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Bill Shorten and Ged Kearney have claimed victory in Batman in two rousing speeches, frequently interrupted by the crowd interrupting into chant or song.

Shorten promised voters that Labor would not take victory in Batman to mean that they could ignore the demands of progressive voters or those who had turned away from Labor:

Tonight I want to make a promise to all of the voters of Batman, the ones who voted for Labor and the ones who voted for other candidates ... that Labor hears the lesson and the message of Batman.

Shorten said he knew many voters were “disillusioned with politics as usual”.

Tonight in this venue we celebrate a victory for Labor, but beyond this room into the lounge rooms of Batman more broadly in Australia, I promise that we do not treat this election campaign as a triumph and an end in itself, but as another step in the way to giving Australians the sort of government they want with the policies that make a difference to everyday Australians.

Kearney, speaking over chants of “Ged! Ged! Ged!”, said: “Oh, they said we’d never do it. But we did.” She thanked Alex Bhathal for a “hard-fought campaign”, then addressed the voters of Batman:

I want the people of Batman to know that I have listened, that Bill Shorten has listened, and we are going to take everything you have said to Canberra.

Kearney is the first woman elected to the seat of Batman in its 110-year history, and brings the proportion of women in the federal Labor caucus to 48%.

</s>After 16 long years in the political wilderness, the Liberal party has claimed victory in South Australia after one of the most unusual election campaigns in living memory.

At a packed Hackney hotel on the edge of his seat of Dunstan – which he won handsomely – the incoming Liberal premier, Steven Marshall, entered the room to squeals of delight and speakers blasting out The Man by the Killers.

“A massive thank you to the people of South Australia who have put their trust, their faith in me and the Liberal team for a new dawn, a new dawn for South Australia!” he said.

Marshall won on a platform strongly grounded in business-friendly plans including deregulating shop trading hours and cuts to payroll tax, land tax and the emergency services levy.

He paid special tribute to Vincent Tarzia, earlier introduced to the room as the “lion of Hartley”, for defeating the SA Best leader, Nick Xenophon, in the eastern suburbs seat. Marshall might have been speaking about himself when describing how Tarzia would have reacted to the news Xenophon would be returning to state politics.

“Most people at that point of time would have thought this is not going to happen, I’m going to throw in the towel,” he said.

Marshall had banked it all on victory, pledging to quit if he lost and ruling out a deal with Nick Xenophon’s SA Best to form government. The result was also a profound relief for the party at large – after winning the popular vote in three of the past four elections, only to lose them all.

It was a result that the Liberals felt they they’d been robbed of three times over. Their election-night traumas combined with the uncertainty of Xenophon’s return to state politics with SA Best, who had a relatively disappointing showing, left even the most confident party faithful holding their breath until the result was beyond all doubt.

Labor’s leader Jay Weatherill, as he promised earlier in the day, was philosophical about the result, acknowledging the challenge of winning another election after so long in power.

“I’m so sorry we couldn’t bring home another one to you,” he said. “I feel like a horse that’s won four Melbourne Cups and the handicap has just been put up.”

Weatherill expressed pride in the achievements of Labor’s long stint in power, which began with the election of the Rann government in 2002, before Weatherill took power in 2011.

He highlighted in particular the rollout of one of some of the most ambitious renewable energy infrastructure in the world, with projects constructed or under way including the biggest solar thermal tower in the world, and the two biggest battery storage systems globally. Aside from the “time for change” imperative, Labor was up against it in newspaper coverage, with the Adelaide Advertiser and the Australian both endorsing Marshall.

As it stood at 10.30pm on Saturday night, the Liberals were in front in 25 seats despite a swing against them of 6.9% and a primary vote of 37.8%, an oddity explained by the arrival of SA Best and a redrawing of electoral boundaries in 2016 that actually meant Labor had to win seats to retain government.

Labor looked set to win 18 on a primary vote of 33%, and is still a chance in Adelaide, King and Newland. Three independents were on the verge of victory, and SA Best was not in front in any seats although remained a chance in Heysen. The party secured a vote of 13.7%, well short of the 32% Newspoll projected at its height last December.

