Addressing the Liberal Party’s State Council annual general meeting for the first time on Saturday, Tarzia appealed to both factions to “come together” and “unite to fight the Labor Party” in the upcoming federal and state elections.

He also vowed to use ambulance ramping as a “battering ram” to “destroy the credibility of (Premier) Peter Malinauskas and the Labor Party” while leading a “mature discussion” about nuclear power in South Australia.

Tarzia won the Liberal Party leadership two weeks ago after his predecessor, David Speirs, resigned saying he “had a gutful” of leaks and undermining.

The former Opposition leader was left out of Tarzia’s frontbench and last week wrote an opinion piece for InDaily stating that “many” people think Tarzia “will be annihilated” at the next election.

Speirs also said that Tarzia “owes his position” to the Right and cautioned against moving the party too far from the centre.

On Saturday at the Convention Centre, Tarzia mentioned right-wing senator Alex Antic during his speech, saying: “I love the Liberal Party. We are the trustees… of two blends of the Liberal philosophy coming together.

“I think what you’ll find we all agree that we are all better off when we unite than when we have disagreements from time to time,” he said.

“But whether it is the classic Liberal tradition and the conservative tradition, we are much better off when we gel, when we come together and when we unite to fight the Labor Party.

“From time to time we may have disagreements. At the end of the day it’s about bandying together, it’s about being united and about making sure we go in to present the best policies, platforms, values to the people of South Australia.”

Antic-endorsed Right-aligned candidates won the day at the AGM, with Leah Blyth elected state president 119 votes to 82 over moderate candidate Clayton Scott, a funeral director in the Barossa.

Blyth, a former president of the conservative-controlled Liberal Women’s Council, replaces fellow Right-aligned president Rowan Mumford, who had been president since September 2022 but decided not to contest for another one-year term.

Blyth said in a statement today: “I’m excited to assist in leading the South Australian Liberal Party, and supporting our State Leader Vincent Tarzia.

“The Liberal Party is committed to winning key seats in South Australia to support the Coalition’s efforts to form government at the upcoming Federal Election – Australians can’t afford another three years of Labor.”

Conservative former Tea Tree Gully councillor Damian Wyld was newly elected to one of the Liberal Party’s four vice-president positions alongside Barossa Valley doctor Samuel Whytes-Willis.

Playford Mayor Glenn Docherty and fellow vice-president Bridie Ward were re-elected to their vice-president posts, consolidating the Right’s position. The one moderate-backed candidate, Ruth Robinson, did not get elected.

Simon McMahon, a conservative Liberal Party member and president of the Kaurna state electorate convention, said there was “overwhelming support for the new ticket”.

“It’s the most unanimous set of numbers we have seen in the past 10 years,” McMahon said.

“Leah has always shown great leadership and commitment to our shared values. I look forward to seeing the work she can now do working with the new leader to share a contrast to this divisive federal and state Labor Governments.”

Tarzia, who spoke before the president and vice-president positions were voted on, said the presidents and vice-presidents are going to be making “key decisions”.

“And it’s vitally important that we continue to have all the hallmarks of a mature, a successful, a cohesive political party that can welcome these open contests, that can welcome these debates about these various ideas,” he said.

The new leader also asked for loyalty from his party and declared that both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Malinauskas are “beatable”.

“What I need from State Council is I need your loyalty,” Tarzia said.

“And in return, let me say to you that I’m going to give this job 110 per cent.”

Tarzia also said State Council is “our eyes and our ears on the ground”.

“We need you providing third party talent to us when we need stories, we need you calling into the radios, we need you writing letters to the editor, we need you manning the booths at election time,” he said.

“And I’m looking forward to continuing the good relationships I have with many of you because we need to work together.

“The only way we’re going to beat this formidable Labor Party here in South Australia is if we work together as a team.”

InDaily contacted Antic for comment.