Editing Don Dunstan (section)

==Elections 1968–1970==
In preparation for the [[1968 South Australian state election|1968 election]], Labor campaigned heavily around its leader, and this resonated with voters; in surveys conducted in parts of the metropolitan area, 84% of respondents declared their approval of Dunstan.<ref name=bj6566>Blewett and Jaensch, pp. 65–66.</ref> In a presidential-style election campaign, Hall and Dunstan journeyed across the state advocating their platforms, and the major issues were the leaders, the Playmander and the economy.<ref name=p4/> Television saw its first major use in the election, and Dunstan, an astute public speaker, successfully mastered it.<ref name=bj>Blewett and Jaensch, pp. 60–61, 90–100.</ref> With his upbeat style, Dunstan also made an impact in the print media, which had long been a bastion of the LCL.<ref name=p4/> Despite winning a 52% majority of the primary vote, and 54% of the two-party preferred count,<ref name=p4/> Labor lost two seats, resulting in a hung parliament: the LCL and Labor each had 19 seats. Had 21 votes in the rural seat of [[Electoral district of Murray|Murray]] gone the other way, Labor would have retained power. The balance of power rested with the chamber's lone independent, [[Tom Stott]], who was offered the speakership by the LCL in return for his support on the Assembly floor.<ref name=p4/> Stott, a conservative, agreed to support the LCL.<ref name=flin/><ref name=p4>Parkin, p. 4.</ref><ref name="abcresults">{{cite news | url=https://www.abc.net.au/elections/sa/2006/guide/pastelec.htm |title= Past Elections (House of Assembly)|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] }}</ref><ref>Blewett and Jaensch, pp. 171–172.</ref>
[[File:SA Lower House Chamber.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The [[South Australian House of Assembly]]. The Assembly's composition was radically altered after changes were made to electoral legislation, abolishing the electoral malapportionment of the "[[Playmander]]".<ref name=flin/>]]

There was a degree of speculation in the press that Dunstan would call for a new election because of the adverse outcome. However, Dunstan realised the futility of such a move and instead sought to humiliate the LCL into bringing an end to malapportionment. Although Stott's decision to support the LCL ended any realistic chance of Dunstan remaining premier, Dunstan did not immediately resign his commission, intending to force Hall and the LCL to demonstrate that they had support on the floor of the Assembly when it reconvened. He used the six weeks before the start of the new legislature to draw attention to malapportionment.<ref name=p4/> Protests were held on 15 March in [[Light Square, Adelaide|Light Square]]. There, Dunstan spoke to a crowd of more than ten thousand: "We need to show that the people of SA feel that at last the watershed has been reached in this, and that they will not continue to put up with a system which is as undemocratic as the present one in SA."<ref>Blewett and Jaensch, pp. 172–173.</ref>

On 16 April, the first day of the new House's sitting, Dunstan lost a confidence vote. With it now clear that the LCL had control of the House, Dunstan tendered his resignation to [[Governor of South Australia|Governor]] [[Edric Bastyan]].<ref name="p5">Parkin, p. 5.</ref><ref name="bj173177">Blewett and Jaensch, pp. 173–177.</ref> Hall was then sworn in as premier. However, the six weeks of protesting had brought nationwide criticism of the unfairness of the electoral system and put more pressure on the LCL to relent to reforms; it has been seen as one of the most important political events of its time.<ref name="p5" />

With the end of Playford's tenure, the LCL had brought younger, more progressive members into its ranks. The Hall Government continued many of the social reforms the Walsh/Dunstan governments had initiated; most of these at the instigation of Hall or his Attorney-General, [[Robin Millhouse]]. [[Abortion]] was partially legalised,<ref>Parkin, pp. 299–300.</ref> and planning for the [[Adelaide Festival Centre|Festival Centre]] began.<ref>Horne, pp. 205–209.</ref> The conservative and rural factions of the League, notably in the Legislative Council dominated by the landed gentry, were bitterly opposed to some reforms, and more than once Hall was forced to rely on Labor support to see bills passed. The LCL began to break apart; what had once been a united party was now factionalised into four distinct groups across the political spectrum.<ref name=p5/><ref>Blewett and Jaensch, pp. 193–196.</ref> The economy of South Australia began to pick up under Hall, returning to full employment.<ref>Blewett and Jaensch, p. 189.</ref> During the term in opposition, [[Des Corcoran]] became Dunstan's deputy, and the pair worked together well despite any rift that may have been caused by the struggle to succeed Walsh.<ref name=p5/>

Hall was embarrassed that the LCL was in a position to win government despite having clearly lost the first-preference vote, and was committed to a fairer electoral system. Soon after taking office, he enacted a complete overhaul of the electoral system. While they fell short of "[[one vote one value]]" as Labor and Dunstan had demanded, they were still significant. Under the Playmander the lower house had 39 seats, 13 in Adelaide and 26 in the country. Hall's reforms expanded the lower house to 47 seats–28 in Adelaide and 19 in the country. While there was still a slight rural weighting (since Adelaide accounted for two-thirds of the state's population), with Adelaide now electing a majority of the legislature, historical results made a Labor win at the next election likely.<ref>Yeeles, pp. 42–43.</ref>

Stott withdrew support in 1970 over the [[Chowilla Dam]], a dispute over the location of a dam on the [[Murray River]],<ref name=p6>Parkin, p. 6.</ref> and South Australia went to the polls.<ref name=p6/> The dam controversy was not much of an election issue, and attempts by the [[Democratic Labor Party (Australia, 1955)|Democratic Labor Party]] to portray Dunstan as a communist over his opposition to ongoing Australian support for [[South Vietnam]] had little effect.<ref name=p6/> The LCL campaigned heavily on Hall, while Dunstan promised sweeping social reform, artistic transformation and more community services. He said "We'll set a new standard of social advancement that the whole of Australia will envy. We believe South Australia can set the pace. It can happen here. We can do it."<ref>Parkin, pp. 6–7.</ref> Dunstan won the [[1970 South Australian state election]] easily, taking 27 seats compared with the LCL's 20.<ref>Blewett and Jaensch, pp. 251–253.</ref> Although the share of the votes had been similar to 1968, the dilution of the Playmander had changed the share of the seats. As Labor had attained a majority of the popular vote for a long period, and because malapportionment had been largely ended, the political scientists [[Neal Blewett]] and [[Dean Jaensch]] said: "A Dunstan decade seems assured."<ref name=p7/>