Hugh Schuitemaker, Murray Pioneer

The Riverland’s returned State MP says the weekend’s election result, which saw a 19 per cent swing away from his party, was a “humbling experience” for him.

Tim Whetstone was able to secure his fifth term as Chaffey MP with victory in last Saturday’s State Election, where as of late yesterday he had received 6543, or 35.5 per cent, of first preference votes.

However, Saturday night’s vote count did see Mr Whetstone for a while trailing One Nation candidate Jenny Troeth, who had 6237 first preference votes at the time of writing.

Mr Whetstone said the momentum toward One Nation was reflective of state-wide dissatisfaction toward the major parties.

“I am honoured to again serve as the Member for Chaffey, (and) I appreciate the support that the majority of voters have shown in me to best represent their interests,” Mr Whetstone said.

“However, it has also been a humbling experience to see so many in this region and across South Australia who feel like they aren’t being listened to by the major parties.

“This is the same type of disruption that fuelled Brexit, Trump’s re-election and many other shake-ups of democracies in recent years.

“Under Ashton Hurn’s leadership, I am confident that the SA Liberals will rebuild and we will show our constituents that we are here, we are listening and we’ll keep fighting hard for a more certain future for all South Australians.”

Mr Whetstone said continuing to advocate for support toward the Riverland wine industry, and seeking for increased local road maintenance and health service access would be priorities during his new term.

“I think the best response is to have bold policies like tax reforms that bring the focus back on the real issues and how to fix them,” he said.

“I look forward to returning to parliament so I can continue to hold the Labor Government accountable for its lack of commitment to regional South Australia.

“We are still waiting for meaningful action to address our wine industry crisis, our $2.1bn road maintenance backlog and our crumbling health system.

“The gap between Adelaide and everywhere else remains far too wide, and I’ll keep doing everything I can to get a better deal for the people of Chaffey.” 

Chaffey results

Liberal Party

• Tim Whetstone (MP)
• Vote: 35.5 per cent (6543)
• Swing: -19.1 per cent

One Nation

• Jennifer Troeth
• Vote: 33.9 per cent (6237)
• Swing: +24.0 per cent

Labor Party

• Oscar Harding
• Vote: 15.0 per cent (2767)
• Swing: -4.9 per cent

The Greens

• Alice Kuersch
• Vote: 4.5 per cent (822)
• Swing: -1.6 per cent

Independent

• Jason Perrin
• Vote: 3.9 per cent(727)
• Swing: +4.0 per cent

Australian Family Party

• Tim Oakley
• Vote: 2.8 per cent(514)
• Swing: +2.8 per cent

Legalise Cannabis SA

• Jeff Knipe
• Vote: 2.6 per cent(480)
• Swing: +2.6 per cent

The Nationals

• Imelda Adamson Agars
• Vote: 0.9 per cent(163)
• Swing: -4.9 per cent

Independent

• Jakob Gamertsfelder
• Vote: 0.9 per cent(159)
• Swing: +0.9 per cent

Two PP

• Tim Whetstone (LIB) 55.7 per cent
• Jenny Troeth (ON) 44.3 per cent

This article appeared in Murray Pioneer, 25 March 2026.
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