Possible contenders for the SA Liberal Party leadership are emerging, following the former premier Steven Marshall's resignation from the role.
South-east MP Nick McBride has indicated he will put up his hands to be the Liberal Party's next South Australian leader, while David Speirs says he has not made a decision about whether to run.
A third possible contender, Morialta MP John Gardner, has not spoken to the media.
Mr McBride and Mr Speirs have been joined by conservative federal MP Tony Pasin, in criticising their party's leadership and officials for the election loss suffered on Saturday.
Speaking to ABC Radio Adelaide, Mr McBride said he had questioned the decisions of his party in opposition, and then in government over the past four years, going so far as suggesting last year that he might run as an independent.
"We, as a Liberal government, lost this election. Labor did not win it."
He said COVID-19 restrictions had been too strict and continued for too long.
"I think the restrictions were draconian," he said.
"I don't think they were understood by our business sector. They deserted us."
Speirs calls for Liberal Party reform
Fellow conservative David Speirs lost to Dan van Holst Pellekaan in a vote to be deputy premier last November.
Mr van Holst Pellekaan lost his seat to independent Geoff Brock, and the deputy premier before him, Vickie Chapman, is still being investigated by the state ombudsman.
This morning, Mr Speirs said he had not made a decision on whether to compete for the role of opposition leader.
"That's a very big job," he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
"I've watched Isobel Redmond in that job. I've seen Steven Marshall in that job. I'm going to speak to family and friends about that over the coming days."
He called for a "root-and-branch review" into party processes, such as preselecting candidates, where more women could have been chosen.
Mr Speirs also pointed out there were both more Stevens and more Davids in the last cabinet than there were women.
"I think we need to find more ways on working more women into the administrative part of the party, into winnable seats and into parliament and subsequently cabinet or shadow cabinet," he said.
He said many party members would still be commiserating after the Liberals' "devastating" loss.
"While Labor has every right to celebrate at the moment, this party, the Liberal Party that I'm part of, has every right to grieve," he said.
Pasin wants 'generational change'
Mr Pasin — the federal Member for Barker — said keeping the COVID-19 state of emergency declaration going for too long, land tax changes, getting rid of the Adelaide 500 V8 Supercars race and decriminalising abortion all weighed on country and suburban voters.
He also criticised the party's decision to "exclude Christians from the Liberal Party", referring to a move to deny some applications from Pentecostal Christians to join the party in 2021.
"They were all mistakes in my opinion," Mr Pasin said.
While blaming the loss on party officials, in addition to the Premier Steven Marshall, Mr Pasin suggested that some re-elected MPs should resign and cause by-elections between now and the next state election to have enough time to establish their credentials.
"If we want to be a competitive option in four years' time, we need to manage generational change from today and manage it well," he said.
"There are some people who were elected on the weekend who, I think, will need to consider whether they are likely to be part of the team in four years' time and the years after that and, if they're not, they might need to consider what's in the best interests of the Liberal Party.
"We need to identify, as the Labor Party has, the young talent — the energetic talent — to bring it into the party so we can be competitive in four years' time."
