SA premier stirs the Labor faithful

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has issued a rallying cry to the Labor faithful in an address to the party's state convention in Adelaide.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill has highlighted Labor's ability to "refresh itself" as the key to the party's electoral success in SA and to it retaining office at the next state election in 2018.

In a rallying cry to the Labor faithful, Mr Weatherill says the party has been in office since 2002 because it "chooses to win" while its political opponents simply criticise.

He says the party has demonstrated a capacity to "renew itself, to change, to refresh itself and to renew its leadership".

"All of these are attributes of this party," he told the state Labor convention on Saturday.

"And the single most important attribute is that it chooses to win.

"And this party, just like our state, must choose to win and we are going to choose to win in 2018."

Mr Weatherill's speech came after he recently marked five years as premier and this week listed at least six government ministers who he said could easily take over as Labor leader once his time was up.

The premier also used the Labor convention to take a swipe at Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who questioned SA's high use of renewable energy in the aftermath of the statewide blackout during a severe storm in September.

"In the middle of an emergency, instead of offering comfort and support to the South Australian community, he started to point the finger of blame," the premier said.

"Our renewable energy industry is a source of pride for us. It's a source of jobs and opportunities and it represents the future."


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Source: AAP



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