How SA sets itself apart

What is it about South Australia that so frequently puts it at the forefront of social reform? 

While everyone in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia were losing it over Coles and Woolworths charging for plastic bags, South Australians were left scratching their heads. They had been shopping with reusable “green bags” for nearly a decade and paying 10c for reusable plastic bags when they forgot.

So, what is it about South Australia that in many ways makes it the quirky, often social reform-leading state in Australia? It was the first state in Australia to decriminalise homosexuality in 1972, a full 25 years before the final state to do so (Tasmania). 

When the rest of the country started charging for plastic bags, they did so because of consumer pressure on the supermarkets to reduce plastics and be more sustainable. In South Australia, almost a decade prior, government took the lead and introduced legislation to ban single use plastic, where this time under the Liberals, the state led the country once again in being the first to ban single straws and cutlery.

This story is important because it illustrates how South Australia is a state of reform, unique in our Federation, both historically and more recently with social policies coming from South Australia (and in more recent years Victoria and the ACT) than any other jurisdiction in Australia. 

There is a unique environment in South Australia that means change happens first– social (think women getting the right to vote and land rights – both Australian firsts) as well as sustainability and environmental change, which seems easier to achieve than we have seen in other places.

This is not to say that every attempt at change is successful. South Australia was stubbornly slow at bringing about reform for abortion, euthanasia and gay panic. In fact, it took a changing of government and removal of conservative Labor attorney generals to get progress in these areas. 

But there are some key things to consider as to why South Australia might just be the place to put your energy in delivering structural change.

South Australian Identity 

When the state-wide blackout happened in 2016 – what could have been a career and government ending crisis for Premier Weatherill – was successfully turned around to almost secure another term. 

Helped along by attacks from Canberra, South Australia responded to Weatherill’s rally call of once again sticking up for South Australia – and cleverly played into part of the South Australian psyche – that the state is forgotten by the rest of the country and that Canberrra thinks they can ignore them because  they lacked the population of the east and money of the west.

In the space of a few short months South Australians had gone from shock at the blackout to pride in being nation leading on renewable energy and storage. 

It is an indication of the creative and innovative approach that South Australian politicians and public servants have for getting things done. South Australia also has a manageable size for pilots and initiatives, it forms the easy balance of being relative centralised around Adelaide, having a manageable population and willingness to try new things and innovate, meaning many companies can get a “state-wide” rollout of a project before taking it to the east or west and larger more difficult States. 

Media 

The media landscape in South Australia is also different. This is not to downplay the role risk plays in shaping government decisions, but Adelaide is a one paper town and the ‘Tiser does not have the same vitriol of much of the Murdoch press.

And while the media will still call out the government, there is more space to be creative, to pilot ideas to take risk than in other states 

Minority Governments and independents 

Independents and minor parties have always been a strong part of the fabric of South Australian parliament.

Rann worked in minority government in 2002 with Rory McEwen, Karlene Maywald in the cabinet before the landslide of 2006.

For the last decade there have been a number of positively held independents including Bob Such (who died in 2014), Geoff Brock and in the last few terms Frances Bedford.  We also see this play out federally with Nick Xenophon coming from SA, with his Centre Alliance. 

While Brock served in the previous ministry it was in the context of a minority government. He was, of his own volition, surprised to be asked to again serve as a minister for the majority Malinauskas government. It is rare in Australia that a majority government would appoint crossbenchers to the ministry.  

The final months of the Marshall government were littered with independents as a result of an entitlement scandal.

The prominence of independents in the state parliament lends itself to a culture that is perhaps more used to consideration of ideas outside the tightly prescribed policy agendas of the major parties.

Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, they are worth keeping at the front of mind when determining how you engage with government in South Australia. 

Finally, with the most recent election we have seen a wave of new politicians enter parliament from all sides. So now is the time to start building your organisation’s relationships, find your champions who can help you not only with short-terms asks, but who will become your champions for the long term as they progress in their careers and become ministers and shadow ministers. As they progress, they will have a strong understanding of your organisations and the change you are seeking.