South Australian Greens

{{short description|Political party in South Australia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}} {{Infobox political party | name = South Australian Greens | native_name = Australian Greens SA | colorcode = {{party color|Greens South Australia}} | logo = 200px|"The Greens" - The Greens Logo | foundation = 1995 | ideology = {{Nowrap|Green politics<br>Progressivism}} | position = Left-wing | colours = {{Color box|{{party color|Greens South Australia}}|border=darkgray}} | headquarters = 7/291 Angas St<br />Adelaide SA 5000 | website = [https://greens.org.au/sa/ greens.org.au/sa] | national = Australian Greens | seats1_title = South Australian House of Assembly | seats1 = {{Composition bar|0|47|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | seats2_title = South Australian Legislative Council | seats2 = {{Composition bar|2|22|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | seats3_title = Australian Senate | seats3 = {{Composition bar|2|12|hex={{party color|Australian Greens}}}}(SA seats) | seats4_title = Local government councillors | seats4 = {{Composition bar|6|700|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | seats8_title = City of Mitcham | country = South Australia }}

The '''South Australian Greens''', officially known as the '''Australian Greens SA''',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ecsa.sa.gov.au/parties-and-candidates/how-to-register-a-political-party/political-party-register|title=Register of political parties|access-date=25 January 2021}}</ref> is a green political party located in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a member of the federation of the Australian Greens party.

The party has four members in the federal and state parliaments: Sarah Hanson-Young and Barbara Pocock in the Senate; and Robert Simms and Melanie Selwood in the South Australian Legislative Council.

==Electoral history== Prior to 1995, a very small local Green party not connected to the emerging Australian Greens contested a number of State and Federal elections. This party was more or less non-functioning by the time Mark Parnell called the first meetings to establish a new Green Party in 1995. It took a number of attempts to get the new party off the ground, however a visit to Adelaide by Bob Brown in late 1995 provided the necessary impetus to register the new party. {{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

The Australian Greens (SA) first ran in the 1996 federal election and the 1997 state election. In both elections they received around two percent of the statewide upper house vote.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

Since that time, the Greens SA have steadily built up a support base at state and federal elections, partly due to the demise of the Democrats. The Greens SA now have two MLCs and two senators, with polling since the 2013 federal and 2014 state elections by Newspoll showing the Green vote consistently above 10 percent.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

===2002 Labor defection=== Kris Hanna, the member for Mitchell, was elected as a Labor member in 1997, but changed to The Greens in 2003. Hanna left the party in February 2006, citing constituents' wishes for him not to be bound to any party.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-02-08/hanna-leaves-greens-to-run-as-independent/795008 |title=Hanna leaves Greens to run as independent. 08/02/2006. ABC News Online |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=8 February 2006 |access-date=1 February 2011}}</ref>

===2006 state election=== At the 2006 state election, Environmental lawyer Mark Parnell became the first Green candidate to be elected in South Australia, securing a position in the Legislative Council on a primary vote of 4.3 percent. A vote of 6.5 percent was achieved in the House of Assembly, an increase of 4.1%.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

The best lower house result was in the electoral district of Heysen, on a primary vote of 17.7 percent. Heysen was also the Democrats closest lower house win, coming as close as 1.9 percent at the 1997 state election on a primary vote of 29.2 percent, finishing at 48.1 percent after preferences.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

===2007 federal election=== Fourth on the 2006 state ticket, Sarah Hanson-Young was first on the ticket at the 2007 federal election, and became South Australia's first Greens Senator. She won the sixth and final South Australian Senate position with a primary vote of 6.5 percent. The strongest Green votes in the Senate came from Adelaide, Boothby and Mayo.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sapo.org.au/binary/binary6881/2007.doc |title=Graph 12, Page 10. |access-date=1 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412183328/http://www.sapo.org.au/binary/binary6881/2007.doc |archive-date=12 April 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===2008 Mayo federal by-election=== Sparked by the resignation of Liberal Party MP Alexander Downer, a Mayo by-election was held in 2008. Labor chose not to contest the by-election. Greens candidate Lynton Vonow finished second, on a primary vote of 21.35 percent amongst a field of 11 candidates, a swing of 10.39 percent, and finished on a final vote of 46.97 percent after the distribution of preferences, falling narrowly short of taking the seat from the Liberals.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

