Sarah Herrmann, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Grey will remain in Liberal hands, with Tom Venning set to succeed long-serving MP Rowan Ramsey, though on a significantly reduced margin, following the federal election on Saturday, May 3.

With a 5.3 per cent swing to Labor, Mr Venning holds the seat by only 4.8 per cent, compared with Mr Ramsey’s 10.1 per cent in 2022.

This could mean Grey is considered a marginal seat at the next federal election in 2028, according to University of Adelaide Emeritus Professor of politics Clement Macintyre.

“There was about a 10 per cent swing away from the Liberal primary vote, which went to the independent, and obviously Labor are benefiting from a flow of those preferences,” he said.

“It’s not that everyone said ‘you beaut I’m voting Labor’, they’re sending a message to the Liberals ‘not happy’, but they (Liberals) had a big enough buffer to survive it.”

The tighter race may also be down to the retirement of Rowan Ramsey, who had an almost identical 55/45 percentage split with Labor’s Karin Bolton at the 2007 election when he succeeded the retiring MP Barry Wakelin.

“Once he (Ramsey) had incumbency he was able to build a personal vote, and we’ll have to see if Tom Venning can do that,” Prof. Macintyre said.

“If I was Tom Venning, as long as I don’t make a fool of myself, I’d be assuming that’s a seat that I was going to keep for a long time.”

Mr Venning said he had “mixed emotions” having won his seat, but his leader and many of his potential colleagues losing theirs, with the party securing less than a third of lower house seats.

“The campaigning I did in the previous nine months, the hundreds of meetings that I held, the 88,000 kilometres I drove in the lead up to May 3 I think really paid off,” he said.

“If it wasn’t for that, it could’ve been a different result here in Grey.”

The new Member for Grey said there was heartache within his party, but he was excited to be part of its rebuild.

“There is going to be a review process and we’ve got to make sure that it is thorough and, when the report is finished, we don’t just put it on a shelf and forget about it, we keep referring back to it so we don’t make the same mistakes in three years’ time,” he said.

“Personally, I don’t like the social wars that we have seen the past three years.

“For me, government should be about focusing on the basics — that is jobs, education, health services, roads.”

The first-termer said he would be prioritising “local issues 100 per cent”, with the drought, Whyalla Steelworks, water security, crime and roads front of mind.

“We’re going to have to fight for every dollar that we can get in new road funding in Grey, given the 50:50 funding switch by the Albanese Government.”

Labor candidate for Grey Karin Bolton said, while she was not joining the re-elected Albanese Government, which secured a huge majority, it would continue to deliver for all Australians.

“I’m exceptionally proud of the campaign that we ran for Grey,” she said.

“I’m particularly proud of the election commitment we secured, for the Albanese Government to invest up to $5 million in improving a childcare centre in Kadina.

“I’d like to thank all the dedicated volunteers who helped out on the campaign and made a swing to Labor possible.”

Figures used in this story, and the graph below, are as at 9am on the day of publication. Counting continues and figures are subject to change.

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 6 May 2025.