Former premier Steven Marshall announces he will soon retire from state parliament

After nearly two years of speculation, former premier Steven Marshall has announced he will depart state parliament and listed the things he hopes he is remembered for.

Former South Australian premier Steven Marshall will soon retire from state parliament, triggering a by-election in his eastern suburbs seat.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Mr Marshall said he would formally resign as Member for Dunstan over the coming months.

“It has been an honour to be the Member for Dunstan, Leader of the South Australian Liberal Party and Premier of South Australia,” Mr Marshall said.

“After almost 14 years in parliament, now is the right time for me to step aside and allow someone else to step forward and serve the people of Dunstan.

“I will leave politics knowing I did my best and fought my hardest for this great state.”

Dunstan became the state’s most marginal seat after Labor’s landslide election win in March 2022.

“I have many very happy memories of my time, lots of highs, lots of lows, but most importantly, a privilege to serve the people of South Australia and most particularly the people of Dunstan,” he said.

Steven Marshall fronts the media on Wednesday after announcing he will quit state parliament. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Mr Marshall believes he left a strong legacy for SA and plans to take a break after his resignation. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

“I’ve made a decision that it’s now time for me to make way for new and fresh ideas serving the people of Dunstan, the South Australian parliament.”

Mr Marshall said he would be handing in a formal resignation “in the coming months”, but had not set a definitive date – a move that has drawn the criticism of the government.

“I want to give, of course the party, all the right time to preselect the very best candidate for the Liberal Party,” Mr Marshall said.

“It’s very important to me that we have continuing solid Liberal representation for the people of Dunstan, so that’s why I’ve decided to announce today that I won’t be completing my entire term.”

Mr Marshall retained the seat for the Liberals by just 0.5 per cent over Labor candidate Cressida O’Hanlon.

He said he was looking forward to introducing his community to “a new and energetic Liberal candidate”, but gave no indication of who that would be.

Mr Marshall will leave parliament over the coming months. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Mr Marshall said he hoped his contribution to the state’s “economic transformation” will be a part of his political legacy.

“Obviously getting through Covid was a massive milestone, but I think in general, the economic transformation of the state is what I want to be remembered for,” he said.

“When we came to government, we had thousands of young people leaving the state every single year, we’ve turned that around now.

“We’ve got a strong economy, one of the strongest in the entire nation.

“We did well to reverse that brain drain and I’m very confident and optimistic about the future of South Australia.”

Mr Marshall said he does not have any major career regrets and is proud of the Liberal Party’s achievements, including “the economy, the reform agenda and leading the state through the pandemic”.

Former Liberal staffer and lawyer Anna Finizio has been consistently touted as a frontrunner for preselection.

“Anna Finizio would be an excellent member of parliament, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“But ultimately, one of the great things about the Liberal Party is that all members of the Liberal Party get to preselect their candidate and so this is a matter for the party, for the members.”

Mr Marshall says it’s time to hand over to someone with new and fresh ideas to take Dunstan forward. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Following his resignation, Mr Marshall said he will be taking “a little break”, and does not have a future role lined up.

“It wasn’t my intention to resign but I came back to work on January 2, and as I said, worked very hard over the last couple of years,” he said.

“Got through most of my work and I suppose in the last week or so, I formed the opinion that it was best for somebody else to take over.

“Somebody with new ideas, fresh ideas, to take the seat forward.”

Mr Marshall said he was particularly proud of how his government and the broader SA community responded to challenges during the Covid pandemic.

“I send a special thanks to former health and wellbeing minister Stephen Wade, the Commissioner of Police Grant Stevens, and chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier for their enormous efforts during the pandemic,” he said.

He has held the seat of Dunstan, formerly known as Norwood, since 2010, and served as opposition leader for five years before taking over as Premier after the Liberals won the 2018 election.

Opposition Leader David Speirs thanked Mr Marshall for his friendship, support and mentorship.

“Steven’s announcement will allow the Liberal Party to endorse a new local candidate who will support our party’s renewal and work hard to deliver for the community,” he said.

Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis, who has in the past criticised Mr Marshall over his parliament attendance record, said it was disappointing that no resignation date has been set.

“For whatever reason, Mr Marshall won’t give us the date, because I think that they are playing games,” he said.

“They’ve got to stop playing games ... the people of Dunstan deserve a member of parliament, just let everyone vote.

“Let’s get someone in there who actually wants to do the job, who actually wants to be the Member for Dunstan, who actually will turn up to parliament and do the job for their constituents.”

Asked whether he thought ramping levels with affect the Labor vote, Mr Koutsantonis said it would be a matter for the people of Dunstan and pointed to investment in the health system.