1993 South Australian state election

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State elections were held in South Australia on 11 December 1993. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election. The incumbent Labor government, led by Premier Lynn Arnold, was defeated by the Liberal Opposition, led by Dean Brown, in a landslide victory. The Liberals won what is still the largest majority government in South Australian history.

The campaign was dominated by the issue of the collapse of the State Bank of South Australia in 1991. The State Bank's deposits were legally underwritten by the Government of South Australia, putting South Australia into billions of dollars of debt. Labor premier John Bannon had resigned over the issue in 1992, being replaced by Lynn Arnold just over a year before the election. The Liberals also changed leaders in 1992, switching from Dale Baker to Dean Brown. Following the Labor leadership change and by early 1993, Newspoll had recorded a total rise of 13 percent in the Labor primary vote. However, the gains did not last. A warning sign of things to come came with the March 1993 federal election, which saw two of Labor's longest held seats in South Australia, Hindmarsh and Grey, fall to the Liberals. Hindmarsh had been in Labor hands without interruption since 1919, while Grey had been in Labor hands for all but one term since 1943.

Seat Pre 1993 Swing Post 1993 Party Member Margin Margin Member PartyElder LaborNotional New Seat 4.6 8.0 3.4David WadeLiberal Elizabeth IndependentMartyn Evans* N/A N/A 7.6Martyn EvansLabor Flinders National SAPeter Blacker 6.8 14.6 7.8Liz PenfoldLiberal Florey LaborBob Gregory 1.8 12.2 10.4Sam BassLiberal Hart IndependentNorm Peterson* N/A N/A 8.5Kevin FoleyLabor Kaurna LaborDon Hopgood* 3.6 6.4 2.8Lorraine RosenbergLiberal Lee LaborKevin Hamilton* 8.1 9.2 1.1Joe RossiLiberal Mawson LaborSusan Lenehan* 2.6 12.2 9.6Robert BrokenshireLiberal Mitchell LaborPaul Holloway* 3.6 13.0 9.4Colin CaudellLiberal Norwood LaborGreg Crafter 3.0 10.4 7.4John CumminsLiberal Peake LaborVic Heron 4.0 9.6 5.6Heini BeckerLiberal Reynell LaborNotional New Seat 9.0 10.2 1.2Julie GreigLiberal Torrens LaborJohn Klunder* 4.5 11.0 6.5Joe TiernanLiberal Unley LaborKym Mayes 0.6 12.1 11.5Mark BrindalLiberal Wright LaborMike Rann* 5.2 9.2 4.0Scott AshendenLiberal 

Members in italics did not recontest their seats. Martyn Evans was elected as an Independent in 1989, then joined Labor in 1993. Pre election margin is vs. Labor, after margin is vs. Liberal. The new district of Hart was largely based on the abolished district of Semaphore, which had been won by Norm Peterson as an Independent in 1989. Don Hopgood was the sitting MP for the abolished district of Baudin, which was largely replaced by Kaurna. Kevin Hamilton was the sitting Labor MP for the abolished district of Albert Park, which took in parts of the new district of Lee. Susan Lenehan instead contested the seat of Reynell and lost. Paul Holloway instead contested the seat of Elder and lost. John Klunder was the sitting Labor MP for the abolished district of Todd, which took in most of the new district of Torrens. The new district of Wright was largely based on the abolished district of Briggs. The sitting Briggs MP Mike Rann instead contested the seat of Ramsay and won.

Seat 1989 election 1991 redistribution Swing 1993 election Party Member Margin Party Member Margin Margin Member Party Hanson  Liberal Heini Becker* 6.1  Labor Notional 4.9 6.1 1.2 Stewart Leggett Liberal  Hartley  Labor Terry Groom* 4.5  Liberal Notional 1.4 +11.8 13.2 Joe Scalzi Liberal  Newland  Liberal Dorothy Kotz 0.1  Labor Notional 0.4 17.8 17.4 Dorothy Kotz Liberal 

Heini Becker contested the seat of Peake and won. Terry Groom was elected as a Labor member in 1989 but quit the party in 1991. He contested the seat of Napier and lost.