South Australia’s rising political powers: Who are the future leaders of the Liberal Party?
Some come from political pedigree and well-worn stepping stones to parliament, but others are doing things differently. Meet the rising stars of the SA Liberal Party.
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Breaking into politics is no easy task, but these rising stars of the Liberal Party have youth, intellect and talent on their side.
They are not just lawyers and political staffers – the traditional stepping stones for becoming an MP – but army officers, Rhodes Scholars, engineers and scientists.
They include some of the state’s most well-known political pedigree but also the children of immigrants, for whom liberal values represent opportunity and self-determination.
Equally respected by party elders and colleagues, here are the 12 faces to look out for on the Liberal benches in the years to come.
Come back next week to find out SA’s rising stars of the Labor Party.
Henry Southcott
Henry Southcott wants to pick up his family’s political story right where it left off.
Dr Andrew Southcott stepped down as member for Boothby in 2016 after 20 years in office, and Henry credits his father with helping him understand “what being a politician is really like”.
“From a young age I saw how he resolved conflicts and petitioned for his electorate,” the younger Southcott said.
“We often discuss current issues and talk about developing policies … Having seen politics from that unique perspective, I have always considered it a possibility that I could put my passion for problem solving to use for the community.”
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The 21-year-old was last year elected president of the Adelaide University Liberal Club.
As a student, he led calls for action against a controversial student magazine article that ended with the words, “Death to Israel”.
Southcott is studying law with a double degree in commerce and said he didn’t “have a set plan for politics”, but would not rule it out.
“I think it’s very important for our politicians to have real experience with a career in their field of choice before they consider nominating to represent their community,” he said.
Oliver Douglas
Oliver Douglas is heading to Oxford University next month as the state’s next Rhodes Scholar. It is the latest achievement of the already accomplished 24-year-old, who is also a lieutenant in the Australian Army, an honours graduate in history and even once a world-ranking tennis player.
Douglas will continue his studies at Oxford, looking at British history from 1850 onwards to see what challenges democracy has faced since that time and how it coped.
In particular, he is looking for lessons that can be applied at a time when trust in politics and democracy is declining.
“I think one of the things that I find concerning as a young individual is trust in government is generally at record lows,’’ he said.
“And yet we live in a time where we’re facing enormous complex challenges, climate crisis, wealth inequality, national security, geopolitical instability in our in our region.’’
Douglas said entering politics could be an option in the future and he has already been described by one party elder as the “hope of the side’’.
Ashton Hurn
The 33-year-old new mum has long been tipped as the next leader of the Liberal Party, despite only being elected at the 2022 state election.
Before taking time off for maternity leave, Ashton Hurn was the party’s health spokesperson, leading the charge against the Malinauskas government’s failure to reduce ramping as it had promised.
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Hurn holds the safe seat of Schubert in the Barossa Valley, and attended Angaston Primary and Nuriootpa High before studying social science at the University of Adelaide.
Hurn was also director of media and communications under Steven Marshall’s Liberal government.
Aric Pierce
It is the most coveted job an aspiring politician can have and Aric Pierce was picked for it three different times.
Business studies graduate Pierce, 28, was the elected president of the SA Young Liberals from 2021 to 2023.
A slew of ministerial jobs and a stint with a major consultancy paved the road for his current role as an adviser to Senator Andrew McLachlan, the deputy president of the Senate.
There, he guides policy on his two political passions: environmental conservation and financial sustainability.
“You have to be the one that shows up and puts their hand up – letterboxing, door knocking, anything,” he said of his achievements.
Laura Henderson
At 28, Laura Henderson is the youngest Liberal MP in the state parliament.
She was only 25 when elected as a legislative councillor at the 2022 election.
While young, Henderson has a more interesting backstory that most of her parliamentary colleagues.
She was only five when her family were taken into witness protection.
Her father had been an undercover cop and had helped put bikies, drug dealers and murderers behind bars.
Henderson’s father left the force to train as an engineer, and when she was 12 the family moved to Saudi Arabia.
It was a culture shock moving to a hard line Islamic country and Henderson remained there until it was time to enrol in university.
Henderson was from Sydney and had never been to Adelaide, but chose the city on the back of its arts reputation and the Fringe Festival.
