Ashton Hurn is unanimously elected South Australia’s new Liberal Party leader, succeeding Vincent Tarzia ahead of the March state election.

Ashton Hurn has been unanimously chosen as South Australia’s new Liberal Party leader, succeeding Vincent Tarzia, who stepped down after 16 months. Hurn, 34, a Schubert MP and daughter of a Barossa Valley farming family, pledged to rebuild the party ahead of a March state election, facing a steep challenge as Labor’s Peter Malinauskas leads in polls. She becomes one of five women leading Liberal parties nationally—a record for the conservative party. Tarzia cited leadership pressures, not external pressure, for his exit, following David Speirs’ resignation and subsequent drug charges. A deputy leadership vote between Josh Teague and Frank Pangallo is pending.