===2010 state election=== Prior to the 2010 state election, the Greens had gone from four to ten percent and above in state Newspolls.<ref>[http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,26500282-2682,00.html Greens gain from protest over climate: The Advertiser 18 December 2009]{{dead link|date=February 2011}}</ref> In the lower house, the vote increased to 8.1 percent, with the upper house vote to 6.6 percent which elected Tammy Jennings (now Tammy Franks).{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

===2010 federal election=== At the 2010 federal election, polls showed a similar substantial increase. The Greens SA received a swing of 6.8 percent in South Australia for the Australian Senate, to finish with 13.3 percent of the statewide vote. Penny Wright was subsequently elected, joining Hanson-Young and 7 other Green Senators from July 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vtr.aec.gov.au/SenateStateFirstPrefsByGroup-15508-SA.htm|title=SA Senate 2010 results |publisher=Australian Electoral Commission|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923205519/http://vtr.aec.gov.au/SenateStateFirstPrefsByGroup-15508-SA.htm|archive-date=23 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2010/guide/ssa-results.htm |title=SA Senate 2010 seats |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=29 July 2010 |access-date=1 February 2011}}</ref>

===2013 federal election=== Hanson-Young was re-elected at the 2013 federal election with a statewide primary vote of 7.1 percent. The Greens polled strongest in the seat of Mayo with over 14 percent of the primary vote.<ref name="tallyroom">{{cite web|url=https://results.aec.gov.au/ |title=Election results: Tally room archive|publisher=Australian Electoral Commission}}</ref>

===2014 state election=== [[File:2014greensSA.png|thumb|15 of 47 electorates in South Australia had a Green vote of above 10 percent at the 2014 state election. At the 2013 federal election, of 11 seats, the Green vote was above 10 percent in Adelaide, Boothby and Mayo.]] Parnell was re-elected at the 2014 election with the upper house statewide primary vote at 6.5 percent. The lower house statewide primary vote was 8.7 percent.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

Lynton Vonow contested the seat of Heysen for the Greens and came second after preferences with a 39 percent two-candidate preferred vote from a 19.7 percent primary vote. The Greens have consistently polled strongest in Heysen but with preferences overtook the Labor candidate. The Greens also polled well in seats such as Kavel and Davenport with primary votes over 15 percent.

===2015 Senate casual vacancy=== Penny Wright resigned from the Senate due to family reasons in September 2015. Later that month, Robert Simms was appointed to the casual vacancy by a joint sitting of the Parliament of South Australia.<ref name=simms>{{cite news|title=Adelaide City councillor Robert Simms to take Greens Senate seat|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-04/adelaide-city-councillor-robert-simms-to-take-greens-senate-seat/6749726|access-date=9 September 2015|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|location=Australia|date=3 September 2015}}</ref>

===2016 federal election=== When Prime Minister Turnbull announced in March 2016 that a double dissolution would be taking place in May and an election in July,<ref name="2016Recall">{{cite news|title=Malcolm Turnbull recalls Parliament for April 18 sitting ahead of early election|url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/malcolm-turnbull-recalls-parliament-for-april-18-sitting-ahead-of-early-election-20160320-gnmy2v.html|access-date=21 March 2016|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=21 March 2016}}</ref> the party was forced for the first time to choose between their two senators, and preselected Sarah Hanson-Young to the number 1 preference on the Senate ballot, with Robert Simms at number 2.<ref name=2016DD>{{cite news|title=Greens senator Simms faces election fight|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/05/02/greens-senator-simms-faces-election-fight|access-date=3 May 2016|work=SBS News|date=2 May 2016}}</ref> Only Hanson-Young was reelected, being assigned a 3-year term.

