In an e-newsletter sent to Liberal Party subscribers around two weeks ago, the right-wing senator heralded “another strong set of results” at local party annual general meetings (AGMs) and urged members to get behind his endorsed candidates for federal preselection in Mayo and Grey.

The “Truth to Power” newsletter, obtained by InDaily, confirms Antic is backing conservative staffer Zane Basic over Adelaide City councillor Henry Davis for preselection in Mayo.

Antic has also endorsed former United Australia Party candidate Suzanne Waters – a regional paramedic who reportedly quit her job with SA Health over its COVID vaccination mandate – in a five-way preselection contest in Grey.

“We already have tremendous candidates for the Federal seats of Makin – Irene Zagladov and Boothby – Nicolle Flint, but we now must turn our attention to preselecting more great candidates for the Federal election,” Antic wrote, describing both the Grey and Mayo preselections as “critical”.

“If you live in Grey or Mayo (essentially the Eyre Peninsula or the Adelaide Hills) then you will play an important role in deciding who your candidates will be (and I have some thoughts to share with you).”

The newsletter also reveals that former Adelaide Football Club director Dr Nick Takos has been elected a Liberal Party State Council delegate in the federal seat of Hindmarsh.

Takos, a lecturer and researcher in sports management at UniSA, quit the Crows board in December 2021 in a high-profile disagreement over the club’s vaccination mandate. Antic described Takos as a “fighter and a man of genuine principle”.

UniSA researcher and lecturer Dr Nick Takos quit the Crows board in December 2021 over a disagreement about their COVID vaccination mandate.

“He is a true Liberal and a great addition to the State Council team,” Antic wrote.

Takos, who has a PhD in organisational leadership and culture, told InDaily he aligned with the Liberal Party’s “core values” and “identified Alex Antic as a high-quality person”.

“I just feel like I can add some sort of value in a minor role that supports someone of such outstanding character,” he said.

Takos also denied that the vaccine mandate issue motivated him to go into politics, saying it was more about “government overreach, loss of freedoms, too much regulation… too much impingement on free market and business”.

Antic’s newsletter provides a glimpse into his success over the last four years in shifting the internal apparatus of the SA Liberal Party to the right by encouraging like-minded members to join the party, including from conservative churches.

It also shows that Belinda Crawford-Marshall – an executive pastor with the Maylands-based Field Of Dreams Pentecostal church – has been elected president of the Liberal Women’s Council (LWC).

The women’s council is a conservative-controlled party body that has come under fire from moderates for passing motions related to gender and sexuality teaching in schools.

Antic said the LWC “continues to be a stronghold of true Liberal values… with what is shaping up as a full team of brilliant State Council Delegates”.

InDaily attempted to reach Crawford-Marshall for comment.

Right faction Upper House MP Heidi Girolamo with outgoing LWC president Leah Blyth (left) and new LWC president Belinda Crawford-Marshall (right). Photo: Facebook

Sources from both the moderate and conservative factions claimed there is currently a vacuum of leadership within the Left faction, allowing an emboldened Right to win more internal party contests.

“There’s just no organisation from the moderate side, so of course he’s going to have these significant wins because he’s fighting a lettuce leaf essentially,” one moderate source said.

“If we don’t turn it around next year, there’s a likelihood that these people are going to be preselecting and they’re going to preselect really conservative, hard-right candidates.”

Antic’s newsletter celebrates the results of AGMs in 12 State Electorate Conventions (SECs) and five Federal Electorate Conventions (FECs).

Conventions are made up of all Liberal Party members who are enrolled to vote within a federal or state seat. They oversee day-to-day affairs and general campaigning within the electorate and play a role in candidate preselection.

Each year, SEC and FEC members elect their local president and delegates to State Council, which in turn votes on the Liberal Party’s federal and state Upper House tickets.

“In very basic terms, the four years of continual success during these AGMs mean that we can continue to preselect true Liberals in our State and Federal upper houses (Legislative Council and Senate),” Antic wrote.

“People who share OUR values.”

In the email, Antic lauds the election – and re-election – of presidents in the SECs for Reynell, Kaurna, Hurtle Vale, Port Adelaide, Elizabeth, Taylor, Ramsay, Playford, Wright and the marginal seats of Davenport and Newland.

He also celebrates FEC results in Grey, Spence, Hindmarsh, Makin and Kingston.

A Right-aligned source said the conservative victories in the Hindmarsh and Spence FECs were new while the other AGMs were about consolidating and expanding existing gains.

The Right also “made inroads” in the Port Adelaide, Elizabeth, Taylor and Ramsay SECs, the source said.

“The key thing which is interesting in a lot of these is that the Left just aren’t even showing up anymore,” the Right-aligned source said of the AGM results.

“They’re just in complete and utter disarray – there’s no leadership.”

The victories listed by Antic in his July newsletter are by no means an exhaustive list of conservative-controlled conventions.

SA senator Alex Antic. Photo: Sean Davey/AAP

InDaily has previously reported on conservative takeovers of the Mayo FEC and the Heysen SEC in the Adelaide Hills. The Kavel SEC is also understood to have undergone a similar transformation.

The latest victories mean the Right has a grip on at least seven of the 10 FECs in SA. It also recently came within striking distance of electing delegates in the traditional moderate stronghold of Sturt.

The Right’s growing presence at the local level has party insiders speculating how the conservatives will use their numbers on State Council to influence Upper House preselection.

In March, the Right used its numbers to elevate Antic to the number one spot on the federal senate ticket ahead of former cabinet minister and moderate Anne Ruston. Both are likely to be re-elected to the senate given South Australia’s voting patterns.

Three sources have told InDaily that the Right may try to dump long-time Upper House MP Jing Lee, a moderate, into an unwinnable spot on the 2026 Legislative Council ticket.

Lee, currently deputy leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, is the only Liberal moderate up for re-election in the Upper House in 2026. The other three incumbents, Heidi Girolamo, Terry Stephens and Ben Hood, are all from the Right.

Liberal frontbencher Jing Lee speaking in the Upper House in 2022. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

“If I was Jing Lee, I’d be very, very, very nervous and very, very frustrated,” a moderate source said. Lee did not respond to inquiries today.

But another moderate source played down concerns, suggesting “there’s a fair bit of embellishment” in Antic’s email and the numbers on State Council are “still very tight”.

Antic describes his Truth to Power newsletter as the place where he brings subscribers “the information you need to be an influential member of the Party and play your part in supporting true Liberals on their path to Parliament”.

He also urges subscribers to renew their Liberal Party membership.

“There is no point in being in this for 12 months. As I have said from the outset, your support needs to be for the long haul,” he wrote.

“We need PASSIONATE PEOPLE with PATIENCE.”

In response to a request for comment on Monday, Antic said: “This is no offence to you personally but I had almost forgotten about InDaily.”

“I will put a reminder in my phone to log into your website tomorrow to see what you come up with.”