Leaders Make Final Campaign Stops in Crucial South Australian Seats
In a last-ditch effort to sway voters, both the prime minister and opposition leader made quick visits to key South Australian electorates just days before the election.
After arriving in Adelaide from Perth on Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles made a brief 10-minute appearance at a polling booth in the marginal seat of Sturt. They greeted Labor candidate Claire Clutterham, party volunteers, and local voters before promptly departing.
Sturt, historically a safe Liberal seat, is now on a knife-edge, with incumbent James Stevens holding it by just 0.5 per cent. Recent polling suggests Labor could potentially win the seat.
Coinciding with the prime minister’s visit, Liberal leader Peter Dutton also flew in from Tasmania to back Stevens, hosting an evening rally at the Arkaba Hotel attended by around 500 party members and volunteers.
Earlier in the day, both Stevens and Clutterham were seen handing out how-to-vote cards at a pre-poll booth in Marden Shopping Centre, acknowledging the race was extremely close.
“I don’t think we’ll know the result in Sturt on election night,” Stevens said. “It could take days to determine the outcome, just like last time.”
With approximately 30 per cent of voters already casting early or postal ballots, both candidates stressed the importance of the final stretch.
“People keep saying there’s only two days to go, and that’s exactly why you’ve got to push the hardest right now,” Clutterham said. “Having the prime minister here this close to election day means a lot.”
Boothby Also in the Spotlight
Following his stop in Sturt, Mr Albanese headed to Boothby, where he visited TAFE SA students training in construction trades—an opportunity to promote Labor’s fee-free TAFE initiative.
Boothby is currently held by Labor’s Louise Miller-Frost with a 3.3 per cent margin. With former Liberal MP Nicolle Flint contesting the seat, both major parties have paid close attention to the electorate.
While Mr Albanese appeared alongside Miller-Frost, Mr Dutton did not visit Boothby on Thursday. However, Flint introduced him at the Sturt rally, receiving strong applause from party supporters.
Despite these visits, South Australia has received relatively limited campaign attention compared to other battleground areas such as outer Melbourne, northern Queensland, Perth, and western Sydney—regions with more electorates in play.
