Senator Alex Antic elected SA Liberal president, vowing to give members a greater say

Liberal senator Alex Antic has been elected president of the South Australian Liberal Party in a ballot of party delegates on Saturday morning. The right-wing backbencher, who has praised members of One Nation and repeatedly crossed the floor against the Coalition, defeated SA Upper House leader Nicola Centofanti in the ballot 119 votes to 73.

He has previously vowed to give Liberal members a "genuine say in the policy direction" of the party. State president is an internal role roughly equivalent to chair of a company board, overseeing campaign preparations and setting meeting agendas.

Liberal Party state director Alex Hyde confirmed Senator Antic's presidency on Saturday morning. "The new president will convene the state executive soon and we all look forward to getting on with the job," Mr Hyde said in a statement.

Senator Antic has been a prominent vaccine sceptic in the parliament and has expressed admiration for US President Donald Trump. He has also praised One Nation members of parliament and argued a post-election coalition with the party should not be ruled out.

One Nation SA leader Cory Bernardi, who was pictured sharing a beer with Antic during the March state election campaign, said on Friday he would "welcome Alex Antic into One Nation in a flash". "I'd welcome him at any turn. He's a great political talent," he told 891 Adelaide.

Senator Antic has not yet commented on his election as state president and media were not allowed in for the proceedings of the Liberal Party's AGM. In a pre-meeting pitch to delegates, he wrote that he would "restore policy authority to members" if elected president — something which could pose a challenge to moderate SA Liberal leader Ashton Hurn.

"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," he wrote. "We also need to treat the One Nation challenge as the warning it is. 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."

But Ms Hurn downplayed the potential for greater member influence over the parliamentary team's policymaking, pointing to existing mechanisms in the party. After the meeting, Ms Hurn said that Senator Antic is not "insinuating that the parliamentary team is bound by policy motions from the state body".

Asked if she was concerned about the prospect of federal intervention, Ms Hurn said: "There's been a bit of talk about it but, in short, no."

"There are things that I hope that we can work together on and make sure that we can rectify into the future."

Regarding the policy differences between herself and Senator Antic, Ms Hurn said: "Since when has disagreement become such a bad thing in politics? We have different views in the Liberal Party and we embrace that, but so too do the Labor Party," she added, arguing the Labor party was "bitterly divided on AUKUS".

"Of course, I don't support or agree with Senator Antic on everything, but I think that's a healthy thing — that is part of what makes our democracy and importantly our Liberal Party so great."

Senator Antic replaces fellow Liberal senator Leah Blyth as the party's SA president. Senator Blyth won the role in 2024 with Antic's endorsement before becoming a senator. She had indicated earlier this year she did not intend to stand for another one-year term as president.