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Finniss is a single-member
electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
for the
South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...
. It is named after
B. T. Finniss Boyle Travers Finniss (18 August 1807 – 24 December 1893) was the first premier of South Australia, serving from 24 October 1856 to 20 August 1857. Early life Finniss was born at sea off the Cape of Good Hope, Southern Africa, and lived in ...
, the first
Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...
. It covers a regional area which includes the localities of Back Valley, Currency Creek,
Encounter Bay Encounter Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south central coast about south of the state capital of Adelaide. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his encounter on 8 April 1802 with Nicolas Baud ...
, Finniss, Goolwa, Goolwa Beach, Goolwa North, Goolwa South, Hayborough,
Hindmarsh Island Hindmarsh Island (Ngarrindjeri: Kumerangk) is an inland river island located in the lower Murray River near the town of Goolwa, South Australia, Goolwa, South Australia. The island is a tourist destination, which has increased in popularity si ...
, Hindmarsh Tiers, Hindmarsh Valley, Lower Inman Valley,
McCracken McCracken may refer to: People *McCracken (surname), people with the surname McCracken Places *McCracken County, Kentucky, a county located in western Kentucky, USA *McCracken, Kansas, a city in Rush County, Kansas, USA *McCracken, Missouri, an un ...
, Middleton, Mosquito Hill, Mount Compass, Mount Observation,
Mundoo Island Mundoo is the name of several geographic localities: * Mundoo, Queensland, a town in Australia * Mundoo (Laamu Atoll), an island in the Maldives * Mundoo Island, an island in Lake Alexandrina in South Australia ** Mundoo Island, South Australia ...
, Nangkita,
Port Elliot Port Elliot is a town in South Australia toward the eastern end of the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is situated on the sheltered Horseshoe Bay, a small bay off the much larger Encounter Bay. Pullen Island lies outside the mouth of t ...
, Tooperang, and Victor Harbor; as well as parts of Inman Valley and Waitpinga. Finniss has been a very safe seat for the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
since its creation at the 1991 electoral redistribution as a replacement for the equally safe
Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...
. Dating to its time as part of Alexandra, the area now in Finniss has been held by Liberals or their predecessor, the
Liberal and Country League Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...
, without interruption since 1941. For most of that time, it has been a comfortably safe LCL/Liberal seat. It was contested for the first time at the 1993 election by newly elected Liberal leader
Dean Brown Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...
, who had returned to parliament after a seven-year absence by winning the
1992 Alexandra state by-election A by-election was held for the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Alexandra on 9 May 1992. This was triggered by the resignation of former state Liberal MHA Ted Chapman. The seat had been retained by the Liberals since it was created and f ...
. Brown had little difficulty winning Finniss, and subsequently became Premier after the election. Brown was later toppled as Premier by Liberal rival
John Olsen John Wayne Olsen, AO (born 7 June 1945) is a former Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, C ...
in 1996, and was initially expected to retire, but remained in parliament as a senior member of consecutive Liberal ministries and shadow ministries, and served as deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2001 to 2005—the first six months of that tenure as Deputy Premier. Brown retired at the 2006 election, and was succeeded by Liberal candidate Michael Pengilly, who held off a concerted attempt by the SA Nationals to take the seat. Pengilly held the seat easily until retiring at the 2018 election.
David Basham David Keith Bernard Basham (born June 1968) is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal member of the South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Aus ...
retained the seat for the Liberals, despite a spirited challenge from
SA-BEST SA-Best (stylised SA-BEST), formerly known as Nick Xenophon's SA-BEST, is a political party in South Australia. It was founded in 2017 by Nick Xenophon as a state-based partner to his Nick Xenophon Team party (renamed to Centre Alliance in ear ...
. Indeed, SA-BEST's showing in Finniss was strong enough to make the seat marginal for the first time in its current configuration. However, Finniss remains a comfortably safe Liberal seat in a "traditional" two-party matchup with
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
; Basham only suffered a small swing against Labor. Most of Finniss is located within the
Centre Alliance Centre Alliance, formerly known as the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT), is a centrist political party in Australia based in the state of South Australia. It currently has one representative in the Parliament, Rebekha Sharkie in the House of Represent ...
-held federal
Division of Mayo The Division of Mayo is an Australian electoral division located to the east and south of Adelaide, South Australia. Created in the state redistribution of 3 September 1984, the division is named after Helen Mayo, a social activist and the fir ...
.


Members for Finniss


Election results


Notes


References


ECSA profile for Finniss: 2018

ABC profile for Finniss: 2018


{{DEFAULTSORT:Finniss Electoral districts of South Australia 1993 establishments in Australia