Election starting gun fired as eyes on One Nation surge

examiner.com.au · Feb 21, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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South Australia's Labor premier has spruiked his government's economic record while the Liberal opposition has focused on health on the first official day of the state election campaign.Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue readingSave 30%All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperCrosswords, Sudoku and TriviaAll other in your areaThe writs for the March 21 poll were issued on Saturday after Peter Malinauskas and his deputy Kyam Maher visited Government House in Adelaide.It's an election Labor is expected to win easily and one seen as a key litmus test for the surging popularity of Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party.Mr Malinauskas described his administration as "one which gets things done" at the same time cautioning there was still more to do.The SA election writs have been issued by Deputy Governor Richard Harris (R). (PR IMAGE PHOTO)"The economy, wages and housing are growing faster than anywhere else in the country, business regards us the best place to invest, and unemployment is at historic lows," he said."All of it means nothing unless we can translate those opportunities into a better standard of living for South Australians."Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn used the first day of the campaign to pledge more support for regional health, promising to increase the amount people could claim on overnight accommodation when travelling for medical care.The plan will lift the overnight rate from $44 to $110 and expand eligibility to patients who live more than 50km from their health care service."We want families across the regions to attend important appointments with confidence, knowing it won't be a financial or logistical nightmare," Ms Hurn said.Opinion polls are pointing to a "seismic shift" in politics at the SA election, with a YouGov-Advertiser poll and a Newspoll predicting a Labor landslide. Both polls also show the Liberal Party fighting for survival against One Nation."This is bizarre, and it's really fascinating to see what this means for the future, not just South Australian but Australian politics," Flinders University public policy associate lecturer Josh Sunman said."We're a test case to see if One Nation can break through."If that were to happen here, it would be … a pretty seismic shift in how we think about Australian politics, how we think about the competitive dynamics of it."Opinion polling shows Premier Peter Malinauskas will be easily returned to power at the election. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)The Newspoll was the most concerning for the opposition, putting primary support for Labor at 44 per cent with One Nation at 24 per cent and the Liberals on 14 per cent.If that was reflected on election day, the Liberals would struggle to hold any of their 13 seats.In a debate with the premier on Friday, Ms Hurn, who has been party leader for less than three months, conceded the polls were "hard to ignore"."But you don't want to be like a flag in the breeze every single time a poll comes out," she said."You have to stay your course and focus on your strategy."SA Liberal Leader Ashton Hurn is trying to stop the party disappearing into a political abyss. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)Mr Sunman said for Labor the election was about "how much icing they have on their cake".For the Liberals "the question is do they survive?"And for One Nation, Mr Sunman said there were two schools of thought."Do One Nation try to break through with a bold policy commitment or is it better for One Nation just to shut up," he said.Australian Associated PressMore from Council and PoliticsDailyYour morning newsToday's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update.