Former deputy premier Vickie Chapman to quit politics, force by-election in her seat of Bragg

Former deputy premier Vickie Chapman will quit politics within weeks and trigger a by-election in a move that has enraged some senior Liberals.

Former Liberal deputy premier Vickie Chapman will quit politics at the end of May, ending a 20-year career after an Ombudsman’s inquiry into her conduct is released publicly.

In a decision that has infuriated some Liberals because it came on the day new leader David Speirs was installed, voters in Ms Chapman’s southeastern Adelaide seat of Bragg will go to the polls three times within a few months – after state and federal elections.

The state’s first female deputy premier and attorney-general, Ms Chapman said she wanted to help usher in generational change within the Liberal Party after the March 19 landslide loss.

She echoed new Opposition Leader Mr Speirs’ rejection of a feud between the pair, despite her announcement partially overshadowing his convincing party room ballot victory on Tuesday.

Ms Chapman, who was first elected in 2002, said she understood an Ombudsman’s inquiry into her rejection, as planning minister, of a controversial Kangaroo Island seaport would be tabled in parliament before she formally resigned but insisted this had not influenced the timing of her decision.

“I think it’s important that the electorate has an opportunity to preselect and elect another member,” she said.

“(Former premier) Steven (Marshall) and I have had our turn. We had four years. I’m proud of what we did and I’m proud of what he achieved.”

Vickie Chapman during Question Time last year with then-premier Steven Marshall Picture: Keryn Stevens

But the timing of her decision enraged some Liberals.

“Vickie is so blinded by spite she’s stuck her middle finger up to the people of Bragg and embarrassed herself. This move, amongst other things, will forever taint her career. Her dynasty is dead because she just killed it,” one senior Liberal told The Advertiser.

Mr Speirs said it was “sad news for South Australian politics and for the Liberal Party”, because Ms Chapman had been “a stalwart of the Parliament for more than two decades and someone who I am proud to have worked with and have looked up to since before I was even elected”.

“She leaves behind an immense legacy as South Australia’s first female deputy premier and first female attorney-general,” he said.

“I thank her for her service to South Australia and the Liberal Party and wish her all the best in retirement.”

South Australia’s most senior federal Liberal, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, paid tribute to her achievements, saying: “Vickie has been a trailblazer and a reformer, leaving parliament with a legacy that she should be proud of.”

Ms Chapman said her resignation presented the opportunity for a “fresh broom” for the party, arguing this would add to the generational change already under way because of MPs newly elected in March. She highlighted Schubert MP Ashton Hurn, Frome MP Penny Pratt and Flinders MP Sam Telfer.

Vickie Chapman departs a media conference at Jeffcott Chambers in Adelaide on November 30, 2021. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Ms Chapman, who suffered an 8.8 per cent swing against her at the March election, said she would not endorse a successor in the blue-ribbon seat.

Her decision is calculated to avoid a Bragg campaign coinciding with the race for the May 21 federal election, so Ms Chapman will be in parliament after its May 3 resumption for at least six sitting days before resigning. It is likely this will occur on May 31.

Ombudsman Wayne Lines last November confirmed he was investigating whether Ms Chapman had a conflict of interest or breached the ministerial code of conduct in relation to the seaport’s rejection. He also was investigating the role and responsibility any other public officer, including the-then premier Mr Marshall, played in relation to Ms Chapman’s decision.

Days later, a besieged Ms Chapman succumbed to the conflict of interest scandal, a historic no-confidence motion in state parliament and subsequent suspension by standing down as deputy premier.