GetUp to target SA Liberal MPs Nicolle Flint and Rowan Ramsey ahead of federal election

South Australian Liberal MPs in the state’s most marginal and largest electorate have been put on a Federal Election hit-list by left-wing lobby group GetUp.

South Australian Liberal MPs in the state’s most marginal and largest electorates have been put on a Federal Election hit list by left-wing lobby group GetUp.

It has named Boothby MP Nicolle Flint and Grey MP Rowan Ramsey — whose electorate covers 92 per cent of SA — as among hard-right Liberals “holding back progress on issues that matter most”.

A GetUp member survey that will underpin its election campaign urges respondents to vote on strategies to:

CAMPAIGN in electorates where strong independent candidates who share its vision are running.

KICK out “powerful, hard-right MPs”.

PUT political pressure on MPs and candidates to be “more progressive” through local campaigns.

The group, credited with helping topple Liberal MPs including Jamie Briggs at the 2016 election, has long been accused of being a “front”.

Liberal Senator Eric Abetz last year wanted the Australian Electoral Commission to recognise it as an “associated entity” of Labor, or the Greens.

But GetUp national director Paul Oosting maintains its campaigns are based on member values, as grassroots supporters pledge up to an average of “three hours each week” to the upcoming election effort.

Members of GetUp! with two donkeys in Adelaide as the lobby group calls out then Senator Nick Xenophon’s support for business tax cuts. Picture: Kelly Barnes / The Australian

“People are fed up with politicians blocking meaningful action on the issues they care most about and are raring to work together to make change,’’ Mr Oosting said. “The out-of-touch, anti-progress MPs in Parliament right now are on borrowed time.”

GetUp has more than 63,000 members in SA. It has asked supporters nationwide to vote for which Coalition MPs, including Rowan Ramsey and Nicolle Flint, it should target at the election. Ms Flint is one of only two females on the list, although a concerted effort is expected to go towards ousting Peter Dutton.

According to its survey, GetUp members this election want to fight for: action on climate change, “supercharging” the transition to renewable energies, evacuation of refugees on Manus Island and Nauru, adequate funding for essential services such as Medicare, alongside independence for the ABC and SBS.

Nicolle Flint and Rowan Ramsey, the two federal Liberal MPs that GetUp will target ahead of the federal election

Grey MP Mr Ramsey said GetUp was an “arm of the far left” and urged its supporters to check the facts.

“They are just activists,” Mr Ramsey said. “I work hard to judge every issue on its merits … I think I act independently on my own mind.”

Boothby MP Ms Flint said she stood by her record of delivering for her community on a wide range of issues “like fixing Oaklands Crossing, reactivating the Repat and upgrading local sports clubs”.

“Thanks to our strong economic management, our Government can afford to fund projects like these, as well as guarantee essential services like health and education,” Ms Flint said.

Volunteers dressed as the Bananas in Pyjamas from activist group GetUp following Georgina Downer during the Mayo by-election last year. Picture: AAP / Kelly Barnes

In SA, GetUp last campaigned in the Mayo by-election, where it focused on funding for the ABC.

Originally published as GetUp to target SA Liberal MPs Nicolle Flint and Rowan Ramsey ahead of federal election