick-candidate-for-black-by-election.
- Web site: Sarah Luscombe, Candidate for Black . live . The Greens South Australia . 16 November 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20241105074114/https://greens.org.au/sa/person/sarah-luscombe . 5 November 2024.
- News: Bermingham . Kathryn . Liberal candidate for Black Amanda Wilson, who joined the Liberal Party on Friday, reveals she was previously a member of the Greens . subscription . 13 November 2024 . https://archive.today/20241113084904/https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/liberal-candidate-for-black-amanda-wilson-who-joined-the-liberal-party-on-friday-reveals-she-was-previously-a-member-of-the-greens/news-story/0c8b074365aab8647a0241d579c935f2?amp&nk=c3846c84f8b8fa6d4c97315ced077ec9-1728809358 . 13 October 2024 . live . The Advertiser.
- News: Kelsall . Thomas . Lib candidate was asked to run for Labor in 2022 . 14 October 2024 . 17 November 2024 . https://archive.today/20241117050354 . live . InDaily.
- News: Georgiou . Leon . 10 November 2024 . Electoral Commissioner forces Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia to remove “Lettuce Tax” posts deeming them misleading . subscription . https://archive.today/20241111131925/https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/electoral-commissioner-forces-opposition-leader-vincent-tarzia-to-remove-lettuce-tax-posts-deeming-them-misleading/news-story/f7d9c29c4d4270bf9f51cffa9740a2d8?amp&nk=cac0e331cbe71d8fedc8ce60f14231d9-1731331176 . 11 November 2024 . live . The Advertiser.
- News: Bermingham . Kathryn . 11 November 2024 . Taxpayers billed $2000 by the Liberal Party to conduct robocalls to voters in Black . https://archive.today/20241110224031/https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/taxpayers-billed-2000-by-the-liberal-party-to-conduct-robocalls-to-voters-in-black/news-story/4388d666e265628d3d582e5b740b7eb3?amp&nk=8b64689d32935a9ee1f80278332cef55-1731278449 . subscription . live . 10 November 2024 . The Advertiser.
- News: 11 November 2024 . Labor urged to remove ‘sexist’ ad as early voting opens in Black by-election . The Advertiser . https://archive.today/20241111061820/https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/labor-accused-of-sexism-over-ad-that-says-liberal-candidate-amanda-wilson-is-working-under-vincent-tarzia/news-story/edc045da3005ae56f5ddc16128847761?amp&nk=6148c8b702e9eb66d7498bd8df077c82-1731305917 . Kathryn . Bermingham . 11 November 2024 . subscription . live.
- Web site: Starick . Paul . Havrilenko . Dasha . Yankovich . George . Early voting shows Black by-election down to wire as senior Labor figures express fears . . 15 November 2024 . https://archive.today/20241112225647/https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/early-voting-shows-black-byelection-down-to-wire-as-senior-labor-figures-express-fears/news-story/5313406f7503f1a7bd3a8eb9c94758b8 . live . subscription . 12 November 2024 . 13 November 2024.
