2 days ago
Independent MP and former journalist Frank Pangallo to run as Liberal candidate for Waite
Independent upper house MP Frank Pangallo has launched his move to the Liberal Party by declaring he "will be a watchdog" who will be let "off the leash" ahead of the 2026 South Australian state election.
Mr Pangallo was today unveiled by Liberal leader Vincent Tarzia as the party's candidate for the lower house seat of Waite, which is held by Labor's Catherine Hutchesson.
The widely-tipped move had been on the cards for weeks, and has come seven years after Mr Pangallo was elected as a Member of the Legislative Council as part of Nick Xenophon's SA Best, which he left in 2023.
Speaking in the seat of Waite this morning while wearing a blue T-shirt bearing the image of a large dog and the words "The Watchdog", the former Today Tonight journalist acknowledged that unseating an incumbent in the seat would be the "biggest challenge of my career".
"I've lived in this community for 30 years and I know the challenges that they are facing in this community," Mr Pangallo said.
"South Australia needs a watchdog in parliament and that's what I intend to do."
Mr Pangallo said he wanted to "rattle cages", including that of the government.
"They think they're coasting home to another election — nup, you're not. It's not going to be as easy as you think," he said.
"There's going to be resistance."
Labor has hit back at Mr Pangallo and the Liberals, describing the move as "desperate" and Mr Pangallo as a "long-time critic of the Liberal Party".
