SA election 2018: Who won the Advertiser/Sky News People’s Forum with Jay Weatherill, Steven Marshall and Nick Xenophon

A HUNDRED undecided voters have delivered their verdict on who won the final leaders’ debate between Jay Weatherill, Steven Marshall and Nick Xenophon.

• Election HQ: News, maps, analysis and more
• Master list of promised policies and projects
• Electoral Commission finds Labor, Liberals made misleading claims

SA BEST leader Nick Xenophon has been scored the ­people’s champion in a critical final-week debate, edging out his two more-favoured rivals.

After a bruising day of attacks over misleading campaign claims about GST cuts and power prices, the three big party leaders renewed hostilities last night at the Central District Football Club in Elizabeth ahead of Saturday’s election.

The Sky News-Advertiser People’s Forum started with questions about the soaring cost of power, before spanning issues from disability services and veterans’ support to what the three leaders considered their biggest political mistakes.

The audience of 106 hand-picked and undecided voters cast their judgment on the victors from the one-hour Mexican standoff. The strong result for Mr Xenophon will give him renewed hope of claiming seats in the state’s struggling northern suburbs.

He took 30 per cent of the votes, with a huge 29 per cent undecided. Opposition Leader Steven Marshall ran third on 22 per cent and Premier Jay Weatherill last on 19 per cent.

Critical moments were a new pledge from Mr Weatherill to review the operation of laws around drunken violence and Mr Marshall squirming about the size of spending cuts to be included in today’s campaign costings document.

Mr Marshall confirmed there would “absolutely” be a savings target, but refused to detail how many jobs would go. He said the Liberals did not need to cut deeply to cover “crazy” big-spending promises of the kind made by Labor.

He refused to back down from his claim that households would save about $302 under a Liberal plan to build new power connections with other states to import and export electricity.

Mr Marshall also drew an exasperated murmur from the audience when asking if they had received power price cuts promised by Mr Weatherill, who shot back that his rival couldn’t “lecture me” on the day he had got a negative Electoral Commission finding.

“Our prices will come down,” Mr Marshall insisted.

“There has been some confusion as to exactly how much that $302 is from Liberal Party policy or what would happen more broadly in SA. If there has been any confusion ... we as a party apologise for that.”

Mr Xenophon said water prices must also be cut and were a government “cash cow”.

Mr Weatherill said the ETSA privatisation almost 20 years ago had been a disaster and his government had delivered a renewables boom that would lower prices.

Asked about their biggest mistakes in the past four years, Mr Weatherill highlighted the abuse of vulnerable patients at the Oakden aged-care home and young people in state care.

“We don’t expect old people to be slapped around, we don’t expect young people to be sexually abused,” he said.

“Obviously, all of the safeguards to prevent those things happening were a failure. It’s a disgrace and I have to accept responsibility for that.”

Mr Xenophon said he had made a mistake in the past by supporting lower penalty rates for small business.

“The lesson was (to) consult more widely, talk to all of the stakeholders and try not to stuff up again,” he said.

Mr Weatherill, who is facing a challenge from SA Best in Labor’s northern suburbs heartland, opened with a pitch to his party’s traditional base while also promising to create new jobs in modern industries.

“I think were on the verge of something incredible in SA. We are creating a whole new industrial base,” he said

Mr Xenophon said a vote for the major parties would deliver “more of the same”.

“Don’t give either of these gentlemen a blank cheque. Give SA Best a go,” he said.

Mr Marshall closed with a call for “SA to put in a government who is going to put the priorities of the state first”.

“They (Labor) have has 16 years and they have comprehensively failed,” he said.

“The good news is there is an election on Saturday.”

Issues that mattered

ENERGY

Jay Weatherill: Privatisation of ETSA was a complete catastrophe. We want to take back the control of basic utilities into the control of government.

Steven Marshall: Labor said three years ago that energy prices were going to come down by 9 per cent. The prices have gone through the roof.

Nick Xenophon: We can actually lower prices by having a renewable power plant where the people have a say. By our calculations it will mean at least a 20 per cent price reduction.

 

FOSTER CARE

Jay Weatherill: You (carers) are doing a wonderful thing for those children and you’re saving the rest of us a whole lot of money.

Steven Marshall: We will be different and we will be better. We will extend carer payments from age 18 to 21.

Nick Xenophon: The fact that so many children are in accom-modation in motels ... indicates the system needs reform.

 

UTILITIES

Steven Marshall: We’re going to restore the Emergency Services Levy remission. We want to cap council rates. If we form government we’ll have an immediate water price inquiry.

