South Australia has been a very competitive state between Labor and the Liberals.
Other than one period of Liberal Country League dominance for over thirty years, South Australia has seen the frequent switch between governments of differing parties.
Other than one period of Liberal Country League dominance for over thirty years, South Australia has seen the frequent switch between governments of differing parties.Andrew Parkin divides the history of South Australian Government into four periods. The first period is the post-federation period where no party managed to dominate politics. Parkin argues that this represents "a state whose social, political and economic profile was uncertain."
The next one is the Playford Period. The dominant component of this period was government led industrialisation. To complement this policy a Housing Trust was established to help house low cost workers that would fill the factories of the new industrialisation.
After the Playford Period came one of Labor dominance where Liberal Governments were short in length. Don Dunstan was the most public figure of this period and the policies were more focused on cultural and social outcomes - something that had been neglected under Playford's industrialisation and paternalism.
Parkin was writing in 2003 and he labeled the final period the 'period of uncertainty'. This is after the bank collapses under Bannon.
It should also be noted that South Australia produced the base for the Australian Democrats as the various flavours of Liberal parties in the state led to the New Liberals and the Liberal Movement which were the precursor for the Democrats.
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