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AAP
AAP
Politics
Abe Maddison

Party leader flies in for debut from One Nation's MPs

Peter Malinauskas, who attended parliament's opening ceremony, is focusing on the fuel crisis. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)

A state Labor Party with a historic majority has officially taken the reins of power, while seven new One Nation MPs have walked into parliament for the first time.

In a day of pageantry and ceremony, Governor Frances Adamson officially opened South Australia's 56th parliament on Tuesday.

One Nation federal leader Pauline Hanson stood on the steps of parliament with state boss Cory Bernardi after addressing a party room meeting with its seven new state MPs.

Senator Hanson said she was "extremely proud" of her party's election result, which she considered to be a ''starting point".

SA
Ashton Hurn is seeking to create an effective opposition in South Australia. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)

Mr Bernardi was ''definitely'' in charge of the SA party, she said.

"I reiterated that in the party room this morning," she said.

Mr Bernardi indicated One Nation would not make a big contribution in its first week in parliament because Upper House results had been delayed until Monday, limiting the time available to new MPs to prepare for their roles.

At the March 21 election, Labor claimed 34 of the 47 lower house seats, the Liberals five, One Nation four and independents four.

Former Human Services Minister Nat Cook, who left the ministry in a cabinet reshuffle after the election, was elected Speaker in the Lower House.

Premier Peter Malinauskas and Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn ''dragged'' Ms Cook to the speaker's chair.

SA
State Governor Frances Adamson added to the pomp and ceremony of the first sitting day. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)

The ceremonial act symbolises the historical reluctance in the Westminster system to accept the role, due to the risk of conveying the opinions of the house to the monarch.

''We all share a deep responsibility, to conduct ourselves in a way which strengthens the trust in democracy and in the parliament,'' Ms Cook told the house.

The parliament's 47 lower house MPs were sworn in, including One Nation's Chantelle Thomas, Robert Roylance, Jason Virgo and David Paton.

Ms Hurn, whose Liberal Party has been reduced to just five seats in the Lower House, conceded there had been a ''lot of reflections'' on the party's smaller presence.

''Whilst it might look like a bit of a David and Goliath battle in the parliament today, so be it, because we know how that story ends,'' she said outside parliament.

Asked if she had seen Senator Hanson, she said ''I'm not sure where she's flown in from''.

Former Labor state secretary Reggie Martin was elected President of the Upper House.

SA
Pauline Hanson says Cory Bernardi will be calling the shots for One Nation in South Australia. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)

His election means the government will need two crossbench votes to pass legislation through parliament rather than one.

The 22-seat Upper House consists of 10 Labor MLCs, six from the Liberals, three from One Nation, two Greens and independent Sarah Game.

In Question Time, Ms Hurn focused on the future of the Nyrstar smelter in Port Pirie and the state's response to the fuel crisis, asking the premier if he would commit to a state-owned diesel reserve.

Mr Malinauskas said the government was ''actively considering the proposition, but we're only going to commit to it if it makes sense to do so''.

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