‘Extraordinary’ 24 per cent swing away from Liberals in traditional heartland seat of Flinders

An independent candidate in regional Liberal heartland has pulled off a 24 per cent swing against the party, claiming it has taken its supporters for granted for too long.

An Eyre Peninsula bakery manager has achieved a remarkable swing away from the Liberals in conservative heartland, following a battle focused on major local gripes.

Electoral Commission SA results show independent candidate for Flinders Liz Habermann hot on the heels of the Liberals’ Sam Telfer – the Tumby Bay mayor – with Mr Telfer snaring 52.1 per cent of votes in the two-party preferred count.

Mrs Habermann achieved a 24 per cent swing away from the Liberals in the seat, which covers the Eyre Peninsula, West Coast and pastoral and Aboriginal lands north of the Nullarbor.

The Electoral Commission said a “data entry issue” caused the results to be incorrectly published on its website on Tuesday, with Mrs Habermann earlier being listed as leading the battle for the seat. That problem has since been fixed.

Liz and Brett Habermann holds a photo of her son Rhys, who took his own life to due illness at a euthanasia vote vigil on the steps of Parliament House, Adelaide. Picture: Kelly Barnes

The Liberals have held Flinders since 1993, when the party took over the patch from the Nationals. Local MP Peter Treloar, who held the seat with a 26 per cent margin, is retiring.

Adelaide University Emeritus Professor Clem Macintyre said even if Mrs Habermann, a Wudinna District councillor, fell just short of taking the seat it would still be “an extraordinary result” in what was formerly a Liberal stronghold.

The political scientist said the huge swing raised questions over how attentive the party had been towards its regional constituents.

“All of regional SA except the seat of Giles is, or has been, solid Liberal territory,” he said.

“The fact that independents, even if they’re not elected this time around, could come so close, is a sign that there’s a level of disaffection with the Liberal Party amongst traditional Liberal voters in rural SA.

District Council of Tumby Bay chief executive Rebecca Hayes with Mayor Sam Telfer. Picture: Tumby Bay Council

“The Liberal party at the federal election and the next state election are going to have to work much harder to hold or win back seats they’ve taken for granted.”

Mrs Habermann says her bid to enter state politics was initially spurred by her support for proposed voluntary assisted dying laws, after her 19-year-old son Rhys took his own life in 2017. He suffered from Ewing sarcoma (cancer) and did not want to go through palliative care.

She campaigned on a string of local issues including rejecting SA Water’s proposal to build a contentious desalination plant at Billy Light’s Point, Port Lincoln.

Flinders Independent candidate Liz Habermann with her late son Rhys. Picture: Supplied

Mrs Habermann also wanted more attention for the peninsula’s doctor shortage, security guards to protect nurses at Port Lincoln hospital, and the revival of a defunct rail line to reduce the number of grain trucks in the town and also ferry around tourists.

Friend Marie Shaw QC, who grew up at Warrachie, on the peninsula, encouraged Mrs Habermann to run and was among donors for her campaign.

Mrs Habermann said the Liberals had taken the area for granted for too long.

“They don’t need to send money our way because we vote for them anyway,” she said.

“I realised I needed to put my hand up and offer people that change. (The result) shows that many other people are feeling the same way.”

About 57 per cent of the seat’s votes are counted and Mr Telfer said he would wait until more were tallied before commenting on the results.

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