Federal election 2025: Tony Pasin re-elected in Barker

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Liberal MP Tony Pasin will serve a fifth term in federal parliament as the Murraylands’ representative in Canberra, but will be in opposition again.

Mr Pasin earned about 48 per cent of votes in the electorate of Barker, even as Labor was returned to government with an increased majority.

Trailing him locally were Labor’s James Rothe on 22%, then the Greens’ Major Sumner and One Nation’s Jenny Troethe each at just under 9%.

Mr Pasin described his win, on a disastrous night for the Liberal Party, as bittersweet.

“As a Liberal team, we have lost some exceptional Members of Parliament, many of whom I am proud to call close friends as well as hardworking colleagues – none more so than Peter Dutton, who has served as Opposition Leader with dignity, honesty, humility and integrity,” he said.

“The Coalition must now regroup, reset and form a strong and effective opposition to ensure our nation is as strong and prosperous as it can be.”

He promised to continue to stand up for communities in Barker without fear or favour.

Although the Liberal vote dropped by four percentage points, when compared with the 2022 election, the party was still number-one at every polling place in our corner of the electorate.

The map below shows what percentage of the two-party-preferred vote the party won in each community.

What will Labor’s election win mean for the Murraylands?

Labor’s major campaign promise locally was $4.85 million for a new nature playground at Murray Bridge’s Sturt Reserve, a project which will also receive funding from the city’s council.

A second Swanport Bridge and freight bypass through Monarto were due to be built no matter which party won the election.

The federal government included funding for that project in its 2025-26 budget, which was finalised just before the election campaign began.

Labor’s win also means that several local organisations promised money by Mr Pasin will have to continue their search for funding.

They include Murray Bridge Players and Singers, who had hoped to get $400,000 for upgrades at their rehearsal shed; and Tailem Bend RSL, promised $100,000 for building works.

What else did we learn from the election?

The last interesting thing about the result was just how many voters chose to cast their vote ahead of election day.

Almost 9000 people voted at the pre-poll voting centre in Murray Bridge between April 22 and May 2.

Only about 5400 actually voted on the day at the polling places included on our map above.

That would suggest that about 60 per cent of locals voted early.

Click on the toggles below to look back at some of our campaign coverage.