Embattled Dunstan Liberal candidate Anna Finizio’s show of strength in face of mounting Labor job scandal

The bitter fight for the state’s most marginal political seat has plunged into a war of words as an embattled Liberal candidate angrily condemned Labor “mudslinging” women attacks.

• Lib’s Dunstan hopeful tried to land Labor job

The bitter fight for the state’s most marginal political seat has plunged into a war of words as an embattled Liberal candidate angrily condemned Labor “mudslinging” women attacks.

Dr Anna Finizio, 37, is battling for the Eastern suburbs electorate of Dunstan against Labor’s Cressida O’Hanlon, 51, after former premier Steven Marshall, 56, quit politics.

Dr Finizio’s candidacy has suffered twin blows over her bid to become a Labor political adviser four years ago and links to a failed family business.

But as Labor ministers intensified their attacks on her integrity, Dr Finizio remained defiant as the aspiring MP, who has denied claims over her business history, and her potential new boss hit the gym.

Liberal candidate Anna Finizio angrily hit out at the attacks. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

The political brawl emerged days after Ms O’Hanlon, a mother of four and former political staffer, faced opposition claims in parliament of breaching integrity laws over an email from her husband.

She has not publicly answered questions.

But as government ministers criticised Dr Finizio’s integrity, she defiantly hit at “mudslinging” and “waste of time” queries about her professional history.

Dr Finizio, a lawyer and former Liberal political adviser, angrily dismissed Labor calls for her to quit as sources said “she’s more determined than ever”.

Opposition Leader David Speirs, who has resisted calls to sack his star moderate faction-backed candidate, angrily insisted vetting was “robust” and blasted the ALP’s “dirty brand of politics” on women.

Mr Speirs, who enjoyed a pre-dawn gym workout with his star recruit on Friday, discovered her Labor job application after The Advertiser’s queries on Thursday.

Labor ministers questioned the Liberals’ honesty, hypocritical gender criticisms and asked if Dr Finizio wrongly signed her legal declaration.

Liberal sources are puzzled how the party’s stringent background checks failed to identity issues they say will now hurt morale and internal strategies.

A candidate declaration asks more than 40 questions about backgrounds, criminal history, finances – including if involved in failed ventures – as well their politics, such as donations, memberships or made publicly critical comments on the party.

They must disclose in writing “all matters, facts or issues which may possibly cause embarrassment to the party”.

Liberal Candidate for Dunstan Anna Finizio with former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and ex-premier Steven Marshall, who she is hoping to replace. Picture: Facebook

Dr Finizio, then of Grange in Adelaide’s west, applied to Labor opposition’s shadow Attorney-General Kyam Maher in January 2020.

Her “expression of interest” came eight months before joining the Marshall Liberal government as an adviser to then police minister Vincent Tarzia.

Dr Finizio, now of Norwood, later advised former health minister Stephen Wade during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking at a Norwood park, in the electorate’s heart on Friday, Dr Finizio angrily hit back at criticisms and brushed off calls for her to withdraw from the race.

She said at the time of the job application she was neither a Liberal nor Labor Party member, but said she “was a Liberal voter” and did not regret making an application for the Labor role.

Despite insisting she was being transparent, she refused to comment about internal Liberal vetting and could not immediately answer if she was paid for director work with a failed family business.

“These are these things being slammed by the Labor Party. This is a waste of time and I have no interest in it,” she said.

“I love that can I just say every single minute the labor spends talking about me to not thinking about the people of Dunstan and all the people of South Australia.”

She had an eight year directorship – “on paper” – of her father’s firm that owed more than $22m when it collapsed in 2019. She quit two years earlier.

On Friday morning, Mr Speirs – who has resisted calls to sack his star Moderate faction backed candidate —  posted a picture on social media of the smiling pair during a Kent Town gym session on Friday.

“Win the morning, win the day, so they say,” he posted about the “5.30am sesh” alongside an exhaling emoji icon.

He has his arm around Dr Finizio – who has come under fire over her links to a failed family business that owed more than $22m – who is also smiling for the photograph.

Mr Speirs backed the candidate on Friday, describing her as a “highly qualified, ambitious, young woman who wants to serve her local community” and arguing that the role in Mr Maher’s office was “not a political attack dog job”, despite being a direct adviser.

He accused Labor MP Tom Koutsantonis of “unwarranted attacks” on Dr Finizio, labelling his criticisms a “dirty brand of politics”.

“At a time when we should be encouraging more women to enter politics, it’s this kind of disgraceful behaviour that makes women think that this is not the career pathway for them,” Mr Speirs said.

David Speirs lashed out at questions. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

“Does Peter Malinauskas support the way Tom Koutsantonis has been speaking about Anna Finizio? Does he believe this is how one of his most senior MPs and ministers should be talking about a young, female candidate?

“Or is he quite happy to let Tom Koutsantonis continue with this dirty brand of politics and slinging mud at a young, ambitious woman, hoping that some sticks?”

He said he had no concerns over Dr Finizio applying for the job just four years ago.

“Anna saw that role as the sort of job that would enable her to move from the Law Society into public policy in the parliamentary arena,” he said.

Nominations closed at 12pm on Friday for the March 23 poll, at which more than 27,000 voters will elected a new MP.

But Mr Speirs lashed back over commentary that the Liberals’ attack on Ms O’Hanlon was akin to Mr Koutsantonis’ criticisms of Dr Finizio.

“It is different because there are significant questions around how that company interacted with the parliament and with ministers, it’s a matter of public administration,” he said.

The opposition leader revealed he only became aware of Dr Finizio’s application for the Labor position on Thursday, but refused to comment on the Liberal Party’s vetting process except to describe it as “thorough”.

“I’ve got no issue with the nature of the job and that’s the long and the short of this, it is a research-based role in a parliamentary context so I wouldn’t expect it to come up,” Mr Speirs said.

Mr Speirs declined to comment on what was discussed during Dr Finizio’s statutory declaration process after Mr Koutsantonis accused of “airbrushing” links to FG Pty Ltd – trading as Formway Group – which plunged into administration in July 2019.

“We have to be very clear that Anna and her family have exited that organisation prior to it closing down,” he said.

“I knew that Anna’s family had business interests and I didn’t expect to know the ins and outs of those.

“I don’t see the relevance of the collapse or closing down of a company after Ms Finizio had ceased having involvement in it.”

Dr Finizio said she had no knowledge of any alleged historic tax issues with the company and was “only a director on paper” with no involvement in the company’s operations.

On Friday, Mr Koutsantonis, who is also manager of government business, called on Dr Finizio to resign.

“This is not like what David Speirs was doing in the cabinet office, where he’s offering independent advice to the government of the day – this is someone working in a partisan role,” Mr Koutsantonis said of Dr Finizio’s application for the Labor role.

Tom Koutsantonis renewed his attack on Dr Finizio on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

“The questions I have for Ms Finizio is why not declare it? Why didn’t you tell everyone about your directorships? Why didn’t you tell everyone about this? What else haven’t you told us? These are questions that she has to answer, but she won’t.”

“Well, I can tell you, this does not happen all the time. I’ve never known anyone in my political staff to have any other allegiance than to be working for the government and the Labor Party.

“The idea that I’ll have somebody in my office who’s an active conservative and a Liberal is abhorrent to me and to the policy of the government.”

And I can’t believe that I’m going to actually say this, but I actually feel sorry for Steven Marshall. He’s a former Premier, (and) he deserves better than this.

“He deserves better than to be betrayed like this at the very end of his career, but especially by one of his own.”