Nick Xenophon: (SA Water) has become a cash cow – we need to wind that back. Emergency Services, there needs to be some remission.

Jay Weatherill: There will be big reductions (in power prices) when we bring our solar thermal plant on in Port Augusta ... $150 each year over the next two years. And there’s the 30 per cent that’s going to come off (prices) with our virtual (solar) power station.

 

MISTAKES

Jay Weatherill: We’ve seen some ordinary things happen in child protection and aged care ... We have to have a super level of vigilance, we have to have ministers that are interrogating every level of their agency.

Steven Marshall: We haven’t been in government for 16 years.

Nick Xenophon: I make mistakes every day. I put up a Bill on penalty rates for small businesses – that was a complete stuff-up ... I’ve voted differently since.

A crowd of 100 watch on as Jay Weatherill, Nick Xenophon and Steven Marshall take questions. Picture: AAP / Tracey Nearmy

Last grasp for vital votes in a best-of-three decision

The scene - Michael McGuire 

THROUGH the doors, past the pokies room, the long bar and the dining room, more than 100 swinging voters filed in to the Central District Football Club to hear the final, occasionally desperate, pitch from the three main men who all have aspirations for greatness on Saturday.

Standing at the front of the room, the three amigos, Premier Jay Weatherill in his familiar vibrant blue suit and red tie, Liberal leader Steven Marshall in a slightly darker hue of blue and purple tie and SA Best’s Nick Xenophon, as is his wont, eschewing the tie for an open-necked white shirt.

Fans of body language would have noted that Weatherill stood apart, perhaps subliminally distancing himself from his two opponents. Perhaps, trying to gently reinforce his message that both Xenophon and Marshall are both Liberals, just different kinds.

In between questions, the Premier leant back, hands clasped, a look approaching disdain on his face. Marshall, as he attempted to project a positive image, despite his curiously passionless campaign so far, kept a dopey grin on his face. Xenophon tried his best not to look overly nervous. The questions were handed over to the crowd. It was a diverse bunch. Questions on power and electricity bills were a given and prompted a rare spark in what was generally a well-mannered debate right until the end, when Xenophon took exception to Marshall saying a vote for SA Best was a vote for Labor. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

There were questions about the National Disability Insurance Scheme, veterans’ mental health, euthanasia, law and order and a question on what mistakes each had made over the past four years.

Weatherill mentioned child protection and aged care and made a pledge that made you wonder if he really expected to win. “This is my commitment to you, these things will never happen again.”

Marshall fudged the question. Apparently satisfied with his efforts over the past four years. Xenophon, the only person to raise a smile from the crowd, joked that he had been “too nice” to his political opponents before talking about stuffing up penalty rates legislation, although Weatherill did raise an eyebrow when he claimed the legacy of Liberal legend Thomas Playford for himself.

By the end of the hour, there may not have been much more clarity, but a sense of relief that it was nearly all over.

Old tricks give the watchdog a sniff

Analysis – Paul Starick

PREMIER Jay Weatherill turned to the future to try and shed the baggage of the past 16 years in office – and had some mild success.

But the threat to his re-election chances and Liberal leader Steven Marshall’s hopes of becoming premier was starkly illustrated by the audience of 100 undecided voters opting for Nick Xenophon as The Advertiser-Sky News People’s Forum winner.

The high proportion of undecided voters – 29 out of 100 after sitting through an hour-long debate – indicates yet again the unpredictable nature of Saturday’s election.

Mr Xenophon did not present himself as an alternative premier but, rather, won the audience’s favour by returning to his role as a watchdog – one that has worked for him over 20 years in politics.

His feisty outburst at the end, when he rebuked Steven Marshall for branding a vote for him a vote for more Labor government, was a high point in a lacklustre debate. It left his independence at the forefront of voters’ minds.

In a debate dominated for the first 20 minutes by the election-defining issues of energy prices and cost of living, Mr Weatherill was able to escape the baggage of a statewide blackout to paint a credible plan for the future.

His argument centred on his year-old power plan, which relies on SA’s abundance of renewable energy, storing it in innovative batteries and driving a new wave of industrial capacity for the state.

By contrast, Mr Marshall was initially moribund and defensive, particularly because of official doubts cast on a promised $300 saving under his electricity plan.

Just as Mr Weatherill tried to paint a rosy picture of job opportunities, particularly based on renewable energy and defence, Mr Marshall tried to turn to the past and lash Labor for 16 years of failures. He had some success in this regard, particularly over the obvious mistakes in child protection and at the Oakden aged care facility.

Mr Marshall was well rehearsed and delivered his lines with, at times, mechanical precision. But he lacked the coherence of a campaign-opening debate at the South Australian Press Club.