===2018 state election===

Tammy Franks was re-elected to the Legislative Council with a statewide vote of 5.87% in the upper house.<ref>{{cite web|title=Legislative Council results|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/sa-election-2018/results/lc/|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref>

===2019 federal election=== Sarah Hanson-Young was re-elected to the Senate with a statewide upper-house swing of +5.03% and a total vote of 10.9% despite a modest swing of +3.4% in the lower house.<ref name="Senate Results">{{cite web|title=Senate Results|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal/2022/results/senate|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref> The party polled strongest in the seat of Adelaide, where Barbara Pocock received 15.7% of first preference votes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Adelaide - Federal Election 2019|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal/2019/guide/adel|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref>

===2019 Cheltenham and Enfield by-elections=== Steffi Medrow received 14.6% of first preferences with a swing of +8.3% in the 2019 Cheltenham state by-election.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cheltenham by-election|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/cheltenham-by-election-2019/results/|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref>

Sebastian Konyn received 8.3% of first preferences in the 2019 Enfield state by-election, a result unchanged from Cassie Alvey's result in the 2018 election<ref>{{cite web|title=Enfield by-election|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/cheltenham-by-election-2019/results/|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref>

===2021 casual Legislative Council vacancy===

Robert Simms was preselected to contest the 2022 South Australian state election, but when Mark Parnell resigned from Parliament on 9 April, Simms was appointed to the state upper house on 4 May 2021. Tammy Franks became the parliamentary leader of the party.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

===2022 state election=== Simms was re-elected to the state's upper house with a statewide Legislate Council vote of 9% and a swing of +3.2%.<ref>{{cite web|title=Legislative Council Results|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/sa/2022/guide/lc-results|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref> Sean Cullen-MacAskill received 13.5% of first preference votes in the seat of Adelaide.<ref>{{cite web|title=Adelaide (Key Seat) - SA Election 2022|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/sa/2022/guide/adel|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref>

===2022 federal election===

With Hanson-Young not requiring re-election in the middle of her six-year term, the party sought to double its upper-house representation. With a Senate swing of +0.99% and a total vote of 11.9%, Prof Barbara Pocock AM was elected as SA's newest senator.<ref name="Senate Results"/> The party polled strongest in the Division of Adelaide, where Rebecca Galdies received 20.1% of first preference votes.<ref>{{cite web|title=Adelaide - Federal Election 2022|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal/2022/guide/adel|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref>

===2022 Bragg by-election===

To fill the seat vacated by Vickie Chapman, the party preselected Jim Bastiras as the candidate for the Bragg by-election.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

===2026 state election===

With Robert Simms not requiring re-election, the party selected Melanie Selwood as their lead Legislative Council candidate. She was elected on a positive swing of +1.2% in the Legislative Council. Their second Legislative Council Candidate, Katie McKusker, came close to unseating Labor MLC Clare Scriven. She lost on the final count of statewide votes 44,019 votes to 54,070. The party gained a +1.3% swing in the Legislative Assembly, with Genevieve Dawson-Scott achieving 21.9% of first-preference votes in the Division of Heysen. In the Premier's seat, the Division of Croydon, Ruby Dolling finished second after preferences and made the 2CP count, achieving 26.0%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results |url=https://result.ecsa.sa.gov.au/ |access-date=2026-05-13 |website=result.ecsa.sa.gov.au}}</ref>

==State election results== ===Legislative Assembly=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Election ! Seats won ! Total votes ! % ! Position ! Parliamentary Leader |- !1997 | {{Composition bar|0|47|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 1,910 | 0.21% | {{no2|Not in chamber}} | |- !2002 | {{Composition bar|0|47|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 22,332 | 2.36% | {{no2|Not in chamber}} | |- !2006 | {{Composition bar|0|47|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 60,949 | 6.49% | {{no2|Not in chamber}} | |- !2010 | {{Composition bar|0|47|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 79,535 | 8.11% | {{no2|Not in chamber}} | Mark Parnell |- !2014 | {{Composition bar|0|47|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 88,600 | 8.70% | {{no2|Not in chamber}} | Mark Parnell |- !2018 | {{Composition bar|0|47|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 69,826 | 6.66% | {{no2|Not in chamber}} | Mark Parnell

|- !2022 | {{Composition bar|0|47|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 99,534 | 9.1% | {{no2|Not in chamber}} | Tammy Franks |- !2026 | {{Composition bar|0|47|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 116,283 | 10.4% | {{no2|Not in chamber}} | |}

