The South Australian Liberal Party will decide at its annual general meeting whether Senator Alex Antic becomes its next state president. The vote is being closely watched because the position oversees campaign preparations and internal meeting agendas and also carries a place on the federal Liberal Party executive.
Antic is contesting the position against Nicola Centofanti, the Liberal SA Upper House leader. According to ABC News, Liberal preselectors placed Antic first on the ballot and relegated shadow cabinet minister Anne Ruston to second, raising questions within the party about its commitment to female candidates. Centofanti has the backing of moderates seeking to prevent an Antic presidency.
The contest follows renewed scrutiny of Antic’s policy positions. This week, the Senate rejected his bill to allow parents to continue receiving the family tax benefit when they objected to vaccinating their children on personal, philosophical, religious or medical grounds. The proposal would have reversed the former Coalition government’s “No Jab, No Pay” policy, introduced in 2015 to encourage childhood immunisation.
ABC News reported that 34 senators voted against the bill, including Ruston, who cited concerns about rising whooping cough and measles cases and said it was not the time to allow more infectious diseases into the community. Antic was the only Coalition senator to support the bill, joining One Nation senators and Clive Palmer’s sole parliamentary representative, Ralph Babet.
The vote has added to concerns among senior Liberals who have previously had to distance themselves from Antic’s rhetoric and policy positions. Labor senator Murray Watt said the party needed to answer for having what he described as a “vaccine sceptic” among its members, and linked Antic’s views to the broader Liberal Party.
Antic’s supporters argue that he can help the Liberals recover voters from One Nation. They point to the party’s recruitment of conservative branch members over the past five years and say the presidency should give members greater influence over policy. In an email to delegates, Antic called for action on inflation, housing and energy without surrendering to what he termed “net-zero orthodoxy”, while urging the party to treat the One Nation challenge as a warning.
The result could also indicate the balance of power ahead of a likely South Australian Senate preselection next year. ABC News said some party members have discussed a federal takeover if Antic wins, citing concerns about the party’s relationship with One Nation and its ability to win elections.