Xenophon made a unusually early concession speech of sorts at 8pm at the SA Best function at Palace Nova cinemas in the heart of Adelaide.

On a night when SA Best were expected to get anywhere between one and four seats, he framed the result as a victory against the duopoly of Liberal and Labor because of a number of second-place finishes, and a platform to build from in the future. “This is not the beginning of the end, it’s actually the end of the beginning,” he said.

“We’ll have a presence in the state parliament and we’ll build on that presence and build on it, so that every day, for the next four years, we’ll hold the government, the next government of South Australia, to account. We’ll hold the opposition to account, we’ll make the parliament a workhorse, not the rocking horse it is now.”

The seat of Hartley was a microcosm of the challenges facing the SA Best campaign, with Labor, Liberal, Greens and Australian Conservatives candidates all preferencing against Xenophon, the pokies lobby running a concerted campaign on the ground against him, and the SA Best party leader too busy elsewhere to spend much time meeting voters.

The Liberals poured resources into beating Xenophon personally, hoping that defeating the SA Best leader would leave any candidates who did get elected rudderless.

In the Legislative Council, it looked on election night that four Liberals, four Labor and two SA Best candidates would be elected. Of the one seat remaining, it appeared that the Greens MLC Tammy Franks would retain her seat ahead of the Australian Conservatives’ Robert Brokenshire.

In an election calling on a record 1.2 million South Australian registered voters, sausages sizzled outside polling booths housed in schools, town halls and churches across the state.

The final tally will be further delayed by the record 215,000 early votes cast, which the Electoral Commission will only begin counting on Monday in a process that could take weeks.

Marshall will be hoping for further good news from those ballots, having himself voted early in an attempt to encourage the public to do the same while the report on the Oakden aged-care home abuse scandal was still in the news cycle.</s>History, finally, caught up with Labor in South Australia. After 16 years in office, and seeking a record fifth term, Jay Weatherill’s Labor has conceded to the Liberals.

While the results have not been finalised, the current state of play has Steven Marshall’s Liberals securing a majority. In the projected seat tally, the Liberals have won 24, Labor 18, Independents three and two seats remain undecided. This is a remarkable and unexpected result for a range of reasons.

Elections, as Nick Xenophon is discovering, have a cold, hard way of clarifying the minds of the voters.

Only two days before the election, most of the major betting agencies had far more favourable odds for a Labor win. Betting odds are sometimes seen as better predictors of election results than polls.

Read more: Liberals win South Australian election as Xenophon crushed, while Labor stuns the Greens in Batman

So, as we still pick over the results, what seemed to go right for the Liberals and so wrong for Nick Xenophon’s SA-Best team?

For the Liberals, while this was a win, it was not as resounding as, say, Mike Rann’s 2006 “Rann-slide”. Yet, it has been a result a long time coming, having won the popular vote in three of the past four state elections. Marshall’s campaign centred on him being a “safe” change-agent.

Marshall’s success lies in a range of incremental factors. First, he put to bed the historic divisions in the party. In a striking insight, he followed John Howard’s advice not to have votes at shadow cabinet meetings, but decide by consensus. New leadership, coupled with the misery of the long years in the wilderness, helped cement party unity.

Second, Marshall’s policy agenda has remained consistent and undramatic. When he launched his first 100 days in office, this was a smart relaunch of policies already well-known. It might have lacked a “wow” factor, but this has proven to be an asset. South Australians will now see cuts to household bills, a roll-out of a home battery scheme, and a push to deregulate working hours.

Third, the Liberals finally managed to make the most of the ammunition of Labor’s 16 years in office, especially the release of the Oakden report into abuse at the state-run mental health facility. The Liberals capitalised on this with a powerful campaign ad by the son of one of the victims, saying he “had enough” of Labor.

Yet, the story of the night was the deflation of the Xenophon SA-Best threat to the major parties. SA-Best looks set to secure just 13.7% of the vote, much lower than even lowered expectations.

The Xenophon vote fail to carry through – arguably for the following reasons.

