Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie backs Liberal defector Kavel MP Dan Cregan

Influential Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie has effectively endorsed her Adelaide Hills ally – newly minted independent and Liberal turncoat Dan Cregan.

Influential Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie effectively has endorsed Liberal defector Dan Cregan as a newly minted independent, wishing him “all the best” and declaring she looks forward to working constructively with her fellow Adelaide Hills representative.

It is understood Mr Cregan and Ms Sharkie will forge an informal political pact but she emphasised there had been no talks with him about joining her Centre Alliance party.

The Advertiser on Friday exclusively revealed Premier Steven Marshall’s Liberal government would be plunged further into minority just months ahead of an election by the shock defection of first-term backbencher Mr Cregan, who would contest his blue-ribbon seat of Kavel as an independent.

His move leaves the Liberals with 22 lower house seats, just three more than Labor, and six crossbenchers holding the balance of power, including four former Liberals.

Ms Sharkie told the Sunday Mail: “I wish Dan all the best as an independent. Going forward I will continue to work constructively with Dan, just as I do with every state MP in my electorate …

“All the MPs in our region put their community first, and that has certainly been my experience in the past five years (since being elected in 2016). The colour of their political tie means little to me.”

Rebekha Sharkie and Dan Cregan at Mt Barker's regional sports hub. Picture: Supplied

Ms Sharkie, who the Liberals have repeatedly tried to convince to join the party, was a staffer for former Liberal state leader Isobel Redmond and has been considered an ally of Mr Cregan’s.

She said Centre Alliance, the federal arm of the former Nick Xenophon Team, would not be running candidates at the March state election – although she did not mention the party’s state arm, SA-Best.

Mr Cregan’s defection raises the prospect of more MPs walking from the Liberals, including former party state president and Davenport MP Steve Murray, who The Advertiser on September 15 revealed was said to have, along with Mr Cregan, serious, unresolved differences with Mr Marshall’s leadership.

One senior Liberal accused Mr Cregan of flip-flopping, having in September overturned his July announcement that he would quit politics at the next election, then on Friday declaring he would become an independent. “Running or not running. Liberal or not. Arthur or Martha,” the senior Liberal said.

Kavel MP Dan Cregan in the main street of Mt Barker. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Mr Marshall on Friday issued a statement to The Advertiser, saying: “Mr Cregan’s decision is a matter for him. I look forward to our party preselecting a Liberal candidate and working with them to deliver what matters for the people of Kavel.”

Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said Mr Marshall’s focus was on preventing the Liberals disintegrating while his was on producing a policy platform for the next election.

“Steven Marshall’s government is falling apart, as Liberal after Liberal quits and joins the crossbench,” he said.

“This is all about Steven Marshall’s leadership. It is becoming increasingly clear that while (Police Commissioner) Grant Stevens and (chief public health officer) Nicola Spurrier are running the state (during the Covid-19 pandemic), Steven Marshall can’t even run his own party room.”