Ash the Ambo, paramedic who spoke out during state election campaign, signals her return

Ash the Ambo was a very public face of the state’s ambulance service during Labor’s election campaign in March. She has been lying low since March, but not any more.

“Ash the Ambo”, a paramedic who appeared in a controversial Labor advertisement in the lead-up to the state election, has vowed “I’ll be back” after months of relative silence on the health system.

In a cryptic tweet, Ashleigh Frier – an outspoken critic while the Liberals were in government – said “legal advice” had prevented her from publicly commenting. “Until recently … so I’ll be back,” she said.

It comes a month after electoral commissioner Mick Sherry said he was determining whether to refer Labor for prosecution over the campaign video, which he ruled was “inaccurate and misleading”.

An Electoral Commission spokesman said the matter was still being considered and “all parties will be advised as soon as a decision is made”.

Ms Frier was a vocal critic of the Liberal government in the lead-up to the election, but has limited her commentary to a handful of tweets in the subsequent months.

Twitter post of paramedic Ashleigh Frier, who appeared in Labor Party, campaign material.

Opposition health spokeswoman Ashton Hurn said Labor “relentlessly blasted its misleading ‘Ash the Ambo’ campaign, urging South Australians to vote for them ‘life your life depends on it’”.

“The constant focus on ramping has all but vanished over the past six months, despite Labor’s repeated promises to fix it,” she said.

Health Minister Chris Picton said he has no problem with frontline workers raising issues that concern them, “especially since I share their concerns”.

“Under legislation, ministers have no role in individual employee management, and hence I have not been involved in any individual employee’s management in SA Health,” he said.

He said the government was taking action to equip paramedics with the resources needed to do their jobs properly.

Ms Frier and the Ambulance Employees Association have been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Ash the Ambo, paramedic who spoke out during state election campaign, signals her return