On law and order, he shone, but the Opposition Leader was not able to make a convincing case for making him premier, and Mr Weatherill focused on the future more than his record. Mr Xenophon won the audience by offering an alternative, even if he did lack concrete plans.

What our experts said

Premier Jay Weatherill. Picture: AAP / Tracey Nearmy

Paul Starick

Weatherill:Turned to the future in a bid to ease the baggage of 16 years of office, putting in a strong performance on the crucial energy question.6/10

Marshall: Struggled to escape the hammer blow to his power price plan and looked uncomfortable at the opening but eventually rose above this to credibly attack Labor’s record. 5/10

Xenophon: Did not paint a case to be premier but instead focused on watchdog issues – his strong point – and therefore won favour with undecided voters in the audience. 6/10

WINNER: Jay Weatherill looked the most convincing as Premier by outlining plans for the future and, therefore, was a narrow winner in a relatively lacklustre debate.

 

 

Daniel Wills

Weatherill: The heavy anger and aggression he hopes will appear strong can come over a little false, but had good moments on a pledge to review laws around drunken violence.6/10

Marshall: Appeared calm, confident and mostly in control. Handled a tricky situation over criticism of his energy plan but stumbled over possible cuts to the public service. 7/10

Xenophon: Kept the crowd happy with punchlines and typical self-effacement, but increasingly looks more a commentator than alternative state leader. 5/10

WINNER: Marshall’s entire campaign has been based on positioning himself as a safe vehicle for change. A low risk effort that keeps him on track.

 

 

Lauren Novak

Weatherill: Passionate but less nasty than previous debates. Somewhat humble about Labor’s failings and wasn’t afraid to pull his opponents up on their claims.7/10

Marshall: Clearly articulated the key Liberal policies and kept a cool head, but didn’t cut through as much as in other appearances. 6.5/10

Xenophon: Earnest in his pitch for voters to put their trust in someone different, but stumbled at points, showing he’s still nervous on the same stage as the majors. 6/10

WINNER: Weatherill by an interjection. He owned his time and interrupted others to steal more of the limelight.

 

 

Liberal leader Steven Marshall. Picture: AAP / Tracey Nearmy

Adam Langenberg

Weatherill: The Premier wanted to talk jobs, jobs, jobs but had to resort to narky jibes in the absence of convincing responses to cost of living and power questions. 5/10

Marshall: Mostly calm and composed but struggled to navigate awkward issues like electoral commission breach and yet to be announced public service cuts. 5.5/10

Xenophon: Looked like he hadn’t slept for much of the campaign but won plenty of voters over with his charm. Lack of costed policy may hurt at ballot box. 5/10

WINNER: Steven Marshall – just. It was a torrid affair that wouldn’t enlighten too many voters but the Opposition Leader’s poise in the face of aggression was enough to stand out.

 

 

Sheradyn Holderhead

Weatherill: Under pressure on Oakden and finally gave some ground on public expectations on what ministers should know. Was strong and passionate on selling jobs growth message.6.5/10

Marshall: Was mostly calm and polished but a lack of confidence broke through when he missed easy free kicks and became awkward when quizzed on public sector cuts. 7/10

Xenophon: Came across as genuine but seemed out of his depth on the leaders’ stage. Became unnecessarily frustrated by the end of the debate. 4/10

WINNER: Steven Marshall, but only just. Appeared more level- headed and, nearing the end of the debate, finally showed some personality – becoming a sass king with a few light- hearted digs.

 

 

Michael McGuire

Weatherill: There are benefits to 16 years in power. You learn how to deal with these situations. Polished, professional, a bit of emotion occasionally. Tried to focus on the future and not the past.7/10

Marshall: Struggled to impose himself. Shaken on energy because of electoral commission finding earlier in the day and what should be a strength somehow became a weakness. 6/10

Xenophon: His best performance of the campaign. Still light in details at times but the audience warmed to him more than his two opponents on a personal level. And politics is nothing if not personal. 7/10

WINNER: Weatherill by a nose because Xenophon is not going to be premier and he outpointed his most immediate opponent in Marshall.

 

 

Peter Jean

Weatherill: A competent performance with a focus on job creation and plenty of jabs at Marshall.8/10

Marshall: After a nervous start, Marshall pushed the case that SA needs change. 7/10

Xenophon: Sincerity shone through but he struggled when pinned down on detail. 7/10

WINNER: Weatherill was across his brief and acknowledged that Labor needs to do better.

SA Best Leader Nick Xenophon, centre. Picture: AAP / Tracey Nearmy