First, there was overreach by Xenophon, perhaps mistakenly buoyed by the December Newspoll that not only suggested his party could hoover up a third of the vote, but also dangling the prospect of Xenophon as future premier.

Running 36 SA-Best candidates proved a stretch too far for South Australian voters.

Second, the SA-Best machine seemed ill-equipped and under-prepared for the campaign. Policy announcements came late in the campaign, giving the veneer of “policy on the run”.

In other key seats, some untested SA-Best candidates met difficult challenges. In Colton, Matt Cowdrey, the Liberal candidate and former paralympian, easily saw off the SA-Best candidate. In Mawson – a key SA-Best target, Leon Bignell the Labor (now former) minister ran a strong campaign to damage Xenophon hopes.

The thinness of the SA-Best “machine” might prove a factor, as candidates were recruited late in the piece, and some did not seem quite ready for the media scrutiny, nor have enough time to embed themselves as the SA-Best candidate in their seats.

Voters also seem to have pulled back from the unclear positioning of SA-Best. After the initial honeymoon, SA-Best shifted from its traditional “watchdog” role – previously held by the Democrats - to presenting as a “kingmaker”. This brought additional scrutiny and expectation, pushing Xenophon onto the back foot.

Read more: As South Australia heads to the polls, the state is at a crossroads

In the final weeks of the campaign, Xenophon was playing to his familiar strength, gambling reform, but voters expected a more embracing policy agenda.

Finally, the Australian political system is undergoing change, but the institutional factors continue to suppress minor party challengers. The lower house, with its majoritarian electoral system, requires a strong performance by the next best-placed challenger. Three-into-two does not easily go.

It is notable too, that the election did not go as planned for other parties. The Australian Conservatives clearly failed to capitalise on their merger with Family First, with a drop in its vote share to 3.1%.

For Labor, the result is far from a disaster, and offers them the chance to rebuild, perhaps with a new leader in Peter Malinauskas.

Critically, Australian democracy seems more accelerated, with Liberal governments in Victoria and Queensland ejected after just one term. Marshall will need to move quickly to ensure his new government does not follow this new trend.</s>Liberal leader Steven Marshall has claimed victory in the South Australian election, declaring it a new dawn for the state after 16 years of a Labor government.

Mr Marshall will take over from Labor's Jay Weatherill as premier with the Liberals likely to win at least 24 seats, enough to govern in their own right.

"It's been way too long between drinks for the Liberal Party in South Australia," a jubilant Mr Marshall, who fell short of winning the 2014 election, told the cheering crowd.

"Now, we have been given a wonderful opportunity by the people of South Australia."

He acknowledged Mr Weatherill, who shortly before had called him to concede defeat.

"I would like to thank him for his service, to the people of South Australia, and for his six years as premier of this state," he said.

"It is a tough job but I tell you what, I'm really looking forward to it.

"A massive thank you to the people of South Australia who have put their trust, their faith in me and the Liberal team for a new dawn, a new dawn for South Australia."

He also thanked the voters for giving them a majority in the parliament.

"We specifically asked them to give us a majority government because we know that a majority government will be able to drive the reform agenda that we so desperately need here in South Australia," he said.

"I absolutely guarantee, I give you my commitment that I and every single person in the team will be working diligently every day over the next four years so that we can build a brighter future, a better future for South Australia."

The big losers were Nick Xenophon and his SA-BEST candidates who look unlikely to win a single lower-house seat.

Mr Xenophon was beaten in Hartley by sitting Liberal Vincent Tarzia who was given a hero's welcome when he arrived at the function.

Mr Marshall applauded Mr Tarzia's efforts in fending off the unexpected incursion of Mr Xenophon.

"I think most people at that point in time would have thought, this is not going to happen, I'm going to throw in the towel. Did he throw in the towel? No way! He redoubled his efforts and they have been rewarded."

Mr Marshall also thanked former prime minister John Howard, who supported and mentored him after the 2014 loss.</s>Liberal leader Steven Marshall has claimed victory in the South Australian election, declaring it a new dawn for the state after 16 years of a Labor government. Mr Marshall will take over from Labor's Jay Weatherill as premier with the Liberals likely to win at least 24 seats, enough to govern in their own right. 'It's been way too long between drinks for the Liberal Party in South Australia,' a jubilant Mr Marshall, told the cheering crowd.

