ELECTED Liberal Member for Barker Tony Pasin says he will focus on agriculture as one of his priorities as part of Tony Abbott's new government.
With counting yet to be completed, the small business owner has already won 52.44 per cent of the vote despite a negative swing of -2.64pc and, on a two-candidate preferred basis, has beaten Labor's Phil Golding with 66.52pc of the vote.
Labor also suffered its largest negative swing in the state, losing 9.67pc of its 2010 voters.
But for losing National Party candidate Miles Hanneman, who received 4.4pc of the vote, it is back to the drawing board.
"The National Party brand has to be improved in SA because we had a great message," he said.
"I personally believe that people were voting Labor out by putting the Liberals in, so whatever happened, they just wanted to put the Liberals in and didn't want to think about the Coalition."
Family First candidate Kristin Lambert said it was great to finish third above Mr Hanneman with 8.1pc, and independent Richard Sage, who managed 7.37pc.
But she was disappointed that very few specific policies were announced for Barker during the election campaign.
"It will be tough for the Liberals to commit to local spending and policy in Barker because it has become even safer following this election," she said.
"Their focus will, yet again, be on the key marginal seats in metropolitan areas at the next election."
She said Family First would continue to campaign for university campuses, restored exit blocks on the Murray irrigation schemes, duplication of the Dukes Highway and a magnetic resonance imaging machine at Mount Gambier.
Mr Pasin said it had been a keenly contested battle in Barker "conducted with good, old-fashioned civility and respect" among candidates.
"The fact we have almost 1000 Liberal Party members throughout Barker is perhaps my greatest asset," he said.
"Our members come from all walks of life and represent all the different communities in the electorate, from the SE, Mallee and Murraylands, up to the Barossa Valley and Riverland."
* Full report in Stock Journal, September 12 issue, 2013.
