South Australian state election, 1997

← 1993

11 October 1997 (1997-10-11)

2002 →

All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly
24 seats were needed for a majority
11 (of the 22) seats in the South Australian Legislative Council

	First party	Second party

Leader	John Olsen	Mike Rann
Party	Liberal	Labor
Leader since	28 November 1996	5 November 1994
Leader's seat	Kavel	Ramsay
Last election	37 seats	10 seats
Seats won	23 seats	21 seats
Seat change	14	11
Percentage	51.5%	48.5%
Swing	9.5%	9.5%

Premier before election

John Olsen
Liberal

Resulting Premier

John Olsen
Liberal

State elections were held in South Australia on 11 October 1997. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Premier of South Australia John Olsen defeated the Australian Labor Party led by Leader of the Opposition Mike Rann, forming a minority government with the SA Nationals and independent MPs.

Independents: Rory McEwen, Mitch Williams

Following the 1993 landslide to the Liberals, ending 11 years of Labor government, Labor now led by Mike Rann held just 11 seats in the House of Assembly. The Liberals held 36 seats and there were no independent or minor party members in the House of Assembly. They had held a record 37, but lost one at the 1994 Torrens by-election. However the Liberals were suffering from heightened internal tensions. Premier Dean Brown had been toppled by Industry Minister and factional rival John Olsen in a 1996 party-room coup. Olsen had been in office for around 12 months on election day. Even with the leadership change, Labor needed a 13-seat swing to make Rann premier, a deficit thought insurmountable when the writs were dropped.

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