THE Liberal Party has ended 16 years of Labor rule and also dismissed any challenge from Nick Xenophon and his SA-BEST Party.

It is estimated the Liberals will win at least 24 seats in the 47-seat parliament in South Australia, enough to give the opposition some serious push in parliament and govern in their own right.

Labor will likely take 18 seats and three should go to independents with two seats remaining in doubt.

Counting is expected to continue throughout this morning with those seats still too close to call to come down to postal and absentee votes.

Mr Xenophon failed to win his own seat of Hartley with Vincent Tarzia retaining it for the Liberals.

SA-BEST also polled well below expectations in the 35 other seats the party contested, failing spectacularly in its attempt to seize the balance of power.

Mr Marshall said it had been “way too long between drinks” for the Liberal Party in South Australia.

“Now, we have been given a wonderful opportunity by the people of South Australia,” he told the jubilant party faithful on Saturday night.

Outgoing premier Jay Weatherill thanked South Australians for the “extraordinary privilege of being your premier.”

“It’s been one of the great joys of my life,” he said.

Mr Xenophon said he was beaten by “negativity” and the “big money” spent by the Australian Hotels Association to derail his campaign.

“But it’s not over and I’m not giving up,” he said.

SA-BEST should have at least some representation in the next parliament with the party a chance of claiming two seats in the upper house.</s>SYDNEY: Australia's governing Liberal party has won a tight regional election in South Australia, a victory that could deal a blow to national renewable energy plans.

Saturday's poll pitted the conservative Liberals against the state's ruling centre-left Labor party, while independent Nick Xenophon's new party SA Best failed to win the balance-of-power and have the final say over which major party governs.

Incoming Liberal premier Steven Marshall gave his televised victory speech just after 10 p.m. local time.

"It is a tough job, but I tell you what, I'm really looking forward to it .... It's a new dawn for South Australia."

With 63 percent of votes counted, it was expected the Liberals had won 24 of the 47 lower house seats, giving it a majority to form government in what may have national implications for renewable energy policy.

The vote was seen as a choice between solar and wind energy, pushed by Labor, and coal, backed by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's conservative government.

South Australia, the country's fifth most populous state, has the most wind and solar power but the highest electricity prices in the country.

Its 1.7 million citizens suffered repeated blackouts over the last two years when intermittent wind power was insufficient and back-up power from coal and gas was unavailable.

Outgoing Labor premier Jay Weatherill had announced a plan in February to create a network of 50,000 home solar systems backed by Tesla Powerwall batteries.

Turnbull mocked the state's renewables policy as a "reckless energy experiment" that created the highest electricity prices in the developed world.

The federal government wants to introduce a national energy policy that has no renewable energy target but sets requirements for emissions cuts and reliability. South Australia's Labor government had refused to go along with it.

Energy policy specialist David Blowers at the Grattan Institute think-tank told Reuters last week that if the Liberals were to win in South Australia, the federal government could be expected to get the approval it needs to proceed.

The South Australia Liberal party also used a data-mining computer program to intensify lobbying in marginal seats for the first time in this election.

The i360 app imported from the United States uses information gleaned from social media, polls and surveys to pinpoint vacillating voters' addresses and the issues they care about in key marginal seats so they can be targeted for lobbying.

If the data-driven widget is credited with the Liberals' victory, it may become more widely used in future elections.

The official result of the final vote tally may not be known for several days.</s>WHAT HAPPENED AT THE SA ELECTION:

* It became clear on Saturday night the Liberals would form a majority government after 16 years in opposition. They are expected to win at least 24 seats in the 47-seat parliament.

* Labor is likely to win 18 seats - a respectable result after their lengthy reign.

* SA-BEST leader Nick Xenophon failed to win his own seat of Hartley, with Liberal Vincent Tarzia retaining it for the Liberals.

