Battle for Boothby: SA seat to be a key federal election battleground

Winning outgoing Liberal MP Nicolle Flint’s electorate is crucial to take the Federal Election, both parties say. Cue a lot of promises – and visits.

South Australia will be one of the key battlegrounds of the next federal election, with Boothby expected to be one of the seats that decide the result. 

The southern suburbs electorate has become a major target for the Liberal and Labor parties and is expected to draw more frequent visits from the Prime Minister and Opposition leader Anthony Albanese to SA – bringing funding and project announcements – in the lead-up to the election.

SA-specific issues, including whether 700 shipyard jobs involved in the maintenance of the Collins Class submarines remain in Adelaide or are shifted to Western Australia, are also expected to be a bigger consideration due to the need to win Boothby, political sources told The Advertiser.

Boothby became one of the most marginal electorates in Australia after the 2019 election, and incumbent Nicolle Flint’s plans to retire have made it even more of a battleground.

Nicole Flint in her office in Parliament House, Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Labor sources said it was one of the seats the party needs to win in order to win government. 

The party has yet to begin its official process to preselect a candidate for the seat, but senior Labor figures said they wanted a woman to run. 

“It will be a tough contest. We’re casting the net wide,” one said.

Boothby will also be crucial for the Coalition, which needs to win back every seat it won in 2019 and more to retain power.

A redistribution of electoral boundaries is expected to cost the Liberal Party the seat of Stirling in Western Australia, while a new notionally Labor seat named after former Prime Minister Bob Hawke will be created in Victoria.

Liberal sources said Christian Porter’s seat of Pearce in WA could also be at risk, while Dawson in Queensland will be a bigger fight than previously expected despite its 14.6 per cent margin after Nationals MP George Christensen announced his plans to quit politics.

Flynn in Queensland will be another battleground, with LNP member Ken O’Dowd set to retire.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and SA Premier Steven Marshall at Jim Barry Wines in Clare in April. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dean Martin.

The SA Liberal Party will preselect its candidate for Boothby on May 22.

Former candidate for Adelaide Shaun Osborne is in the race, along with SA party vice-president Rachel Swift, who recently ran for Senate preselection, and Leah Blyth, a school admissions director.

Liberal sources said there wasn’t a frontrunner at this stage.

Ms Flint said Boothby was “absolutely winnable with the right candidate”.

“Local residents will look for someone with strong ties to the community, who will work hard, listen to them and deliver for them on the issues they care about,” she said.

Federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese in Adelaide last year. Picture: AAP/Brenton Edwards

She said the key issues would be busting congestion on local roads, health, and looking after retirees and families by keeping the economy strong.

The election is now tipped to be held in 2022, instead of later this year, after delays with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and the bombshell sexual assault and harassment allegations that rocked Canberra over the past few months.

It means South Australians could be heading to the polls twice within two months next year, with the state election set for March 19 and a federal election potentially being held in May.