Daniel Wills: Conservatives gearing up to fight for Sam Duluk’s return to the party room, as Steven Marshall faces first major split
Factional tensions are stirring in the SA Liberals, as the Sam Duluk saga becomes a lightning rod for conservatives who feel they’ve been ignored by the Premier for too long.
Opinion
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Premier Steven Marshall presided over a time of relative peace in an SA Liberal Party previously defined by bitter internal divisions that are again stirring, amid a build-up of conservative grievances.
Mr Marshall took the top job in the state Liberals almost by default after former leader Isobel Redmond quit in 2013, seeming to have been beaten down by a relentless campaign of destabilisation against her that has its origins a generation back.
The only candidate for the job, the moderate-backed Mr Marshall, had the abeyance of conservatives and backing of influential elders including now-Treasurer Rob Lucas.
Despite a crushing defeat at an election the next year, a new wave of Liberals held strong behind their man and watched old warhorses retire, eventually finding electoral reward for their loyalty in 2018.
Having now clocked up seven years in the job, Mr Marshall is the longest-serving leader the SA Liberals have had since former premier John Olsen’s tenure as head of the opposition in the 1980s.
Mr Marshall is also now the longest-serving current Liberal Party leader in the nation.
There’s no suggestion that position is under any threat at all.
But events of the past week, and the handling of the saga surrounding former Liberal MP Sam Duluk’s behaviour at a Parliament House Christmas party, have broken open and thrust into public glare significant splits in a party that prides itself on free speech and individualism.
Liberal conservatives feel they have been biting their tongues for years.
The elevation to deputy leader of Vickie Chapman, a divisive figure, sparked concerns of a lack of balance in the leadership team.
That pair has taken progressive stands on social issues like sex work, abortion and euthanasia. Many in the conservative lay membership believe these are not the Liberals they originally joined.
Mr Marshall’s first Cabinet was, and remains, chock full of paid-up moderates.
Transport Minister Stephan Knoll, the Liberals’ leading parliamentary conservative and possible future leader, is far outnumbered.
Federally, moderates have both of SA’s Cabinet minister positions.
Top staff positions in Mr Marshall’s office are filled by moderates and leaves conservatives feeling they have little influence or insight into what’s happening in the upper echelons of their government.
And that is all despite the broader right being ascendant in party membership and executive levels.
Mr Duluk, until he suspended his party membership after SA Police reported him for basic assault, was a leading figure of the conservative wing. He was enthusiastic in the trenches for campaigns to get conservative Liberals elected, be it for seats against Labor or party positions against the moderate faction.
His branch this week voted in support of Mr Duluk, despite warnings it would be viewed as a hit on Mr Marshall, who had booted the besieged MP from the parliamentary party room only days earlier.
Senior conservatives have told The Advertiser that the move was intended as a show of personal support for Mr Duluk, rather than a factional play, as they focus on his wellbeing during an ongoing political saga.
Deliberate or not though, it has sent a message that previews what could be a significant fight to come.
While Mr Duluk has few public supporters, neither media commentators nor even his own now-former colleagues, there is a quiet view held in parts of the party that the scorn and isolation he is currently suffering is not proportionate to behaviour for which he’s publicly apologised.
Expert legal advice this week strongly indicates that Mr Duluk will be able to remain in parliament even if basic assault were proven in court.
In that event, allies are likely to have him back in the party room before year’s end, and able to run as the endorsed Liberal candidate for Waite at the 2022 election.
One conservative powerbroker said: “There must be a way back for Sam. He made one very big mistake that no one is defending, but he’s apologised and he’s seeking help.
“Everyone deserves a second chance. He’s obviously had to go to the crossbench for a while, but exile for life is way over the top.”
That contrasts starkly with Mr Marshall’s blunt statement to ABC Radio on Monday that “it would be extraordinarily difficult” for Mr Duluk to find redemption. Mr Marshall last week said there were “further allegations” that are not currently public.
This looms as an issue where conservatives, MPs and others in the wider party, are willing to fight.
One labelled Mr Marshall a “coward” for cutting Mr Duluk loose, adding that “patience is running out”.
Feeling ignored and shut-out, they’re fast losing faith in appeasement and are increasingly willing to take with force what they believe is a fair share.