South Australian National Party

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South Australian National Party (SA Nationals)

The South Australian National Party is the South Australian branch of the National Party of Australia. It is an independent, centre-right party focused on conservatism and farming communities, and it is not part of the Liberal/National Coalition in South Australia.

Founded in 1964 as the South Australian Country Party, its headquarters are in Waikerie, South Australia. It joined the federal National Party in 1965.

The party has held a couple of seats in the South Australian House of Assembly at different times: Peter Blacker in Flinders (1973–1993) and Karlene Maywald in Chaffey (1997–2010). The earlier SA Country Party had links to the Liberal and Country League from 1917 to 1932, which later became the Liberal Party.

In 1987 the SA Nationals supported the federal “Joh for Canberra” movement. Karlene Maywald served as a National and, during 2002–2010, became a minister in the Labor government after forming a loose agreement with Labor that included roles such as Minister for the River Murray. This arrangement caused controversy.

Election results have been challenging for the party. In the 2009 Frome by-election it won 6.6% of the primary vote, but directed preferences to independent Geoff Brock, who won the seat. In 2014 the party polled well under 1% in both houses, and it did not nominate any candidates in 2018. Since 2010 the SA Nationals have rarely reached 0.5% of the statewide vote.

The SA Nationals have never been part of a formal Coalition with the Liberals in South Australia. If they had won federal seats in 2013, they would have joined the Coalition.