Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

New Member for Narungga Chantelle Thomas says she will harness the “real power” of One Nation in state parliament to win a better deal for the electorate.

Speaking in her electorate office in Kadina, Ms Thomas said she was busy interviewing staff and setting up ahead of being sworn in early in May.

She won the seat by a knife-edge margin against Sandilands farmer Tania Stock.

There have also been controversies about the way the election was conducted, now the subject of an independent review of the Electoral Commission of South Australia.

“A lot of people did doubt us, that we would win any seats,” Ms Thomas said.

“We’ve now got four in the lower house, three in the upper house… this is going to give us real power on the parliament floor.

“And, you know, I’ve got a great team behind me.

“I’ve got (One Nation leader) Pauline Hanson herself.”

Ms Thomas said she would be happy to work with the Liberal Party as the state opposition.

She said she had developed an interest in politics over the past couple of years while watching “the downfall of the way our country’s going”.

“Out here we don’t have a powerful voice,” she said.

“We had an independent in this seat (former Member for Narungga Fraser Ellis) with no power or no policy.

“Being a mum of three I was worried about my girls’ futures and I thought ‘this is why I’m going to get into it’ and that’s why I did campaign so hard and I was doing a lot of door knocking.”

Ms Thomas said she had seen photos of Premier Peter Malinauskas announcing funding for an expansion of Clare Hospital.

“A lot of people out here were very disappointed and said, more money going out that way, nothing coming this way,” she said.

“I’m going by all the door knocking and this is real people.”

Drawing on her experience as a volunteer Lifeline counsellor, Ms Thomas said in addition to doubling beds at Wallaroo Hospital, she wanted to see separate intake areas and a ward for mental health patients.

She will also advocate for more specialist services in the electorate and better services for older people.

Ms Thomas said she had been a member of One Nation for more than a year, joining while living in Queensland.

She grew up in Gawler and her husband is from Minlaton, and they chose Kadina as a halfway point when they recently returned to South Australia.

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 28 April 2026.