New taskforce to create more opportunities for women in the South Australian Liberal Party

State Liberal Leader David Speirs has formed a new taskforce which will look specifically at how to engage, support and create opportunities for women within the South Australian Liberal Party.

Reporting directly to the Leader, the taskforce will be chaired by Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Nicola Centofanti, and will have representation from across the party, including former state and federal parliamentarians.

Acknowledging that female representation within the House of Assembly is not reflective of a modern political party – nor reflective of South Australian society – Leader David Speirs said the Liberal Party has a unique opportunity to modernise to better reflect the community.

“Since becoming Leader I have put together a team to deliver a fresh, alternative vision for South Australia. To make sure we better connect with South Australians our party needs to reflect what society looks like,” Mr Speirs said.

“My Shadow Cabinet does that with six women, seven people in their thirties, nine people with school age children, seven people who call regional South Australia home and two first generation migrants.

“However, to only have two Liberal female members in the House of Assembly is a situation we must improve at the next election. This taskforce will be charged with delivering a diverse set of candidates in 2026 and in particular we want to encourage more women to become involved with the party.

“This is not tokenistic and merit will of course remain the key deciding factor, but the more strong female candidates we have the better the result will be for our party and South Australians.

"Importantly, Chelsey Potter will be part of the taskforce. Chelsey's experience within the party has been far from ideal, but we must learn from it and listen to her point of view. Her experience is one that I hope will never be repeated and I am sorry that she has been through this."