* Things didn't go much better for SA-BEST in the 35 other seats it contested, where the party polled well below expectations and failed spectacularly in its bid to seize the balance of power.

* Three seats are tipped to go to independents with two others still in doubt, the Labor seat of Mawson and the Liberal seat of Adelaide.

* The Liberals may have been the most successful but their primary vote was 37.4 per cent - well down on the 45 per cent they won in 2014, with most of what was lost going to SA-BEST candidates and flowing back by preferences.

* Labor's primary vote was 33.9 per cent, while SA-BEST's was 13.7 per cent.

* Mr Xenophon's SA-BEST had more success in the Legislative Council, where it is expected to claim two of the 11 seats up for grabs.

* The Liberals are set to take four upper house seats, Labor at least three with two going to SA-BEST, and one each to possibly The Greens and the Australian Conservatives.</s>For the first time in 16 years, South Australia's Labor Party will spend the day knowing the state won't be under its watch in the coming years.

However, outgoing Premier Jay Weatherill has promised the party faithful this won't be the last time Labor reigns in SA.

"I'll just give you one pledge: we'll be back," he told them after conceding defeat in the state election on Saturday night.

A return in four years may already be on the party's mind but it has plenty of issues to grapple with in the immediate future.

These include whether Mr Weatherill will stay on as leader and if not, who will replace him, a question not dealt with in his concession speech.

Peter Malinauskas, who on Saturday was successful in his bid to move from the upper house to the lower house, is among those considered a potential successor.

It also remains to be seen exactly how many seats in parliament Labor will retain once all the votes are tallied.

The Liberals are likely to win at least 24 seats in the 47-seat parliament, enough to govern in their own right while Labor could finish with 18.

Despite the loss, outgoing treasurer Tom Koutsantonis was keen to stress on Saturday that the party was about more than campaigning.

"We are part of a movement, we're not a brand," he said.

"We're not Coke or Pepsi, we're about people's lives."</s>The Liberals will claim victory at the South Australian election, an exit poll has predicted, less than an hour before polls close.

The Channel 9 Galaxy poll says the Liberals are ahead on a two-party preferred basis with 50.5 per cent of the vote, compared to Labor's 49.5 per cent, giving them 24 or 25 seats in the 47-seat parliament.

Nick Xenophon's SA-BEST has slipped to just 15 per cent of the primary vote, the poll says, compared to 36 per cent for the Liberals, 31 per cent for Labor and eight per cent for the Greens.</s>* Labor Premier Jay Weatherill is bidding to win a record fifth straight term for the ALP.

* Liberal Leader Steven Marshall is seeking redemption after losing the 2014 poll, one the Liberals were expected to win.

* SA-BEST leader Nick Xenophon is seeking to seize the balance of power and set up a new political agenda in SA.

* Rising power prices and energy security after the statewide blackout in September 2016.

* The need to create new jobs to replace those lost from business closures, including the demise of car producer Holden last year.

* The question of who can be trusted to prevent scandals, such as the abuse at the state-run Oakden nursing home under Labor's watch.

* Labor would create a $2 billion infrastructure fund to build new roads, extend the city's tram lines and support a deep-water port in the Spencer Gulf. They would also set a new renewable energy target of 75 per cent.

* The Liberals would complete the North-South road corridor through metropolitan Adelaide, establish a GlobeLink freight airport and road corridor near Murray Bridge and deregulate shopping hours.

* SA-BEST would advocate for new laws to protect vulnerable South Australians from neglect as well as psychological, physical and sexual abuse. They would also redevelop the disused Port Stanvac oil refinery site into a housing and commercial precinct and bid to be home of a Qantas pilot training academy.

* Either Labor or the Liberals could form a majority government.

* If the major parties fail to secure a majority, they could potentially enter a coalition with SA-BEST. Leader Nick Xenophon has not ruled out doing a deal with anyone. Neither has Premier Jay Weatherill.

* A deal between SA-BEST and the Liberals won't be done under the leadership of Steven Marshall, who has vowed to secure a majority or stand down.
The SA Liberals win a majority of seats in South Australia's lower house, ending 16 years of Labor Party government in the state.