She studied law at UniSA and there became involved with the Young Liberals.
“I learned from a young age what fear is. But more importantly, I also learned from a young age what resilience and strength are,’’ Henderson told The Advertiser in 2021.
Evelyn Cacas
Family, self-determination and a “leg-up rather than a hand-out” are the values that drew Evelyn Cacas to the Liberal Party.
Five years later, the granddaughter of immigrant deli owners is now the president of the SA Young Liberals and a lawyer at a major national firm.
She said her goal was to professionalise the Young Liberal movement and draw people with more diverse backgrounds into its ranks.
“You have to stand up for what you believe in and surround yourself with people who challenge you but also support you,” the 25-year-old said.
While it’s “never say never” for a shot at parliament, Cacas said she wanted to establish herself in the legal field first.
“Politics shouldn’t be a career – it should be part of someone’s career but not the career itself,” she said.
Chelsea Carruthers
Not many people can say they have worked in the parliaments of two different countries, but Chelsea Carruthers is one of them.
Earlier this year, the 24-year-old business graduate interned with US congressman Lloyd Dogget for three months, doing everything from working the phones to liaising with high-level business and community leaders.
“There was a real focus on constituents – every call, whatever the issue, was taken very seriously,” she said.
Back in Adelaide now, she is also finishing an international relations degree and is an executive assistant for Senator Andrew McLachlan.
Adrian Niculescu
Adrian Niculescu wants to be the future member of Hindmarsh – and his achievements have prepared him well so far.
The 18-year-old graduated high school last year with top grades and is pursuing degrees in law and advanced arts at the University of Adelaide.
Niculsescu’s parents emigrated from an impoverished Romania in 1999 and he credited them with giving an “inside perspective” of communism as opposed to the “panacea some people might think it is”.
He began volunteering for the Liberal Party at the end of primary school, alongside being an Army Cadets officer, and is now vice-president of both his state and federal electorate branches.
A participant of The Advertiser’s Teen Parliament, he passionately railed against payroll tax and said “the idea that we have a tax on employment is absurd”.
Francesco Ciampa
Frankie Ciampa joined the Liberal Party two years ago and has already planted his feet firmly.
The 22-year-old engineer was always “Liberal-aligned”, but it was Labour’s last state election victory that encouraged him to sign up and “put the blue back in government”.
Since then, Ciampa has been elevated to vice-president and treasurer of the Colton state branch.
Currently completing honours in engineering, he is working on a project to manage soil erosion, something he has seen the devastating effects of at West Beach, part of his electorate.
“I want to gain more wisdom and knowledge in life before I think about (parliament), so that hopefully when I’m in that position I can make better decisions,” he said.
Jack Batty
Thirty three-year-old Jack Batty was parachuted into the ultra safe Liberal seat of Bragg after former deputy premier Vickie Chapman quit politics after the 2022 election.
Batty left his job as an adviser to London High Commissioner and former federal Attorney-General George Brandis to return home and run in Bragg.
Batty also worked as an adviser to former federal defence minister Christopher Pyne.
A student at Scotch College, he has degrees in law and economics from University of Adelaide and is currently the Liberal spokesman for the environment.
Jayden Squire
Jayden Squire may be the only Liberal on the University of Adelaide’s student council, but it is a job that he relishes.
After enrolling in a Bachelor of Science, the 21-year-old aspiring academic said he was “open-minded” about his politics and eventually chose to join the Liberal Party.
“I wanted to be in a party that lets people live their lives the way they want and the way they think is best,” he said.
He is also part of the Liberal Pride movement and is currently campaigning to outlaw gay conversion therapy.
Kai Glazier
Being unable to drive has not stopped Kai Glazier from spending “hundreds” of hours volunteering with the Liberal Party, from the western suburbs to the Adelaide Hills.
In fact, the 18-year-old thinks he may have spent just as much time on public transport until he got his P-plates, but his hard yards have not gone unrecognised.
In 2023, he was named South Australia’s Young Liberal of the Year and currently works as an electorate officer for state shadow treasurer Matt Cowdrey.
The economics student says he believes in “putting your hand up” and “having the courage to speak out” are the secrets to standing apart.
“Politics is a team sport, but if you have the courage to speak your mind, even if the whole room is against you, people recognise that,” he said.
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