Liberal Party Grapples with Promoting Alex Antic at High-Stakes AGM

A high-stakes battle for the South Australian Liberal Party presidency is set to play out at the party's annual general meeting on Saturday, with Senator Alex Antic vying for the top spot against Liberal SA Upper House leader Nicola Centofanti.

Senator Antic has been a vocal advocate for conservative policies, including opposing the 'No Jab, No Pay' policy introduced by the former Coalition government in 2015. This policy aimed to boost childhood immunization rates against preventable diseases by denying family tax benefits to parents who refused to vaccinate their children.

Earlier this week, Senator Antic introduced a bill to allow parents to still receive their family tax benefit if they objected to their child being vaccinated on 'personal, philosophical, religious or medical grounds'. The bill was voted down by 34 senators, including Liberal frontbencher Anne Ruston, who defended the former Coalition government's policy and raised concerns about a recent rise in whooping cough and measles cases in Australia.

"We are already seeing hospitals operating beyond their capacity," Senator Ruston said, citing advice from the Australian Medical Association. "Now is not the time to let more infectious diseases back into the community."

Senator Antic was the only Coalition member to vote for the bill, and his views on vaccination have been at odds with some of his Liberal colleagues. His potential elevation to the presidency has sparked concerns about the party's relationship with One Nation and its capacity to win elections.

Labor has already signaled its intent to link Senator Antic's views with the Liberal Party as a whole. "Are they actually happy to have a vaccine sceptic in their party who was literally cheered on by One Nation senators during his speech?" Labor senator Murray Watt said.

Senator Antic's supporters argue that his presidency would be an opportunity to wrestle back votes from One Nation, which currently holds a significant lead in the primary vote. At the last poll taken in August, the SA Liberals' primary vote was 17%, eight points behind One Nation's 25%.

In a pitch to delegates, Senator Antic said he wanted to "restore policy authority to members". "I will move to ensure our members have a genuine say in the policy direction of this party," he wrote in an email. "We need economic action on inflation, housing and energy without surrendering to net-zero orthodoxy and we need to stand up for the cultural inheritance of this country."

"Not by copying every One Nation position, but by proving that the Liberal Party can once again be the vehicle for the values that made voters want to vote blue," he said.

The results of Saturday's ballot will also give an indication of where the numbers lie for the Liberal Party's SA senate preselection, likely to be held next year.