===Legislative Council=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Election ! Seats won ! Total votes ! % ! Position ! Convenor |- !1997 | {{Composition bar|0|22|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 15,377 | 1.72% | {{no2|Not in chamber}} | |- !2002 | {{Composition bar|0|22|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 25,725 | 2.8% | {{no2|Not in chamber}} | |- !2006 | {{Composition bar|1|22|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 39,852 | 4.3% | {{no2|Crossbench}} | |- !2010 | {{Composition bar|2|22|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 63,358 | 6.6% | {{no2|Crossbench}} | Mark Parnell |- !2014 | {{Composition bar|2|22|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 65,215 | 6.5% | {{no2|Crossbench}} | Mark Parnell |- !2018 | {{Composition bar|2|22|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 61,610 | 5.86% | {{no2|Crossbench}} | Mark Parnell

|- !2022 | {{Composition bar|2|22|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 98,324 | 9% | {{no2|Crossbench}} | Tammy Franks

|- !2026 | {{Composition bar|2|22|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 113,995 | 10.2% | {{no2|Crossbench}} | |} {{Chart|definition=State election results of the South Australian Greens.chart|data=State election results of the South Australian Greens.tab|Width=500}}

==Federal election results==

{{Chart|definition=Federal election results of the South Australian Greens.chart|data=Federal election results of the South Australian Greens.tab|Width=500}}

=== Senate Results === {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Election ! Seats won (SA Seats) ! Total votes ! % |- !1987 |{{Composition bar|0|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} |8,102 |0.9% |- !1990 |{{Composition bar|0|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} |19,499 |2.1% |- !1993 |{{Composition bar|0|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} |15,467 |1.6% |- !1996 |{{Composition bar|0|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} |19,441 |2.0% |- !1998 |{{Composition bar|0|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} |20,895 |2.2% |- !2001 |{{Composition bar|0|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} |33,439 |3.46% |- !2004 | {{Composition bar|0|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 63,881 | 6.60% |- !2007 |{{Composition bar|1|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} |65,322 |6.49% |- !2010 | {{Composition bar|2|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 134,287 | 13.30% |- !2013 | {{Composition bar|2|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 73,612 | 7.09% |- !2016 | {{Composition bar|1|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 62,345 | 5.88% |- !2019 | {{Composition bar|1|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 119,470 | 10.91% |- !2022 | {{Composition bar|2|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 134,908 | 11.95%

|- !2025 | {{Composition bar|2|12|hex={{party color|Greens South Australia}}}} | 150,148 | 12.90%

|} <ref name="tallyroom" />

==Structure== ===State Council=== The party's State Council meets once a quarter to deal with the party's administrative matters. The party also has a Policy and Campaigning Council, which includes representatives from branches and member action groups and meets every two months to shape the party's strategic priorities{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

===Branches=== Branches are where new members first meet other Greens, talk politics and policy, get involved in local campaigning and fundraising, and find out about what else is going on.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

===Member action groups=== A variety of member action groups have been established by the State Council, which are directly accessible to all Greens members. Working groups perform an advisory function by developing policy, conducting issues-based campaigns, or by performing other tasks assigned by the State Council. These groups include:{{citation needed|date=September 2025}} * Indigenous Issues * Animal welfare * Greenhouse, energy and nuclear * Queer Greens * Young Greens

==Members of Parliament== ===Federal Parliament=== <gallery> File:Sarah Hanson-Young.png|Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens SA Senator elected in 2007.

File:Barbara_Pocock_(cropped).jpg|Barbara Pocock, Greens SA Senator elected in 2022.

</gallery>

====Former federal members==== * Penny Wright (2011–2015) * Robert Simms (2015–2016)

===State Parliament=== <gallery> Robert Simms.jpg|Robert Simms, Greens SA MLC appointed in 2021 to replace Mark Parnell. </gallery>

====Former state members==== * Kris Hanna (2003–2006), elected in 1997 for the Labor Party, defected to the Greens in 2003 and sat as an independent until 2010. * Mark Parnell (2006–2021), Greens SA MLC elected in 2006. * Tammy Franks (2010-2025), elected in 2010 for the Greens SA, left the Greens SA in 2025 and sits as an independent MLC.

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://greens.org.au/sa Official website]

South Australia Category:Political parties in South Australia