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South Australia is something of a paradox within Australia’s federation.[1] On the one hand, with a population of 1.77 million, it often remains peripheral. In 2018, due to lack of population growth in proportion to the rest of the country, it had its overall number of federal MPs in the House of Representatives reduced from 11 to 10, thus further diminishing its voice on the national stage. Federal elections tend not to be decided by outcomes in South Australia. Economically, South Australia has been perceived to be a ‘rust-bucket’state—economically backward with a critical skills shortage, and an ageing population. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it makes up just over 6 per cent of the nation’s economy. In 1991, the collapse of the State Bank was a significant blow to the state’s economy. It has often taken South Australia longer to recover from national economic downturns and usually ranks just above Tasmania in many economic metrics. More recently, with the closure of the Holden car plant in 2017—and the effective end of car manufacturing in Australia—there remain ongoing concerns about the future and vitality of the state. There is a lingering perception that South Australia is, to quote a former Premier of Victoria, a ‘backwater’.

Yet, these perceptions tend to mask a more complex and rich political history. While South Australia faces economic challenges, politically, the state has often led the nation in innovations and democratic practice. South Australia has a stable political system: aside from the State Bank collapse, it has been free of the scandals and corruption that have blighted other states and territories like New South Wales …