Inside Vincent Tarzia’s Liberal leadership and background

When Vincent Tarzia’s son was told Daddy was the new Liberal leader, he was entirely unimpressed.

New state Liberal leader Vincent Tarzia was quickly brought back to earth by his two-year-old son, Leonardo, when he returned home on Monday.

Wife Charissa delivered the exciting news: “Daddy became Leader of the Opposition today.” In response, an entirely unimpressed Leonardo shot back: “Daddy, I want an ice cream.”

It was a timely reality check for Mr Tarzia, 37, who had that morning trounced rival Josh Teague to win a leadership ballot by 18 votes to four.

New Liberal leader Vincent Tarzia, wife Charissa Tarzia and son Leonardo age two at Mercato Image/Russell Millard Photography

But marching straight on to the front foot, he issued a bold prediction in his first press conference as leader: “The Liberal Party will win the state election in 2026.”

Ignoring some criticism that this definitive statement was foolhardy and crazy-brave, he then declared in an interview with The Advertiser that afternoon: “I’m in this to win. I’m all in. We’re going to win back Dunstan (lost to Labor at a March by-election).”

He’s a man who’s clearly up for the fight. And keeping fighting fit is something he hopes will stand him in good stead in his match-up with Premier Peter Malinauskas.

“I love keeping fit, going to the gym quite early,” he told The Advertiser.

“I find that fitness is an outlet for me. So it’s an essential part of keeping that balance.

“As you get a bit older you try to do a bit more of hybrid stuff, so I love a bit of cardio always. Love the martial arts.

“I’ve done a little bit throughout my time. Whether it’s a jiu-jitsu or Muay Thai, it’s great fitness – no sparring though, because you just cannot afford the hits.”

Even his fiercest rivals don’t question Mr Tarzia’s ambition or hunger. This was the downfall of his predecessor, David Speirs, who quit on August 8, declaring he’d “had a gutful” of being undermined and lacked the energy to fight on.

Critics brand Mr Tarzia as impetuous and impulsive. Mr Speirs, who waited until Thursday to speak with his successor, behaved as though he believed Mr Tarzia had undermined him.

Mr Speirs cruelled the first week of Mr Tarzia’s leadership by refusing to declare whether he would follow through with histhreat to quit the Liberals if those who undermined him were rewarded in a new regime.

Former SA Liberal leader David Speirs flanked by Vincent Tarzia. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

Speaking to The Advertiser on Friday, Mr Tarzia confirmed the pair had spoken the previous day and said he was confident that Mr Speirs would remain in the fold after returning from a trip to Scotland for a cousin’s wedding.

“I’ve got no reason to think otherwise. It was a really positive discussion with David and I made it very clear to David that he’s welcome in the Liberal family,” Mr Tarzia said.

The wider Liberal Party is desperate to avoid another bout of the leadership instability and factional brawling for which it’s infamous.

The consensus view is that Mr Tarzia faces a difficult challenge to topple the popular Premier Peter Malinauskas and thathealth spokes­woman Ashton Hurn, who did not put herself forward at the ballot, is the standout long-term leadership option.

One prominent Liberal backer said: “Vincent’s got two chances of beating Malinauskas – Buckley’s and none. I’m a devout Liberalbut that’s just the way it is.”

Mr Malinauskas has targeted the Liberals’ traditional business base, sections of which were appalled by Mr Speirs’ leadership, complicating the task for Mr Tarzia. But the two men now vying to lead the state have extraordinarily similar backgrounds, despite being fierce ideological rivals.

New Leader of the Liberal party in South Australia Vincent Tarzia in Paradise. 12 August 2024. Picture Dean Martin

Mr Malinauskas and Mr Tarzia were school captains at up-market Catholic colleges – Mercedes and Rostrevor, respectively. Both worked as teenagers stacking supermarket shelves. Both went on to study commerce at the University of Adelaide.

Mr Tarzia completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Corporate Finance), Bachelor of Law, and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice.

Both the Labor and Liberal leaders share backstories of migrant grandparents who fled the stricken aftermath of post-war Europe in search of a better life in Adelaide.

Mr Tarzia’s left Italy in the 1950s – his grandfather from Calabria and his grandmother from Campania. Mr Malinauskas’s were Hungarian and Lithuanian refugees.

“I say this has been nothing, but a land of abundance for my family and the thousands of other migrants that have come to this country,” Mr Tarzia says. “So when you’ve come here ... with nothing and this land gives you the abundance that it does, you want to work as hard as possible to make sure that you can do everything you can to make our area and our state the best it can be and that’s what I’ll be focusing on.”

Their paths diverged after university – Mr Malinauskas became a union official and Mr Tarzia a legal clerk at leading Adelaidelaw firm Thomson Geer.

Mr Tarzia went on to work in mergers and acquisitions at Peregrine Corporation with the then-executive director Yasser Shahin (now executive chairman). He was elected to Norwood, Payneham and St Peters Council in 2010 and then won the northeastern Adelaide seat of Hartley for the Liberals in 2014.

Mr Tarzia won acclaim as the Nick Xenophon slayer at the 2018 state election, upsetting his bid to win Hartley.

“I’m a boy from the northeast ... and I think that’s also our edge in terms of knowing what matters to everyday South Australians – there’s no silver spoon here,” he said.

“I’ve had to always do it hard in everything I’ve done and I think I’m better for it, and it also gives me an opportunity to connect with what people are going through day-to-day”.

In an another parallel with Mr Malinauskas, their wives worked together for some years, also at Thomson Geer.

SA Premier Peter & wife Annabel Malinauskas. Picture: Emma Brasier

Mr Malinauskas’s wife, Annabel West, is a partner in the firm’s corporate team and has been there six years. Charissa Tarzia, now a Flinders University law lecturer, was an associate in the dispute resolution team and worked at the firm for six years.

Thomson Geer chief executive partner Adrian Tembel knows Mr Malinauskas and Mr Tarzia professionally in his role as South Australian Productivity Commission chairman – and as their wives’ boss.

Mr Tembel told The Advertiser both the Premier and Opposition Leader “on the surface are very different, but there are striking similarities”.

“Both have European migrant heritage, are very focused and very ambitious for SA,” he said, speaking in his capacity as ThomsonGeer’s chief executive.

“They both have accomplished professional wives, and they support their wives’ careers whenever they can. Both are devoted dads. I don’t think either are motivated by positions – they want to lead our state to a better place.

“I think their family histories are significant. This is the first time that SA has a Premier and Opposition Leader who both have European migrant heritage. This is a generational shift in our state’s elite political class. It brings a new level of boldness and diversity match­ed with the humbleness of outsiders.

“South Australians that want two political leaders who will challenge the status quo, and respectfully challenge each other, should be happy.

“This is the best way to make SA bigger and better.”

One thing the two leaders will not see eye-to-eye on is on the Showdown – Mr Malinauskas is a Port fan, while Mr Tarziaa Crows and Norwood Redlegs supporter.