Hugh Schuitemaker, Murray Pioneer

The Coalition’s recent reunion has failed to reach Chaffey.

In this weekend’s SA Election, The Nationals are again running a candidate against Liberal MP Tim Whetstone.

The sitting member has returned the favour by preferencing Nationals contender Imelda Adamson Agars fifth in the nine-candidate field.

However, the situation in Chaffey is nothing unusual, with Damien Buijs contesting the seat for The Nationals in 2022. Likewise in Barker, The Nationals ran a candidate at the 2025 Federal Election in the form of Jonathan Pietzsch.

For this Saturday’s SA Election, Mr Whetstone – aiming for a fifth term – has directed his preferences to Barmera-based Independent Jason Perrin, a local grape grower.

In return, Mr Perrin has preferenced Mr Whetstone first.

Interestingly, in a letter to the editor in today’s Murray Pioneer, Mr Perrin refers to state legislation – proposed last year by Fair Go MLC Sarah Game – to lock in indicative prices for Riverland wine grape growers, and suggests the Bill failed to gain traction due in part to “political nonsense”.

Mr Whetstone was a vocal critic of the Bill.

Meanwhile One Nation Chaffey candidate Jenny Troeth has been preferenced fourth by both Mr Whetstone and Mr Perrin. The latter spoke at a One Nation event in Barmera last year.

In line with One Nation policy, Ms Troeth has elected against preferencing any other candidates on her how-to-vote card.

“It’s their choice who they preference,” Mrs Troeth said yesterday, “not mine, not One Nation’s.

This article appeared in Murray Pioneer, 18 MArch 2026.