Caitlin Menadue, Yorke Peninsula Country Times
One Nation’s Chantelle Thomas has been elected in the seat of Narungga following a nail-biting recount, as part of a broader South Australian election that delivered a decisive win for Labor.
The election, held on March 21, saw Labor returned to government in a landslide, securing 34 of the 47 House of Assembly seats.
The remaining seats were shared between five Liberals, four One Nation members and four independents.
In Narungga, Ms Thomas secured victory by 58 votes over Liberal candidate Tania Stock, down from the 77-vote margin reported before last week’s recount.
The final count showed Ms Thomas received 12,073 votes (50.1 per cent) on preferences, ahead of Ms Stock with 12,015 votes (49.9 per cent).
Ms Thomas said she was eager to begin work representing the community.
“I’m keen to play a role in One Nation’s agenda: being a strong voice of opposition to Labor, listening to the Narungga community and acting on what they tell me,” she said.
She said key issues raised by Narungga voters during her campaign included the Wallaroo Hospital and lifting the recreational snapper fishing ban.
“One Nation supports the right to go fishing,” she said.
“Our recreational fishers generate around $1 billion for the state economy each year, much of it in regional areas.”
Ms Thomas said she would advocate for upgrading Wallaroo Hospital to a level three facility and increasing bed capacity, along with improvements to emergency departments at Maitland, Yorketown, Port Broughton and Balaklava.
She also backed incentives to attract doctors and health professionals to regional areas.
Joining One Nation in parliament is former Yorke Peninsula local Rebecca Hewett, elected to the Legislative Council.
Ms Hewett said she would push for local government reform, drawing on her experience as a councillor.
“I want to quickly get started advocating for long overdue local government reforms,” she said.
“I’ve seen up close the need for strengthening democracy in councils, streamlining bureaucracy and stopping wasteful spending by councils so we can keep rates low.
This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 8 April 2026.
