Cause of by-election
Sitting Liberal MP David Speirs resigned on October 5 2024 after his house was raided by police in relation to a video showing illicit drug use.
Margin – LIB 2.7%
Incumbent MP
David Speirs, since 2018. Previously member for Bright, 2014-2018.
Geography
Southern Adelaide. The seat covers Hallett Cove, Sheidow Park, Trott Park, Seaview Downs, Seacliff and South Brighton.
History
Black was created as a new seat in 2018, primarily replacing Mitchell while taking in southern parts of Bright.
Mitchell had alternated between Labor and Liberal, most recently won by Liberal MP Corey Wingard in 2014.
Bright was Labor-held from 2006 until 2014, when Liberal candidate David Speirs won.
Speirs moved to Black in 2018. He became Environment Minister in the Liberal government and served in that role until the government’s defeat in 2022. Speirs was personally re-elected, and became the Liberal party’s new leader in opposition. He stepped down as leader in August 2024 and quit parliament in October 2024.
- Jonathan Parkin (Family Party)
- Amanda Wilson (Liberal)
- Alex Dighton (Labor)
- Sarah Luscombe (Greens)
Assessment
The circumstances of Speirs’ resignation will make it hard for the Liberal Party to retain this marginal seat.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| David Speirs | Liberal | 11,862 | 50.1 | -0.9 |
| Alex Dighton | Labor | 9,037 | 38.1 | +7.0 |
| Liz Tidemann | Greens | 2,785 | 11.8 | +5.2 |
| Informal | 643 | 2.6 |
2022 two-party-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| David Speirs | Liberal | 12,493 | 52.7 | -6.5 |
| Alex Dighton | Labor | 11,191 | 47.3 | +6.5 |
Booths in Black have been divided into three areas: north, south-east and south-west.
The Liberal Party won a majority of the two-party-preferred vote in all three areas, ranging from 52.1% in the north to 53.1% in the south-west.
The Greens came third, with a primary vote ranging from 10.2% in the south-east to 14.3% in the north.
| Voter group | GRN prim % | LIB 2PP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| North | 14.3 | 52.1 | 11,892 | 25.1 |
| South-West | 10.6 | 53.1 | 10,354 | 21.9 |
| South-East | 10.2 | 52.5 | 8,692 | 18.3 |
| Other votes | 11.5 | 53.2 | 16,430 | 34.7 |
Election results in Black at the 2022 South Australian state election
Toggle between two-party-preferred votes and primary votes for the Liberal Party, Labor and the Greens.
turnout was a record low 51.4% that probably contributed to the result
Definitely not, no idea where you are getting that number John. I’m seeing 82.6% of enrolment.
Based on the date I’m assuming that you were commenting before all the declaration votes were counted.