SA election 2022: Labor leads government by seven points in latest Newspoll

Premier Steven Marshall has dismissed the results of the latest Newspoll that suggest he could be ousted after just one term in office, saying the only poll that counts will be on March 19.

Steven Marshall has moved to hose down the results of a Newspoll, which suggested he could be a one-term Premier if the results were replicated on election day.

The YouGov poll of more than 1000 voters, published in The Weekend Australian, put Labor leader Peter Malinauskas ahead as preferred premier, by a margin of 46-39 per cent.

Mr Marshall also has a much higher dissatisfaction rating than his opponent at 47 per cent compared to 31 per cent for Mr Malinauskas.

The collapsing support for Mr Marshall is reflected in a two-party-preferred vote of 53 per cent for Labor and 47 per cent for the Liberals, which if replicated uniformly on polling day would be enough for the election of a Malinauskas government in its own right.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, while announcing a pledge to restore fishing to the Torrens and upgrade Linear Park, Mr Marshall dismissed the results of the poll.

“Polls move around and there’s only one poll that counts and that’s in three weeks’ time,” Mr Marshall said.

“I think it does make it very clear to the people of South Australia - this is going to be a tight contest and there’s a lot at stake in this election,” Mr Marshall said.

“You can either have a continuing growing economy, which allows us to invest in important projects like the Linear Park upgrade, or you can go back to tired old Labor, high taxes, high unemployment and cuts to health”.

“People make up their mind as they get closer to the election. And I have every confidence people will look at our track record over four years”.

Peter Malinauskas is now South Australia’s preferred premier, according to Newspoll. Picture: Morgan Sette

The Australian reports that Mr Marshall must defy News­poll history to win from here, as with the exception of Labor premier Mike Rann in 2010, no other premier has held on against an ­opponent with a superior better-premier rating on the eve of an election.

The latest Newspoll says Premier Steven Marshall has an uphill battle to hold office. Picture: Morgan Sette

However, the poll shows Labor and the Greens are benefiting strongly from the return of the one-fifth of South Australian voters who supported former senator Nick Xenophon’s SA Best campaign in 2018.

The vote for “others” stood at 22.5 per cent in 2018, almost all of it going to Xenophon candidates, who ran in all 47 seats.

The “others” vote has now fallen to 14 per cent and Labor’s primary has jumped from 32.8 per cent in 2018 to 39 per cent, with the Greens also rising from 6.7 per cent to 10 per cent. In contrast, the Liberal vote has slid from 38 per cent at the 2018 poll to 37 per cent.